By Chance

31 - Genevieve

 "Hey, Tom," I greeted, a grin upon my lips.

"Hey, Genevieve. Whatcha need?" he asked, seeming preoccupied.

Even though we were like family, I decided to be cordial.

"Did I catch you at a bad time? Should I call back?" I asked, hearing some faint background noise that included shushing.

"No, no, you're fine," he said quickly, letting out a nervous laugh.

"Are you sure?" I asked, my voice raising in suspicion along with my eyebrows.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure. What was the reason for your call?" he asked as if he was on a business call, his tone serious and straight-to-the-point. I rolled my eyes and groaned, releasing my back from the doorframe.

"I'm not about to tell you you didn't get the part, Tom. I'm not your manager. Stop acting like I am," I said, jokingly annoyed while letting a laugh slip.

"Oh, right. Sorry. Been getting too many of those lately. Guess I assume they're all the same." He laughed while maintaining a calm tone of voice. "Okay, let's restart. Whatcha need, sis?"

At first, I was a little bit caught off guard at the newfound nickname, but I chose to roll with it and not let it go to my head. As I was about to respond, I heard snickering from the other end of the phone, immediately realizing what was happening. This has happened many times before, and it took me a while at first to catch onto the fact that the Holland brothers aren't big on private phone calls.

"Which brother is it this time?" I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"Hey Gen," A familiar voice answered. I nodded as I concluded that the person who just spoke was indeed Harry's twin.

"Hey there, Sam. I wasn't aware this was going to be a conference call, Tom," I complained through a groan, walking around my dorm room. "I mean, what if I were to disclose some personal info that involves you-"

"Genevieve," he warned. I went on.

"-flexing your muscles-"

"GEN-"

"-pretending there was a girl in your room!"

"GENEVIEVE!"

I was beside myself with laughter, shaking my head as I wiped the few tears from my eyes that managed to escape.

"I've told you a thousand times, Tom. About time you finally learned your lesson." I heard a few chuckles behind the phone, the noise now muffled by the side of Tom's face. "You enjoying that, Sam?"

Even though I had yelled it for him to hear, I wasn't sure he had.

"You act like I haven't caught him doing that before!" he shouted in response, giving me my answer. I chuckled, shaking my head as I heard Tom's audible scowl.

"You're going to pay, Grant."

"Yeah, well, I'm about to give you a grand opportunity. I'm flying out Thursday to surprise Harry because I have a three-day weekend, and I want to spend it all with you guys. Teachers can't beat me when I'm determined to do something. Suckers," I laughed inwardly, praising my determination to finish all my homework before tomorrow.

"Despite the extenuating circumstances, we'll be glad to have you and whatnot," he muttered in an annoyed tone. I could smell the sarcasm almost 4,000 miles away. "As for me, I couldn't care less."
"Yeah, right," I answered doubtfully, rolling my eyes. "Be a dear and pick me up from the airport at three sharp Thursday, okay? And I mean three in the afternoon, not the morning, like that one time."

The huff I exhaled brought back an avalanche of memories.

"Yes, yes, three A.M., not P.M.-"

"P.M. not A.M., Tom!" I corrected frantically, hand on the side of my head.

"Sorry, sorry. Yes, afternoon, not morning. Got it," he said through a relieved sigh, obviously recalling when he wanted to make sure he got to the airport nice and early to pick me up...12 hours early, that is. I just hoped I'd be able to get a ride this time. Either that or he will be out forty euros for a cab again.

"Alright, I guess that's it. Just make sure no one knows about this, especially Paddy. I know he's like, old now, but I know he still likes some gossip, so keep it all under wraps. Nikki and Dom don't even know."

He paused.

"What about Sam?"

I heard a loud but muffled, "Hm?" come from the other end of the line. I smiled to myself.

"No, he doesn't know yet. The fewer people that know, the better."

"Scouts honor," he said way too seriously, making me laugh. I missed his ridiculousness. I wondered how so many girls could envy me. Then I remembered who I was talking to.

"Alright, well, I'm going to go. I'll see you in three days at three in the afternoon," I said knowingly, wanting to make sure I made it clear one last time so I could rest at ease.

"Yes, yes. Sounds swell. I'll um-" He paused. I could tell he was thinking of a better way to see "see you then" without saying it. "I'll see ya."

"See ya."

And with that, the call was over. I sighed, turning my head and bringing my eyes to face the open suitcase on my bed. The past week had been a whirlwind. While I had been getting ready to pack a few days prior, I got a frantic call from Jenna. She was freaking out about some guy she had been eyeing for a while. He liked one of her Instagram posts and was convinced that was his way of asking her out (I had to talk her down from sending the confirmation text). My mom announced she had apparently gone on a date with a guy she met at the grocery store, and to top it all off, I had started rereading the Twilight books. So, yeah, that was a complete rollercoaster, especially the last thing.

I had been so focused on seeing Harry that I could barely focus on my studies. I still had three years left of college, so if I planned on seeing him during that time, I needed to get my act together. But, what he didn't know was that I planned on transferring to a local university only ten minutes away from where he lived when I got my general education classes over and done with. That was the main reason I planned this last-minute trip. As far as he knew, I was planning when I always came: the middle of the third week every month. But I had a feeling that he wouldn't pass up the opportunity to see me sooner.

Like I said, it was just a feeling.