On The Edge Of Falling

Dont Touch My Cheetos

            I heard the banging on my front door, as I laid motionless on my couch. The spilled bag of cheetos was open on the coffee table in front of me, and some of the cheese residue still stained my fingers. I flipped through the channels on the television, and finally decided to stop on a trashy daytime talk show. The woman on the screen, in her leopard print crop top, and large hooped earrings, didn't hold back, as she slapped her unfaithful boyfriend on stage. I know the feeling, girl.
            The banging on the door continued, even louder now. "Addy, get your ass off that couch and let me in!" The sound of my mothers strict tone sent shivers up my spine. Regardless, I didn't lift off my couch. I was a grown woman, and not about to allow my mommy to scare me into shape. "Addilyn Rose!" Oh shit, she middle named me.
            "Mom, I don't want to get up!" I yelled, back at my front door.
            "Addy, I swear to god, if you don't let me in I will move in with you, and make the rest of your life a living hell!" Without hesitation, I jumped off that sunken couch, and rushed to the door. I opened it to see my mothers smiling face. Proud that she won that fight. "Well, there's my beautiful girl." She quickly wanted to retract her statement, as she looked upon my messy pulled back hair, which clearly hadn't been washed in days, and my dirty sweatpants. "Oh, well, I spoke too soon."
            "Shut up, mom." I grunted, as I shuffled back to the couch. She entered and curled her lip at the pile of dirty dishes in the sink, and the empty pizza boxes stacked on the counter. My mother was raised in a very strict home. She was branded to keep everything neat and organized, and usually I was that way too, but right now I just wanted to be lazy. That didn't sit well with my mother.
            "You have to do something about this, Addy. This isn't healthy." She said, as she took a seat next to me on the couch; careful to not sit on the empty candy bar wrappers.
            "Mom, it's not that big of a deal."
            "It is a big deal. You can't live like this."
            "I lost my job, what do you expect me to do?" I didn't even think to mention Jake, I honestly didn't mind losing him.
            "Go find another job!"
            "I've tried, mom. There are none that I want to do. I just need to get out of this city."
            "This is your home, Addilyn. Where do you think you're going to go?"
            "I don't know, anywhere. I just need a change." My mother ripped a wet wipe out of her leather Chanel bag, and tossed it at me. "What is this for?"
            "Wipe that cheese off your fingers, it's making me sick." She said, as she stood and snatched the bag of chips off the table.
            "Hey! Don't touch my cheetos!" I demanded, but she threw it right into the trash.  "I was going to eat those."
             "Listen to me, Addy, sometimes things happen that we can't control, but you need to be strong enough to pick yourself up and keep fighting. So, you lost your job? You can find another one. Something even better. Now, go take a shower, while I clean up this mess."
            "Mom, I'm a big girl, I can clean up my own house." I said, as I stood and walked towards the hall. Giving myself a long sniff, I knew my body needed cleaning more than my apartment.
            "Nonsense, I'm here to help."
            As my mom worked hard, scrubbing my floors, and dishes, I worked hard on scrubbing the exhaustion and shame off my body. I needed to get out of this apartment and get back out there. I really wanted a change of scenery; to do something I've never done before. Go somewhere I've never been. Then my mind hatched an idea.
            I quickly dried off and sat at my desk in my bedroom. I opened my laptop and Skyped my cousin Chelsie. Chelsie had been my best friend since we were babies. Being my cousin also, created a special bond between us, but unfortunately, we did grow apart when she decided to pick up and move to Vegas when she was 18. We would text each other occasionally, but it wasn't the same. It had been over a year since we last spoke, so I was curious on how this random chat would go.
            Finally, I saw Chelsie's face pop up on my computer. After almost ten years, she still had that same beautiful smile. "Hey, Addy! How are you?"
            "I'm not great, actually. I really feel like I need a vacation."
            "Oh, yeah? Any destination in mind?"
