The Hotel Celebration

Phera looks at her watch -  it is 9.30pm.  The event in the hotel has already started and she is waiting for her friend Amber to show.  Phera stares ahead and sees a car, but it veers off without slowing.  A light wind rustles through Phera's hair, and at last Phera offers an impatient stomp!

"What are you doing Phera, come inside!"  cheers Heather who waves a hand with a lit cigarette.

Phera shakes her head even when her adrenaline rushes through her veins.  She does not want to let Amber down, and so she waits for Amber to arrive.

"I knew I should have not brought a double entry pass!"  steams Phera as she shakes her head to the dark which offers an owl's hoot in return.

Brad walks up the drive to the entrance, and he offers Phera a wave.  Phera waves back knowing that she feels like a diamond to have been caught in Brad's stare.

"Want a drink?"  asks Brad as he sees her skin shiver in the night.

"Sure!"  cries Phera.  "But I am waiting for Amber;"  she mutters as she crosses her brows.  "She is late tonight;"

"That is unlike her;"  tells Brad before he turns his head to see the dark on the street grow darker still.  "Is she walking?"

"I don't know..."  mutters Phera before a taxi cab turns around the bend and pulls up on the driveway. 

Brad and Phera watch as Amber hops out of the taxi.  She has a large coat on to keep her skin warm, but it is light and flows like a blanket being caught in wind behind her feet.

"Is that ployester?"  asks Phera as she raises her brow.

"Some nylon blend;"  tells Amber as she shrugs.  "It's a really long coat, but I thought it would be cold;"  she remarks.

"It is;"   tells Brad.  "I want a drink -  you two want to drink with me?" he asks.

Amber moves to shake her head but Phera nods in excitement. 

"Oh yea!  I would love a drink!"  tells Phera with enough resolve to make Amber nod also.


Inside Amber and Phera watch the crowd as they flood in to chat. 

"Where is the two guests?"  asks Amber.

"Heather is in the kitchen ordering vegetarian food;"  mutters Phera before she sips on another drink.

"How long has she been pregnant?"  asks Amber as she cradles her own drink until the chill is felt deep under her skin.

"I don't know -  one month;"  mutters Phera as she narrows her eyes to Seth who can be seen by the fire-place.  "I don't really care right now;'  mutters Phera as she rubbs her brow.  "I wasn't sure I wanted to come -  but Heather is usually good to hang around with;"  she adds before a mosquito bites her arm and makes her jump.  "Ow!"  gasps Phera.

"What is it?" asks Amber as she jumps also.

"A stupid mosquito..."  mutters Phera as she rubs her swollen skin.

"They are annoying..."   mutters Amber before she bothers to take a sip of her punch.

Phera lifts her eyes as sees Seth staring her way.  Phera points to her chest, but his stare is blank and so she shrugs the attention off. 

"Can you go and tell Seth he looks mad?"  asks Phera as she twis ts a smile on her face.

"Why?"  asks Amber as she looks up to see Seth who stares somewhere far off before he turns his back.  "He looks okay to me;"  mutters Amber as she shrugs.

"He looks mad!  Go and tell him he looks mad!"  tells Phera as she giggles.  "I want to see what he says;"

"You do it;"  mutters Amber as she begins to grow cold over the suggestion. 

'Please?"  asks Phera as she flicks her eye-lids.

"Okay;"  tells Amber before she pushes her drink to the side.  "I will go and tell him he is mad;"

It takes a short trek through thickly gathered crowd to get to Seth.  But when there Amber is able to find relief in the way there is a halo of vacancy around Seth himself.  Amber touches Seth's arm and he looks to her with drunk glaze over his eyes.

"You look mad!"  retorts Amber before she gets a back-hand slamming against the side of her cheek.

"What!"  exclaims Seth in a tone too loud.  "Did you ring a bell?"  he asks as wine falls from the tipped down flask inside if his hand. 

"Drunk ramp!"  cries out a person nearby before three fellows lunge to pull Seth further away and Amber away from Seth. 

Phera clutches Ambers drink and begins to guzzle.  She didn't mean to get her friend in a fix, and when Seth barks out Amber's name in threat she begins to back further away until her and her drink cannot be seen.


