Ghost Flowers

22. The Phone Call

When Savana got home, she noticed Gavin's truck was missing. She walked inside the dark house and turned on the kitchen light. There was a note on the counter.

- Hey, kiddo, I hope you had a good night and got home safe. I hope you remember I'm spending the night at Jacklyn's house. I'll be home tomorrow afternoon. I'll bring dinner. Love you, Dad. -

She forgot about him staying at Jacklyn's. It was still weird for her to think of her dad dating Jacklyn and spending the night at her house. Savana agreed to meet her the day before. Gavin invited Jacklyn over for dinner. Her daughter, Jade, was at her dad's for Father's Day weekend. Savana thought Jacklyn seemed pretty decent. Just different. It was awkward. Savana didn't know what to say.

Gavin never spent a night away from home since mom died unless he had to for work. Even then, that meant Jesimae would stay the night with her. Now, her dad spends Father's Day with his new girlfriend.

The urge to cry swept over her suddenly. Even though she was alone, she fought it. She felt lonely and needed to talk to someone about what had happened with Michael. She couldn't speak to her dad about it even if Gavin were home. She couldn't talk to Cully either. Even with Faye, Savana knew she would be pressured to tell Cully.

Ezra could help. Savana tried calling him but got no answer. She thought about calling Damon but remembered how he walked away from her and didn't speak to her the rest of the night. Someone else popped into her head.

"Hello?" A sleepy voice answered.

"Um, hi. Sorry for calling so late. I know you have to work tomorrow." Savana said quietly.

"No, it's okay. What's up?" Landon asked.

"I just needed someone to talk to." Savana choked up again.

"Savana, what's wrong?" Landon's voice was soft.

Savana started crying. "I just don't know what to do."

"You can talk to me. What happened? Did you and your dad fight again?"

Savana filled Landon in the other day at work about what had happened between her and her dad. For some reason, she felt she could talk to him about anything now. They even laughed at Savana seeing Michael half-naked in her bathroom. Two weeks ago, she never imagined they would become friends like this.

"No, it's just so weird that he's dating. He's spending the night with her. I'm not used to being home alone at night." Savana sniffled. "It's actually freaking me out a little bit and I feel dumb about it. I used to tell my dad that I could handle things without him. I'm a big girl." Savana laughed. "That's dumb right?"

"Hey, I know what it's like to suddenly be alone. Hell, sometimes I still have trouble with it. Since my dad died and my mom took off, I've been alone at night unless I end up passing out at someone's house party." Landon sighed softly.

Savana couldn't imagine Gavin leaving after Bellamere died. What kind of parent would do that to their kid? She understood why Landon drank so much and always wanted to be at parties. He didn't want to feel alone.

"I'm sorry Landon. I feel like my problems are nothing." Savana calmed down.

"No, don't think that." Landon wanted to make her smile. "Just because I've been through some bad shit doesn't mean your shit doesn't stink just as much."

Savana laughed, "Wow, you're so deep."

"Yeah, so deep," Landon said sarcastically. After silence, he asked her, "Was something else going on? I noticed that you and Damon were inside Cully's house, and when you came back out, you looked upset. Did he say something to you?" Landon was trying to avoid sounding jealous.

Savana sighed. She had second thoughts about telling anyone now. What if it comes back to Cully? She promised Cully nothing would happen between her and Michael again. There's definitely something going on with Cully's parents. At the sleepover, she saw how weird they were towards each other that night.

"Oh, no. I've felt alone lately. I tried calling Ezra but he didn't answer." Savana hoped Landon wouldn't ask about it anymore.

"Oh, I see. So, I was your last option, huh?" Landon chuckled. He didn't believe nothing else was wrong.

"Hey! I could have called others before you. So, you were my second choice." Savana giggled.

"I guess I should be happy then. I'm sure there's lots of guys you could have called and they would have been thrilled." Landon clenched his jaw.

"I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not." Savana groaned.

"I'm not. I'm sure you have many guys interested in you. I'm actually surprised I haven't seen you with a boyfriend at the lake."

Savana blushed. "No. There's no one interested in me like that." She thought about Haden rejecting her.

"Well, that's hard to believe. You're hot." Landon said confidently.

Savana could feel her heart beating faster and her stomach flying out of her body. "Whatever, you just think I'm annoying." She awkwardly laughed.

"I mean sometimes." Landon laughed. "But you are really pretty. And you're funny and sweet. You really don't deserve to feel alone."

Savana didn't know what to say. She had never heard anyone outside her family call her pretty. She felt awkward but happy. "Well, I guess you turned out alright."

Landon laughed, "You and Ezra helped me out and gave me a chance. I really appreciate you guys."

Suddenly Damon popped into Savana's thoughts. "So why doesn't Damon like you?"

Landon tensed up. "I don't know. The only thing I can think of is that I probably did something dumb to him while drunk and I don't remember. And whenever I ask him what his problem is with me, he ignores me."

"Hmm. I tried asking him about it before. He said something about seeing you drunk lots of times. So you're probably right. But hopefully maybe he'll see how you're doing better and he won't be a dick to you anymore." Savana was hopeful. She liked Damon for the most part. But she wouldn't want him hanging around if he was a dick to a friend.

Landon scoffed. "Yeah, I doubt that."

Savana wondered what he meant by that. Especially since he doesn't even know what he did to make Damon hate him. Savana wanted to ask him something else but looked at the time.

"Oh my god, it's late! You need to sleep for work tomorrow. Trust me, you do not want to be late. Jesimae will kick your ass." Savana warned him.

Landon laughed. "I know. You go get some sleep too."

"Goodnight." Savana ended the call and stared at her ceiling. She replayed their conversation before falling asleep.

Outside her window, someone was watching her. They were fighting the urge to take the opportunity of her being alone. Luckily, listening to her talk on the phone made them realize he would have more opportunities in the future. He could take all the time he needed.