             I replied with a raised brow, and a bite of my bottom lip; hoping Chelsie would take the hint. She must've because she returned a loud shriek of excitement. "Addy, get your ass to Vegas, baby!"
            My mom was there with me at the airport, to say goodbye. I couldn't understand why she was getting emotional, as I prepared to board. Her hug was tight enough to hurt a bear and I gasped, as she squeezed the breath out of me. "Mom..." I managed to take a deep breath and push the words out. "...Its just a 3 day vacation, I'm going to be fine."
            "I know, I just get nervous. You know how much I hate airplanes. Just promise, you'll call me right when you get there."
             "I promise."
             I gripped tightly onto my seat, as the plane took off. The last time I was on a plane, I was in high school, going to Florida for spring break, so you can imagine how frazzled my nerves were when I looked down at the tiny buildings and trees beneath me. But I also couldn't resist pulling my cell out and snapping as many pictures as I could.
             The clouds soared by the window, and my nerves had finally been tamed. Although, I quickly shut my eyes and drifted to sleep, as they turned an unbelievably awful film for the flight. My nap was continuing quite perfectly, until I was awoken by a nudge to my arm. I opened my eyes and looked over. To my left was a handsome man with piercing eyes, perfectly trimmed facial hair, with his muscular arm taking over my arm rest. When he realized I was staring at him, he opened his mouth to speak. "You were snoring." With a narrowed brow, I intently stared at him, completely offended by his rude remark.
            "Excuse me?"
            "You were snoring, so I thought I would rid myself, and the rest of the plane from the obnoxious sound."
            "So, you knocked my arm off the rest?"
            "Yeah."
            "Don't you think it would've been more polite to wake me up in a more civilized manner?"
            "I tried that. Didn't work." He turned his attention back to the large book he had clutched in his hands. With a roll of my eyes, and a deep sigh, I leaned my head against the window frame. "Are you seriously going back to sleep?"
            "Are you seriously still talking to me?"
            "Oh, aren't we the feisty one?"
            "Look, man, I've had a rough month and all I want to do is have a nice vacation without having to worry about strange douche bags interrupting my relaxing time. So, if it isn't too much to ask, could you just keep your mouth shut for the rest of the ride?"
            "Yeah, as long as you keep that annoying snore at bay." The man smiled, revealing his sparkling white teeth. I wish I didn't find him so attractive, he was making it really hard to stay angry at him, but I kept my scowl and turned towards the window.
             The flight was over before I knew it, and I couldn't wait to get off that plane and away from that rude stranger. He followed me for the longest time, I feel like he was close enough to feel the breath on my neck. Finally, my frustration became overwhelming and I had to turn to face him. "Are you seriously following me?"
             "I just wanted to say it was nice to meet you. Is that so bad?" He replied with that same confident smile. The veins bulged in his hands, as he held his luggage, and the muscles in his chest shown perfectly through his tight black t-shirt.
             "You have a lot of nerve."
             "Go out with me tonight."
             "Okay, now you're just stupid." I said, not able to hold back my laughter. He steadily stared at me, as if he was still waiting for an answer. Like there was a chance that I would suddenly change my mind and fall for him. "No, I don't want to go out with you."
             "Alright, well, here's my number if you change your mind." The man handed me a random business card with his cell number written on the back. He casually walked away, and I was tempted to toss the card in the trash next to me, but for a reason I couldn't comprehend, I slipped it into my purse.
            Suddenly, arms wrapped around me from behind me and nearly picked my body off the floor. She rounded me and I jumped up with joy as I saw Chelsie staring back at me. "Oh, my god! Welcome! I've missed you so much!" She said, as she hugged me.
             "I've missed you too!"
             "So, how was your flight?"
             "It would've been perfect if it wasn't for some asshole I had to sit next to, but he was fucking gorgeous. If he hadn't been such a dick, I would've joined the mile high club." Chelsie and I laughed, as we walked towards the exit.
             "Come on, this will be a vacation you won't forget." If I only knew how true that statement actually was.