Amber walks out of the hotel with a hand held to her face!  She is more then mad, she is hurt!  Seth tries to follow her out the door however all his friends gather to pull him back inside and soon the entrance door closes leaving the night to its still.

"Stupid party!"  gasps Amber as she stops under a tree.  "I am so upset!"  she rages.  "I will never come to one of these stupid gatherings again!"  she charges.

A car drives past and halo's Amber in golden light.  Amber almost yearns to flag the driver down to see if they can offer her a lift, hwoever she does not move her feet until the car is gone.  After the car has disappeared Amber walks down the street and further away -  her heart has been broken and she yearns only for sleep.


Seth backs away from the door and ables to a bench where he placed his keys.  He shrugs off others who crowd towards him to keep him still, and then he picks up a drink and all the crowd moves to pick up a drink also.  Phera stops chewing on the top of her glass to step out from the shadows.  As Seth glances at her he raises a cup before he bothers to take a decent drink in salute to madness.  However by the window a car turns to head off down the street, and Seth suddenly wants to drive.

"I need to re-park the car;"  he mutters to a fellow who nods before they turn away.

Seth heads out of the room slowly, picking his steps as he swings mutters left to right that he needs to re-park his car.  Most step out of the way but at the door a couple of more sober fellows move to stop Seth.

"I want to re-park the car;"  tells Seth as he glares at the intrusion that stands in his way.

The two fellows stare at each other and then they step to the side.  As soon as Seth is out of the door he moves his steps in a hurry towards the car which rests half a block down the street. 


At her house Amber bothers to take a shower in order to ease her distress.  Her lips have been turned near white from the shock of being given a pretty hard slap it face.  Sure it hasn't been the first time she has been hit, bit it is the last time!

"I am never going to go out to another party again!"  swears Amber as she re-dresses into a bed-dress before slipping on a night-grown. 

Amber returns to the kitchen where she has made herself some tea, and she takes a sip.  For a moment her thoughts lull on memories of the night, but the should of a car veering wildly up her driveway makes her head snap to the left in alarm.

"What is that?"  gasps Amber as she walks to the window to peek through the curtains.  "Oh no, it's Seth!"  cries out Amber as she watches Seth get out from the parked car.

Seth sees Amber's face through the window and waves.  Amber wants to tell herself that he is drunk and dangerous, but he looks sober and so she doesn't think about doing anything but opening the door as he knocks.

"He's probably here to offer an appology!" cries out Amber before she swings open the door.

However the stench of alcholol makes Amber pause.

"What do you mean I look mad?"  asks Seth as he narrows his eyes.

"Phera told me to say it;"  mutters Amber under her breath.

"What?"  asks Seth in clipped tone.  "That's no excuse for offering a bad night!"  steams Seth as he stamps his foot in hot rage.  "You appologize!"  he remarks.

"Well maybe I should have said you look drunk!"  spits Amber before she slams the door closed.

Seth laughs at the door only centimeters from his face.  He then knocks one, twice, three times... after every knock there is only silence.  Seth grows a rage as hot as fire and he looks to the right to see a garden shovel by the garden shed.  He walks over to the shed and picks the shovel up before he heads back to the front door to break all the glass windows he can find!


Phera watches as Heather and Brad sneak away through the entrance while the crowd is too drunk and dazed to turn their heads.  Phera sighs as she feels her heart lapse. 

"Why can't Heather keep her eyes on Seth?"  she asks.

Phera looks at the watch and knows she should go home.  She feels a lump in her throat at the prospect of driving home alone.  She knows she should be gossiping to her friend Amber, however Amber is long gone; that hit against her cheek made her turn away, and Phera feels a rash of guilt.

"I did not know he was going to hit her!"  she remarks as she feels a shiver crawl over her skin.  "Seth shouldn't be that wild!  I just wanted him to laugh!"

Phera thinks of Amber and the stumble she had made when Seth had hit her.  It was the first time she had seen him hit anyone, and it had made her blood curdle.

