Two;

CHAPTER TWO -

Benjamin

The pub reeks of bad perfume, whiskey and angry men in the back, drinking and all I hear is yelling.

            I drop my head down to the wood bar and my head presses against the ring of water that my beer had left. My head is pounding and I can’t even begin to think. I don’t want to think. I want darkness. I want an eternity of darkness.

            “Is this seat taken?”

            I turn my head to the side where the voice had come from and I meet the brown eyes of a girl. She’s standing in front of me, her bag hanging over her shoulder and her lip tucked in her mouth.

            “No,” I murmur and she sits down.

            “What do ya want?” the barman asks and she looks timid for a second.

            “Coke?” she says quietly.

            Her accent is soft and different. She’s not British or Irish.

            “American?” Luis grunts and she looks up at him again, her brown eyes widening.

            “Excuse me?” she asks.

            “You from America?” he expands and the girl nods.

            “Yes,” she replies.

            He grunts again and turns around to get her drink, she’s looking at her hands, her blonde curls falling over her shoulders and she pulls her jacket closer even though the air is hot.

            “Luis likes blondes,” I murmur, sipping on my beer. She glances over at me and raises an eyebrow.

            “I see,” she replies, “Are you Luis?” she’s smirking.

            “No,” I reply, “Benjamin.”

            “I’m Cali,” she tells me and looks over my face. I nod to her as my greeting. She doesn’t bother to hold her hand out to me, she’s not smiling anymore. Luis sets her Coke down on the bar and turns away, shaking his head at me.

            “Where are you from?” she asks quietly and I look over at her again. Her mouth is askew and she looks like she wants to slap herself for asking.

            “Ireland,” I reply and she nods.

            “I thought so.”

            We fall into silence again and I try to remember her name. Casey? Cam? I stare at her for a few minutes until she rubs her eyes and sighs, tapping her nails on the bar.

            “Holiday?” I ask and wonder why I bother.

            “No,” she replies, her voice is lower and husky, her brown eyes flicker over to me, “School.”

            “Where?”

            “London, I’m a psychology major,” she sums up, answering my next question.

            “Huh,” I reply and take a sip of my beer, “Not drinking?”

            She hesitates, tapping her nails on the pub’s counter, “No,” she replied, “I’m, uhm, under aged.” It doesn’t sound like it’s the only reason, but I don’t call her on it.

            “Never stopped me,” I mumble and she glances over, not bothering to correct her that she’s in England. What is her name?

           “How old are you?” she asks and clears her throat.

            “Twenty two,” I reply and she nods.

            We lapse back into silence and she runs her pinky over the glass, her eyes staring deep into the liquid as if she can see the future in it. I mull over all other C names I can think of. Maybe it doesn’t start with a C. Maybe it is a D. Daisy? Delilah?

            “What did you say your name was?” I ask all the sudden and she glances over at me.

            “Cali,” she says and I nod. Cali. It was a C. I rethink the name a few times and sigh. I don’t know why I care; a few minutes ago, I wanted to disappear into darkness forever. However, here this girl is, sitting beside me with a kind of innocence I can’t place.

            “And you’re Benjamin,” she tells me, her lips turn up into a smile.

            “Yes,” I reply, and she looks at me for a moment and then back to her drink. Her glass is empty and she pushes it forward, I watch her movements, fluid and graceful. Luis looks down at her and nods to her glass.

            “Want another?” he asks and she shakes her head.

            “No thank you,” she replies smoothly. “How much is it?” She rifles through her money and makes a face. I glance over and the money isn’t recognizable. I reach into my pocket and toss the pounds to Luis.

            “For her,” I say and Luis nods, looking at me for a moment, smirking.

            “Thanks,” she looks at me, her cheeks turning a little pink, “I didn’t switch everything over.” She looks embarrassed as she looks down at her hands. Then, she stands up and nods to me, “See ya around, Benjamin,” she tells me and disappears through the door to the bar.

            And for once, I have something to look forward to.

{*}

It starts to rain when I get home; I duck inside just in time as the rain starts to pick up from a gentle shower into a storm. I walk past the dingy hall and close the large door behind me; I take the stairs rather than the lift. My footsteps echo as I ascend, I stop in the landing, waiting for a moment, my breath bounces off the walls, and I sigh.

            I run my hand through my hair and I keep going up the stairs, the emptiness makes me feel a little less enclosed. When I get to my room, I have to slam my shoulder into the door and then undo the locks for it to even open. Right as I break through the door, I heard mumbling, glance down the hall, and see the pink face and wind swept blonde hair of the girl from the bar. Cali. She has suitcases and another girl following her, talking loudly. The one girl stops in front of the next-door over, juggling a baby on her one hip, Cali laughs at something she says and then she looks at me. She looks like she’s trying to place me for a moment, but then a smile tugs on her lips.

            “Benjamin,” she smiles, “we meet again.”