Under The Tent Top (COMPLETED)

Seventeen

WE danced for a while longer till I brilliantly thought of the bottle of honey I received the other night.

Marius and I sat at a dry area in a field, and traded spoons for peanut butter and honey. The comfortable silence between us kept me warm.

Suddenly, drunken footsteps could be heard behind us. We sat up quickly, Samil had found me.

"Where've you been?!" He stammered.

"No where."

"Well come on. Back to my trailer!"

Marius grasped my hand. I looked back at him and squeezed tightly before letting go.

For most of the way to Samil's trailer, I had to keep him upright. Manuel had done a decent job intoxicating him. With sloppy arms the ring leader pulled off his clothes and staggered to press against me.

At this point it had almost felt like I was his mother, trying to lead him towards his bed.
I pushed and pulled his naked body away. My protest only made him angrier.

"Darling, I missed you..." He slurred pulling at my legs.

I shoved his hand away. "Lay down. You're drunk."

"Just let me," His hands clawed my thighs. "Take your clothes off!"

Eventually, I was able to move him on to his mattress. He sighed in fatigue and rolled over on to his back.

"Good idea. You do the work!" He lazily snickered.

I reluctantly crawled on top of him and slowly mimicked undoing the buttons of the dress I wore. Until finally, he snored.

When I was certain he was asleep, I happily jumped off and ran out the door - running straight into Invidia.

She snarled at me through her vodka stained lips. "You."

"Invidia," I eyed her wet eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Am I okay?! Am I okay?? I'm peachy!!"

Black liner smeared against her cheeks, the red paint on her lips migrated towards the outside of where they were initially placed and her eyes continued to cry. "Invidia... are you hurt?" I asked with genuine concern.

"Yes!" She shouted. "You did this! He was looking for you all night! Ha! But I was with him all night, I'm always ready do to whatever he needs! But he- he- always- looking- he was always looking for you!"

"Invidia..."

"Nalani." Marius called out from the distance.

Invidia snarled. "All the men...all the men. All yours."

I watched helplessly as she walked off.

"What happened?" Marius asked.

"Samil fell asleep, and Invidia is upset."

"You're okay?"

I nodded with a sudden smile. "For the first time in a few nights. Yes."

~*~

The following morning, I found myself tucked in with Dandra. I rubbed my eyes awake. I must have successfully received an hour or so of a nap.

Better than most nights.

When I opened the trailer doors, Rene and Manuel were perched on the steps. "Good morning!" Rene smiled.

"Hey you two." I greeted.

"Manuel had a great idea."

"What is it?"

Manuel gestured for me to sit. "When we reach the next area- maybe we could all see the town for a bit. We'll promote - or at least say we will and just have a nice day off?"