A Family Podcast (english)

Chapter 14

Jackson

"Sure, we could buy ice cream with the money Taylor gave us, or..." I pointed to the huge movie poster behind me. "We could go to the cinema."

"But that looks scary" Coulder looked doubtfully at the giant poster, featuring a horror clown with a row of sharp teeth staring down at us.

"Urgh, but you like clowns" I replied annoyed. "Don't be such a baby, it'll be fun."

"I'm not a baby!" Coulder crossed his arms defiantly.

I grinned. "Prove it."

And then we went to the cinema. We usually never went to the movies because it was a waste of money, but now that Taylor gave us the green light, we might as well take advantage of it. Killer Clowns was a horror movie I really wanted to see, and this was the perfect opportunity.

We sat towards the back, and I stared at the screen, captivated. Let's see if the movie was really as scary as everyone says...

__________

Taylor

I drove so fast that I covered the distance twice as quickly as usual. Would Callie finally tell me something about her past? I made it pretty clear during our argument this morning that I didn't want to be just a temporary friend. I wanted the whole package. I wanted her to trust me. And I wanted to help her with whatever was weighing her down.

For some reason, I kept thinking about my dad. He and Mom hardly ever argued. But when she was mad at him once, he said that if someone meant something to you, you should deal with problems as quickly as possible. Or at least talk about them. And even though Dad hadn't been doing that for a long time now, he was right about that.

When I reached the address, I drove onto one of the adjacent lawns and turned off the engine. The building was a rental complex. Somewhat run-down, but that wasn't uncommon around here.

I texted Callie that I was there and entered the building. Once I found the right apartment number, I knocked. It only took a second for Callie to open the door. Seeing her, I was momentarily speechless, as always. She smiled cautiously, and automatically, a smile crept onto my face. Damn. This was going to be harder than I thought. We needed to resolve what happened this morning. I wanted to know what was going on and why she was so upset. I wouldn't be satisfied without an answer today.

Callie seemed to see my inner struggle and let out a soft sigh.

"Come in" she said, holding the door open.

The apartment was dark, and I was about to reach for the light switch when Callie interrupted me.

"Leave the light off" she said, and I looked at her suspiciously.

"What's this about?" I asked, confused because I had no idea what she had in mind.

Callie ignored my question, took my hand, and led me through the dark room toward her bed.

"Uh, listen, Callie, I don't know what you're planning, but I meant what I said. I don't just want..."

I fell silent as Callie turned around and handed me some sort of device. Puzzled, I took it and tried to make out what it was. It definitely wasn't a flashlight.

"What is this?"

"It's a night vision device" Callie climbed onto her bed and opened the window.

"You said you wanted to know something about my past. I understand that. Really! But it's really hard for me, and I'm sorry if I made you feel like I was keeping you at a distance. I don't want that" she smiled shyly and motioned for me to come closer.