"Maybe I should swing by Amber's home?"  asks Phera as she tries to nudge her instincts to move towards helping her friend to see that the night would have eased out if she had stayed.  "I should tell her Seth is sorry!"  she cheers as a bright light blooms up in her head.  "Yes, that is what I am going to!"  she cries before she picks up her purse and leaves the hotel.


Phera drives down the street, on the way a speeding car revs its tyres and makes her chip the edge of the road, however Phera stays calm and within seconds the mad driver has dissapeared.  Phera breathes a breath of relief and she continues to drive.  She sings to the radio as she continues on and within twenty minutes she is outside Amber's home. 

"What is this?"  asks Phera as she steps out of the car and onto glass.  "What has happened to the windows?  What has happened to the garden gnomes?  What has happened to the plant pots?"  she asks as she steps forward.

Phera knocks on the door and its broken hunges creak.  There is dark and dim within the house and as she walks on the carpet she walks over broken glass shards. 

"Amber?"  sings Phera as she walks down the corridor towards a light beam that comes from the kitchen.  "Are you home?"  she inquires.

"In the kitchen!"  calls Amber.

Phera walks into the kitchen and sees Amber by the telephone.  Phera raises her brows as Amber  bothers to pour her a drink of soda. 

"What's happened to your house?"  asks Phera as she feels her teeth shiver.  "It's wrecked!"

"Seth came by and was in a bad or drunk mood;"  tells Amber as she looks at Phera.  "He was still angry over me calling him mad;"

"That's no excuse!"  steams Phera as she narrows her eyes.  "Have you called the cops?"  she asks.

"I was going to but Seth told me he'd give me money tomorrow to pay for the damage.  He said he was drunk;"

"Oh;"  mutters Phera as she thinks of the wild driver on the road.  "Maybe he just wanted you to have an upgrade;"

"He wrecked my stain glass windows;"  tells Amber as she shrugs.  "He wrecked everything -  I don't mind the plant pots, but the windows... that's going too far!"

"He blew all your light bulbs too;"  tells Phera as she feels the curse of guilt inside of her chest. 

"I know!"  steams Amber.  "He slapped me hard when he walked inside!  I hurt my tooth a bit!"

"Why did he do that?  Because he was drunk?"  asks Phera as she feels her anger boil.

"I was trying to call the cops;"  mutters Amber as she touches her cheek lightly.  "It hurt my face;"  sulks Amber before she bothers to take a sip of drink from her cup.

Phera follows -  she gulps her drink down as she nibbles on thoughts that come up with red dots and arrows. 

"That is a rampage!"  gasps Phera as she rolls her eyes.  "I should go back to the party to find him and tell him it had been my idea to call him mad!"

"I don't think you should do that;"  mutters Amber with a scoff.  "He's already made a wreck of my house, you don't want him to make a wreck out of yours too!"

"I have an apartment;"  tells Phera as she puts down an empty cup.  "I am going to go and tell him off!"  she states before she walks out of the house with glass crushing under her shoes.


Back at the hotel Phera parks her car and walks up to the entrance -  however as she approaches Brad is punched out through the entrance door by Seth who is still off his head on an anger trip.  Phera screams as she sees blood on Brad's face, however Brad ignores her and grumbles nonsense words as he moves towards his parked car.

"That's for the worst night ever!"  sethed Seth as he feels his eyes turn blood red.  "You drive on when moving by my house!"  he warns.

Brad moves into his car, and within moments he is gone. 

Phera takes her hands down from her face and she trembles as she looks at Seth who grinds his teeth together.

"What's with you tonight Seth?  Are you mad?"  asks Phera as she feels her eyes open up until they are headlights -  proof that she has been surprised.

"No, I am just upset;"  tells Seth as he watches the car lights disappear in the distance. 

"Why are you upset?"  asks Phera as her shoes beg her to turn to her car and run.

"He and Heather were having an affair..."  mutters Seth.  "They were kissing.  I saw them;"  he tells before he rubs his hands together. 

"That's too bad!"  tells Phera as she begins to grow mad at Seths lunacy.  "So why did you destroy Amber's home?"

