Fic: Lightening
Title: Lightening
Word Prompt: #68
Word Count: 593
Rating: PG
Summary: Craig hates lonely nights
Author’s Notes:
Lightening lit the sky up. Twenty four year old Craig Manning lead his date from the limo. They were laughing. Both had a little too much to drink, their faces slightly red from the alcohol.
Another bolt of lightning made the sky turn silver. Sometimes Craig didn’t like the industry. They were all about image. It wasn’t like he thought it would be when he was sixteen.
It was about looking cool now. Fitting in. Seeing how much you could starve yourself before you died, about how many pills to take before your stomach was pumped, before they gave you an overdose.
Craig tried to stay away from that crowd but sometimes it was hard.
He’d only wanted to make music. To be on a stage and feel the heat of the lights. See the kids out in front, slowly nodding along to songs he’d wrote. Feeling that they were one, just for that single moment.
Some days that happened. Those were the good days.
And then you had days like this. Where it was all about image.
To chase the bitter thoughts away, Craig reached for the wet bar. He made himself a sweet and strong drink. Alcohol wasn’t the best thing in the world for him to have, not with his medication. He asked his date if she wanted something. She asked for some vodka and Red Bull. The skinny alcoholic drink. Craig made it for her.
The limo sped them along the highway. He’d drop her off at his house. Some nights Craig would bring a woman back just for some company. He didn’t have to try hard. All he had to do was look at a woman and she would seem to melt. His producer was jealous.
Women didn’t really matter to Craig much anymore. They were all the same, here in Hollywood. Fake and plastic. He thought of the sweet girls he’d known in his teen hood. Ashley. God, Ashley how long had it been since he’d heard that name? His sweetheart, the one he thought he’d end up with. She’d went touring with him in Europe. They became engaged. Things had been good.
But, with the first miscarriage Ashley had something changed. A baby that they had both wanted desperately left them before they could even know it. Ashley changed, became depressed. She wanted to go home. Craig talked her into therapy and for a while it seemed like things were good again. And then one day Craig came back to a hotel room to find a note. Ash had left him. She went home to Toronto.
Now she was married to Jimmy Brooks and they had a baby. He’d heard about it from Spinner and his wife Jane whom Craig had invited to come see a show. It had made him sick, mad and bitter.
At his home now, the skinny model dropped off Craig watched as lightning lit up the sky. He had a rolodex out and was drinking something harder. He picked up the phone, finding a familiar number.
A voice that was always here for him.
“Hi.” Craig said after the other end picked up. His voice slurred. “I just--I just--wanted to hear a friendly voice.”
“Is it lightening?” Manny Santos asked on the other end. She knew it was, it had to be. Craig only called when that happened, when he was drunk and lonely.
“Yeah. How’d you know?” Craig returned.
“Just a feeling. So Craig, what’s been going on?”
Finding a seat, Craig sat down intending to tell Manny everything. Again.
Word Prompt: #68
Word Count: 593
Rating: PG
Summary: Craig hates lonely nights
Author’s Notes:
Lightening lit the sky up. Twenty four year old Craig Manning lead his date from the limo. They were laughing. Both had a little too much to drink, their faces slightly red from the alcohol.
Another bolt of lightning made the sky turn silver. Sometimes Craig didn’t like the industry. They were all about image. It wasn’t like he thought it would be when he was sixteen.
It was about looking cool now. Fitting in. Seeing how much you could starve yourself before you died, about how many pills to take before your stomach was pumped, before they gave you an overdose.
Craig tried to stay away from that crowd but sometimes it was hard.
He’d only wanted to make music. To be on a stage and feel the heat of the lights. See the kids out in front, slowly nodding along to songs he’d wrote. Feeling that they were one, just for that single moment.
Some days that happened. Those were the good days.
And then you had days like this. Where it was all about image.
To chase the bitter thoughts away, Craig reached for the wet bar. He made himself a sweet and strong drink. Alcohol wasn’t the best thing in the world for him to have, not with his medication. He asked his date if she wanted something. She asked for some vodka and Red Bull. The skinny alcoholic drink. Craig made it for her.
The limo sped them along the highway. He’d drop her off at his house. Some nights Craig would bring a woman back just for some company. He didn’t have to try hard. All he had to do was look at a woman and she would seem to melt. His producer was jealous.
Women didn’t really matter to Craig much anymore. They were all the same, here in Hollywood. Fake and plastic. He thought of the sweet girls he’d known in his teen hood. Ashley. God, Ashley how long had it been since he’d heard that name? His sweetheart, the one he thought he’d end up with. She’d went touring with him in Europe. They became engaged. Things had been good.
But, with the first miscarriage Ashley had something changed. A baby that they had both wanted desperately left them before they could even know it. Ashley changed, became depressed. She wanted to go home. Craig talked her into therapy and for a while it seemed like things were good again. And then one day Craig came back to a hotel room to find a note. Ash had left him. She went home to Toronto.
Now she was married to Jimmy Brooks and they had a baby. He’d heard about it from Spinner and his wife Jane whom Craig had invited to come see a show. It had made him sick, mad and bitter.
At his home now, the skinny model dropped off Craig watched as lightning lit up the sky. He had a rolodex out and was drinking something harder. He picked up the phone, finding a familiar number.
A voice that was always here for him.
“Hi.” Craig said after the other end picked up. His voice slurred. “I just--I just--wanted to hear a friendly voice.”
“Is it lightening?” Manny Santos asked on the other end. She knew it was, it had to be. Craig only called when that happened, when he was drunk and lonely.
“Yeah. How’d you know?” Craig returned.
“Just a feeling. So Craig, what’s been going on?”
Finding a seat, Craig sat down intending to tell Manny everything. Again.