With Me | Chris Sturniolo

19

The drive back to my house was a stressful one. I tried calling Chris' phone every five minutes, and I worried every time it went to voicemail. Twenty minutes after we left the tracks, Madison answered her phone. She confirmed that Matt and Jack are with them. She also said that Chris wasn't answering her calls either.

Now it was two in the morning, and we were all on my porch, worried about Chris. None of us were comfortable enough to call it a night until we know if he got arrested or not.

I thought my mom would be back from work around three or four in the morning, but the car in the garage tells me she's already home. At least she's asleep, so I don't have to explain why we're all out on the porch in the cold. Let's be real, she probably wouldn't care anyway.

A car turned on to my street, the bright headlights lighting up the dark houses.

"Is that...?"

The car passed my house and continued down the street, answering Callie's question.

"Should we call him again?" Matt asked. "Maybe he'll answer the twentieth call in the last hour?"

"He's driving, that's probably why he isn't answering his phone" Nate reasoned, but we can tell it wasn't with much conviction.

"Maybe I should drive to his house , just in case he decides to go home instead"

"If he shows up anywhere, it'll be here. He said he would meet us here, he'll be here" I said with as much confidence as I can.

"It's been an hour since the cops showed up, maybe we should talk about bail money-"

"He didn't get caught!" I protested

"Maybe we should turn on the news and check if there was high speed police chases" Jack said, half joking.

"He couldn't have gotten arrested. We have an unspoken blood pact that one of us can't arrested unless another one of us is there beside him" Matt explained his backwards logic.

"That's only true when you do something stupid, Matt. Not illegal street racing and gambling" Jack corrected him.

"Being a street racer who wouldn't outrace cops would be stupid!" Matt explained. "He can't get arrested because one of us isn't sitting in the jail cell with him"

We rolled our eyes, but I was secretly glad off Matt's talent to cut tension.

"Matt, no one knows about this stupid blood pact-" Mike was cut off by the sound of Chris' car coming down the street.

A chorus of relieved sighs could be heard as the car stopped in front of my house, and Chris got out of it. I resist the urge to throw myself into Chris' arms. He walked up to the porch and we all break into smiles.

"See! I told you! Tell them about the blood pact, Chris!"

Chris looked at Matt confused. "What?"

"He knows" Matt said to Callie, who was standing beside him.

Chris comes up to me and wraps his arms around me, and I pull him closer, resting my head on his chest, happy he was okay.

"Why didn't you answer your phone, asshole?" Madison scolded him. "You had us worried sick!"

Chris released his hold on me, but kept an arm over my shoulders.

I don't know what we are. It's not like we went on a date, or even kissed. But being with him felt natural, comfortable and warm. It made me feel safe.

"I dropped it"

"That sucks" Matt said. "Some hobo is going to hear my voicemails and fall in love with me. I'm going to have to change my number. I don't want to be hobo stalked"

"You won't be hobo stalked" Madison said, rolling her eyes.

"It has a password" Chris told him.

Mine has a password too. After I dropped it at the Halloween party and Chris returned it after going through it, I learned my lesson.

"Why did it take you an hour to get here? It didn't take us that long" I asked, wondering if he did actually get caught up in a high speed police chase.

"They blocked the main roads. I had to go around the long way" Chris explained.

"The real question we should be asking is 'what the fuck?'" Matt exclaimed

"Matt's right" Mike nodded. "The cops have never shown up"

"It's obvious they were called. They didn't just stumble on it" Nate added

"Funny how they showed up after Justin's ass was whipped and he and his friends left..." Madison trailed off, leaving us to pick up her thoughts.

"You don't think-"

"I do" Madison answered Callie.

"But if he called them, he can't go back ever again. They can't use that spot anymore if the cops know about it. Doesn't he make his money there?" I asked

"I think in the moment, he was pissed at Chris and at losing, and like everything else, he let his anger fuel him" Mike reasoned

"Calling the cops is a Justin move" Nate agreed.

I shifted my head on Chris' chest and looked up at him. "Would he do that?"

"He probably did"

"What are you going to do about it? We have to get him back!" Madison pressed for revenge, glad she has somewhere to direct her anger after her encounter with Luke.

Everyone agrees and starts thinking of ways to get Justin back, but I tensed up, and Chris noticed. This is just like my car all over again, everyone thinking of ways to get Justin back and me not wanting them to do anything about it.

Chris used the hand that's around my shoulder to rub my arm, "What's wrong?" He asked gently.

"We shouldn't retaliate"

"What? Why the hell not?" Madison asked

"They almost got us arrested, Sabrina. Arrested!" Matt exclaimed

"Not to mention that was how we made our money. What's Chris going to do now? He can't even make a quarter of that much in a part time job!" Nate added, growing more angry at the situation.

"Getting him back won't make me money" Chris reasoned.

"Chris, this affects you more than any of us. You should be more pissed. You can't tell me you don't want to get him back" Mike said

Chris looked down at me, making eye contact and seeing the desperation in my eyes, then he looked back at everyone. "We don't know that it was him"

My heart swelled knowing Chris was holding back his anger for me. His ability to see truth in a situation allowed him to see that I was uncomfortable.

"Whether he did or not, we can't do anything to him" I explained, trying to convince them to see my point of view. "I said it before, but if we get him back, he'll get us back and it'll keep going. He broke the law to wreck my car, and now he called the cops to get us arrested. The next step is stabbing us or something, so can we be the bigger people and let it go?"

"I agree with Sabrina, it's getting out of hand" Callie said quietly.

"What is wrong with you guys? We have to hit back harder!" Madison snapped, growing more angry.

She hadn't calmed down from her confrontation with her brother. Sure, she's aggressive, and I know she's not all talk- she would fight Justin- but the anger is probably rooted deeper than just him.

Mike picked up on it as well. "It's late. We're all tired. Why don't we get some sleep and talk about it later?"