Seth rolls his eyes and sighs before he allows his knees to buckle.  Seth sits himself down on a chair nearby and shrugs as he hands his head.

"Because I could;"  he mutters before he takes out a cigarette from his pocket and lights it. 

"Her house is wrecked!"  complains Phera.  "You took your temper too far!"

"So?"  mutters Seth as he raises his brows.  "I'll fix it tomorrow;"

"She was shaken!"  gasps Phera as she begins to grow attracted to the scent of cigarette.  "She said you hit her!"

"Oh?"  asks Seth as he scrates his brow for a quick moment.  "So?"

"So!"  snaps Phera before she catches her mood swing and tucks it under her shirt collar.  "So, I have to tell you something;"  mutters Phera as she gathers her wits together.

"What?"  asks Seth as he draws in another breath of cigarette.

"I asked Amber to tell you that you looked mad!"  gasps Phera as she feels her shivers race down her spine.  "I feel guilty that you hit her;"

Seth shrugs and he flicks the cigarette onto the cement before stubbing the item out with his eight shoe.  There is a moment of silence as the trees sway with the push of the wind, and then Seth clears his voice.

"That's nice;"  mutters Seth as he leans back a little to stare at Phera.  "I will tell Amber I am sorry;"  he adds before he allows more silence the hang around his lips.

"Tell her that I am sorry too;"  mutters Phera as she crosses her arms. 

Seth laughs a dry laugh and then he looks at Phera as though she has turned into a sweet-bread, one which he would like to devour.  Phera stares at him and feels her skin crawl.  She doesn't want to get any closer then she has, and to prove it she makes an excuse to step towards the door.

"I might go inside;"  tells Phera as she quietly moves towards the light.

"Why?"  asks Seth as he shrugs. 

"I want to talk to Heather;"  tells Phera as she waves.

Seth glares at Phera's shadow for a moment before he sighs.  He feels alone and he doesn't like to feel alone.  As the owls hoot in the far distance Seth takes his keys out from his hands and moves towards his car.  He feels like going for a drive, and he doesn't stop until he reaches Ambers home.


Inside of the hotel Phera finds Heather drinking wine in a darkened corner.  Heather is no longer interested in the party, she just wants to forget about it.  Phera smiles as she approaches, however as soon as she sits she loses her smile as she sees tears in Heather's eyes.

"What's the matter?"  asks Phera as she raises her brows.

"Seth ruined my night!"  tells Heather as she wipes a hand over her brow.  "He punched Brad so hard after he found us having a moment alone;"

"You should not have affairs so open;"  tells Phera as she reaches for a drink.

The patience string is broken in Heather's mind and she throws her wine at Phera until there is a stain on Phera's dress.

"Go home!"  screams Heather.  "Just go!"

Phera gathers up her skirt and then she stands -  she no longer wants to be Heather's friend, and so she leaves.


Seth parks in Ambers driveway and then he gets out.  The porch light turns on and he sees the mess he has created.  He whistles as he walks towards the door, and then he opens the door.  The house has glass shards all over the place and Seth breaks portions with his shoe as he strides inside.

"Amber!"  calls Seth as he trapses deeper inside of the house.

"Here!"  calls Amber from the study to the left.

Seth moves to the left, opens the door, and walks inside.  Amber is on the computer and she turns to Seth as he enters. 

"Hello there;"  mutters Amber as she takes her fingers away from the keyboard.  "Coming to fix up my broken house so soon?"  she asks.

"I said I would call someone in the morning;" tells Seth as he leans on a chair. 

"I wasn't going to go to bed since there is a robbers entrance blowing through the holes where there used to be windows;"  tells Amber.

"Well I can stay the night if you like;"  mutters Seth as he sits himself down onto the chair.  "I don't even need to sleep, I am wide awake;"

"Good then I can sleep!"  cheers Amber as she nods. 

"I might fall asleep too;"  tells  Seth before he smiles. 

"Then I'll stay awake;"  tells Amber as she turns her head to the computer.  "I am looking up buikders;'  she mutters.  "There are plenty here..."

