Autumn Leaves (Watty Awards 2013)(Editing)

Chapter 8

At 5:30 Tyler decided it was time to get out of bed. He had been trying to sleep since midnight, and so far had not fallen asleep once. He threw the covers off of himself and walked across the room to his dresser. He pulled on a pair of gym shorts and a sweatshirt. He went to the kitchen to get some water.

When he got into the hallway, he noticed that all of the lights were on in the apartment. He found Freddy in the kitchen, looking worse than Tyler felt. He had his head in his hands, staring down at a thick textbook. He looked up when he heard footsteps.

“Dude what are you doing up? It’s like five in the morning,” he asked Tyler.

“Couldn’t sleep,” he responded as he opened the fridge.

“I’m sorry we got in a fight last night. I was really on edge the whole day. I was a jerk.”

Tyler stopped mid pour and placed their Brita filter on the counter.

“It’s alright. I can’t stay mad at you. But I’m serious about Nicki. We are just friends. And nothing else. I can’t go there.”

“You can’t, or you won’t?” Freddy asked. “I’m sorry. We don’t have to talk about it. I guess I just thought the two of you had chemistry, that’s all. And she looked seriously happy with you. Which is saying a lot for someone who went through what she did.”

“I won’t go there. I don’t even think she likes me like that. I don’t care.”

“So you won’t care if I ask her out on a date?”

Tyler glared at him. “Are you serious? No, I don’t give a shit. Go ahead.”

“Okay,” Freddy said, “Give me her number.”

Tyler went in his room to get his phone. What the hell was he trying to do? Make him jealous? They were just friends. Still, a part of him didn’t want to give Freddy her phone number. He doubted that she would even say yes. He grabbed his phone and went back to the kitchen. He gave Freddy her number.

“I’ll call right now,” he said.

“Are you crazy? It’s not even six yet!”

“Listen Ty. This girl probably doesn’t sleep much. And if I wake her up, I’m sure she’ll forgive me. Plus I have to leave at seven and won’t be back until late tonight.”

Tyler pulled out a chair and sat down, wanting to see what Nicki would say to him. Freddy put the phone on speaker.

“Hello?” Her voice sounded three octaves deeper than normal.

“Nicki? It’s Freddy. Tyler’s roommate.”

“What? Is he okay?” She asked. She woke up awfully fast.

“Oh, yeah, he’s fine. Sorry to call this early, did I wake you up?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it. It’s the first time I’ve slept through the night in God knows how long,” she responded.

Freddy raised an eyebrow at Tyler, as if he was trying to tell him something. He didn’t know what he was trying to get at.

“I was just wondering if you wanted to go out on a date with me.”

“What?” She asked, confused.

“Yeah, I wanted to know if you’d go out with me sometime. Maybe tomorrow night?”

“I have a game,” Tyler mouthed. They were playing the Penguins tomorrow. He thought Freddy was coming.

“I know,” he mouthed back.