Do I Want To Know?

Chapter 20- Rebound

   Callie sat next to Ned on a cushy couch, tucked in the corner of the hotel lobby. They stayed on either end, each not wanting to get too close to the other, but getting lost in conversation anyway. It mostly consisted of thinly-veiled complaining of everything they had gone through, but they both knew how much they needed it.

   There was so much to unpack, and who better to unpack it with than the person going through the same thing?

   Not to mention, they didn't really have anyone else they could talk to.

   "Frank and I have been friends since we started high school... He was like the nerdy, awkward type." Ned chuckled a bit at that,

   "Was?" He asked, hanging his arm over the back of the couch. Callie smiled a little,

   "You have a point. It's why I liked him then, and it's why I like him now. He was always himself: nervous, but witty, a little too serious at times. He was loyal, too." Ned heard Callie's voice start to shy away.

   "I guess that's why I was a little surprised when he... you know. With Nancy." She continued, softly. Ned let out a hum,

   "Yeah. I know." He replied just as softly. The conversation lulled slightly after that, their lighthearted banter confronted with the reality of their situation.

   Callie was surprised at how relieving it felt to tell Ned everything she had kept bottled up for too long. She felt understood, and comforted, things she hadn't experienced in forever.

   And yet, it was bittersweet.

   "You didn't seem all that surprised, though." Callie spoke eventually, hesitation in her tone. Ordinarily she would just say what was on her mind, but it was hard to do that now.

   "Only that she didn't tell me." Ned replied easily. Callie crossed her arms, leaning back against the couch cushions. She stared ahead of her, biting her lip with uncertainty.

   It was easy for her to hate Nancy, and assume horrible things about the way she treated Ned in their relationship.

   It was harder to ask him to confirm them.

   Ned seemed to notice her body language, and he actually chuckled a little,

   "You look like you're pondering." He smiled amusedly, and Callie felt a pang of some emotion she couldn't quite place in her chest.

   "I just... Why weren't you surprised?" She let herself ask, tucking a piece of her brown hair behind her ear. Ned inhaled deeply, letting the breath out after holding it for a bit.

   "Nancy's a free spirit, in more ways than one. At least that's what I told myself." He paused, and Callie just waited for him to continue. Ned brought his hands together, clasping his fingers,

   "Maybe she just didn't like me all that much. Maybe that's why she always..." He trailed off again, but Callie was beginning to put the pieces together. What Frank did had been out of character from Callie's perspective, but for Nancy, maybe it was second nature. Callie was beginning to feel her hatred for Nancy spill over. How dare she be such a coward, and put Ned through the wringer while she was at it.

   "Well then I hope Frank knows what he's getting himself into with her." She noted bitterly. Ned chuckled again, more uneasily. Callie was surprised when he shook his head,

   "It's different, I think. You should see the way they look at each other." Callie couldn't help but roll her eyes at that comment,

   "Oh I've seen it." She complained, and once again Ned smiled. Maybe he felt understood, too.