Sorry Not Sorry

-7 🧸

He chuckles at me. "Why I'm such a dry texter, y'know?"

His eyes sparkle as the sunlight hits them through the screen. "Sure" I gulp.

-

"I'm dyslexic." He says, scratching his chin.

"Oh yeah?" I say.

"Yep. Diagnosed in primary school. Positive was that I got extra help- Negative is that I needed extra help."

"We've both got our problems then." I chuckle.

"Try not to take it to heart if I spell your name wrong." He jokes.

"Try not to take it to heart if I snap and start screaming and crying in class one day."

He looks at me. "Has that happened before?"

"As a child, yeah. But back then people just chalked it up as a tantrum. A mixture of Anger Issues and Anxiety just makes you different I guess."

"You have Anxiety." He asks, but it sounds more like a statement.

"Yeah, it was worse back then... But it never really goes away, you know?"

"I get it."

"The most recent thing was probably... First day of class. Mini panic attack when I dropped the rope."

"Seriously? I feel so bad now, I laughed at you then. I thought you were just really awkward." He buries his face in his hands, and the blanket slipped down a little, revealing a little stuffed animal.

"Is that a teddy?" I ask.

"Damn" he covers his face with a hand, the teddy in the other. It's actually a Squishmallow. "I was trying to hide her but now that you've seen her guess you gotta know all about her. My older sister used to collect them, and when she moved out she gifted this one to me. Her name is... Avery." It's a little duck.

"Do you have any more?" I ask.

"I have a few bag clips, but I have this other one-" he leans over the side of his bed, and I blush from being flashed by his bare back. He pulls out a giant frog.

"Woah!" I say.

"Biggest size they come." He laughs. "Her names Wendy."

I smile at him. I screenshot the picture of him with his head on the massive Squishmallow. He scrambles over to the phone, flicking the frog off the bed. "Did you just screenshot!?" He growls, "You better delete that!"

"Seriously? We'll have to take pictures together in real life then. "

"You don't have to delete it." He says.

"I wasn't planning on it." I giggle.

Suddenly my stomach drops and I feel sick.
I go quiet as he keeps talking.

"Xavier? Are you ok?"

I run a hand through my hair, shaking my head. "Not really."

"What's wrong? How can I help?"

"There's not much you can do, just be there-" I choke up, burying my head in my pillows. My door creaks open.

"What's all this racquet in here?" Mum says.

"Mum!" My face lights up. My heart slows back to normal, and my throat opens back up. My headache slowly dissipates, and I pull her over. "Meet my friend."

"Wow, she really helped you huh?" I nod in response to his question.

She comes into the frame of the camera. "Nice to meet you, young man."

"You too, Xavier's mum."

She laughs. "Tanya will do. Now what are you two doing up this early?"

"He butt dialed me" Max says as I say, "I face dialed him."

"Hey!" I say, "It was not my butt."

"Whatever it was, I've cooked breakfast for you, Xavier, come out when you're ready."

"I'll be out in three secs, Mum. Just let me say bye." I smile up at her.

She leaves my room and I'm left with Max. "She seems really nice." He says.

"Yeah, she's the best." Max looks kind of down and so I ask him. "Are yours...not?"

He shakes his head. "We can talk about that another time, though. Promise. You have breakfast to eat." He smirks.

I smile at his face "Bye." I say, as he hangs up.

I put my phone down on the table, sitting down next to my mum. "He seemed really nice. " she said.

I giggle.

"Did you just giggle?" She mocks, biting her Avocado toast.

"Yeah he said the exact same thing about you."

We talk through breakfast, and I thank her for coming in-since I was having another small panick attack.

She asks me what I think caused it, and I say I don't know. "We know they can come at the randomest times, sometimes." I say.

She nods. "Of course."

"Thank you for breakfast, mum. I'm going to go have a walk."

"Have fun." She says.

-

I pull my sneakers on, walking into the blaring heat. By the time I'm at the cafe and back, my back will be covered in sweat and I'll be dripping. Perfect. I set off anyway, backpack secured firmly on my back. My phone buzzes in my pocket and I pick it out. 'I heard you and Max had a nice talk.' Kitty messaged me, 'he won't stop talking. '

My face flushes, and I shove the phone back into my pocket, unsure of how to answer.

I open the door to the cafe, the little bell on the door announcing my arrival with a ding.
I walk over to the counter, ordering my usual coffee. I sit down on one of the tables, out looking the street.

I sip my coffee, opening my book. I read, but I cant keep my mind off of my conversation with Max. I finish my coffee and pack up my stuff. I wave the barista a goodbye and exit the door.

I kinda can't help it anymore so I pull out my phone, select Max's name and press call.

"Hey." He says. He's sitting on a couch, and I recognise it as Kitty's.

"Hey. I'm just walking back from a cafe and thought I'd call again." I said.

"That's cool with me." He laughs. "Danny and Kitty are here. And... Well you'll see." He pauses. "Kitty wants you to come visit. Can I pick you up?" He says.

"Sure, meet at the gas station, I guess."

He nods. "Is that Xavier?" I hear a voice say on the other side of the phone.

"Who else!" Max says.

"Xavier!" Kitty says. "I can't wait to see you! I have something... Important to tell you!"

-