"You need a glass re-staller;"  corrects Seth as he raises his brows.  I just broke your  two front windows;"  he scoffs.  "All the rest is just pot plants, ornaments, and light-bulbs.  I can pick them up from the store;"

Amber nods and types in glass re-installer on the search engine and a range of names pop up. 

"This is easy;"  she mutters as she begins to smile.  "It's only two-hundred dollars to fix up windows;"  she tells.

"Good;"  mutters Seth before he lights a cigarette.  "I don't want to pay a fortune for a drunk night!"

Amber looks to Seth as he smokes and wrinkles her nose.

"Could you do that outside?"  she asks as she clears her throat.

"No, inside is fine;"  mutters Seth before he begins to smoke.

Silence passes over Ambers ears and she turns to the computer to look up a few other things.  Her heart-beat rises inside of her chest as the niccotine is drunk through her nostrils.  After a while she is sick of the smell.

"I might go to bed;"  she tells Seth before she stands and leaves.

"I might play on your computer;"  mutters Seth before he moves into the seat she has vacated.


Phera drives through the dark with beams on high.  She is a little drunk, but she can still see the road.  Heather's road rings inside of her right eat 'go home!' she screams.  Phera sees blank rage and she bothers to grab Heathers shoulders to give her a shake; 'there's nothing wrong with me!' she screams back before a tree enters her windscreen and makes all of her pseudo wars end.


Seth smokes for a few hours and then he hears a creak.  He exits the study and looks at the front door, he strides to it and opens it -  there is nothing there.  Seth shrugs at the dark and then he closes it -  ice cold wind swarms through the open spaces where there had been windows and cook his skin.  Seth stands there for a long moment before he turns away from the window-frames -  he knows he will not feel guilt, he had just wanted to tell Amber how angry he was at her scene.

"But it was Phera's question;"  mutters Seth as he recalls the moment when he had struck at Amber face.  "Perhaps I shouldn't have done it..."  he mutters for one second before moving up the corridor. 

Seth moves to Ambers bedroom and looks at her laid on the bed.  She is a head amongst pillows, the rest of her is tucked tightly under warm bed-sheets.  Seth lights a cigarette and smokes -  Amber does not move.

"Sound asleep it seems;"  he mutters as he sits himself onto a chair.  "I can smoke all night..."  he adds before he begins to inhale.


Phera wakes up on the pillow of the steering wheel. She has banged her head and has a whip lash mark on her face.

"What happened?" she asks before she wanders outside.

Her car is mashed up against a tree and is barricaded by wild bushes.  Phera shakes her head as she looks at the scene.

"I must have driven off the road!"  she remarks before she reaches for her mobile. 

Phera uses online tracking to find out where she is, then she orders for help.  After ordering for help Phera moves to the back of the car and lays down -  she is exhausted, and she feels dizzy inside of her head.

"This has been a rotten weekend;"  she mutters as she slips a hand over her brow.  "I can't wait to get home!"  she sighs.


In the morning Amber wakes and smells cigarette smoke.  She looks around the room but there is no one there.  Amber sits up and then she breathes in once again.

"It smells worse then a pub!"  she gasps before she gets up to open a window.

Ice cool morning air welcomes Amber and she shivers inside of her skin before she moves to see what Seth is up to.  In the foyer Seth is cleaning as a window re-installer measures the windows at the front of the house.  Amber hides herself and then she moves back to her bedroom to get dressed.


"How are you this morning Seth?"  asks Amber as she heads to the front of the house.

"Good;"  mutters Seth as he stops cleaning.  "I'm fixing up the house;"  he adds.  "It will be good as new within a few days;"  he tells.

"Good!"  cheers Amber before the window re-installer calls to Seth who moves towards him in an instant. 

Amber watches as Seth discusses what to do with the windows.  As Seth talks Amber feels a kick inside of her chest -  she is glad that he is there to help her fix up the mess he has made.  Amber moves towards the kitchen as she realizes that she is leering, and there she makes herself a morning coffee.

"I am so glad that things are going to be okay;"  she mutters as she looks at the morning sun as it turns the dew droplets on the widow into diamons that sparkle and create little rainbows for Ambers thoughts to settle on.