After hours

Chapter Thirty-One

I didn't call a cab though. I called Daniel.

He answered on the third ring in a low voice. "Hello?"

"Hey." I muttered. I was so stupid for calling him now. I wasn't through being furious at him, I might never be. I'd grown dependent on Daniel though. He was my umbrella in a rain storm and my coat during the blizzard, just like he had said a relationship was supposed to be.

I didn't have that many good friends, my sister and I had been close in age and had mostly stuck together. When we decided to move to the city we left everyone else behind. Now when I was upset I had only two people to run to. Amy, who I came to when Daniel had brought me down a few notches; or Daniel who I was supposed to be angry with.

In her attempts to make me see some sort of bullshit light about how I needed to stay away from Daniel, Amy had left me with no other choice but to run to him.

"What's wrong?"

"Why does something have to be wrong for me to call you? Don't you want to talk to me?"

"Of course I do. But a few hours ago you had a loaded shotgun to my head, and I know you well enough to know your tone when you're upset."

"It's just...my damn sister. She's so judgmental sometimes."

"Oh. I'm sorry." He said and I imagined him rubbing the back of his neck as he often did when he didn't know what else to say.

"Can you please come and get me?"

"Are you armed?" He teased over the line.

"This isn't funny Daniel. I'm still really angry with you, and very hurt. I just don't have any other option short of calling a cab."

"Of course I'll pick you up."

"Thanks." I muttered. After telling Daniel where I was I sat outside on a bench and waiting. I didn't have to wait long before his familiar car pulled up in front of me.

"Hey." He said with a guarded tone as I climbed into the passenger seat.

"Hi. Please just take me home and no I don't want to talk things through." I said and turned my attention out the window. I was waiting, waiting for him to try to talk to me. Waiting for essentially twelve years before I turned around to face him. "You don't have anything to say?"

"I didn't know I was allowed to say anything."

"And you let that stop you?" I whined.

He sighed heavily. "Ryan. I know you're younger than I, but please." I felt embarrassed suddenly. "I don't want to play childish games. If you tell me you don't want to talk I'm going to assume that you do indeed not want to talk."

"So what you're saying is you won't fight for me?" I challenged.

"You know that's not what I'm saying. I'm going to fight for you always, but I'm not going to fight with you. Not about something stupid like whether or not I'm going to talk to you when I take you home."

"Earlier you said you wanted to talk." I was feeling hurt now and doubting how serious he was about this. I was always doubting him. He smirked slightly and it made me half tempted to reach across the car and smack him. There was hardly anything funny going on here.