Talk To Me

Oliver

Noah throws his entire torso and head back while laughing, almost toppling out of his chair as Junia and I stare at him unamused. His entire abdomen rapidly inflates as a horrid sound comes out of his mouth once again. This motherfucker is laughing at himself hiccuping and making it worse.

"Babe!" Junia says in a worried tone, reaching over and putting a hand on his arm as he hiccups again.

His usual calm laughter has erupted into bellows that have the tables around us looking at us weirdly. "I'm-" he snorts and slaps the table as another hiccup surfaces. "I'm okay." He wheezes, barely able to get the words out due to his lack of breath.

"Holy shit. Calm down." I stifle my laughter, having to pull my lips inward and look down at my empty lap.

I take a peek at Junia who is giving me the side eye with the right corner of her lips pulled up. The moment we see each other we spit out the breaths we had just drawn, making the situation worse. "Stop it!" She backhands my chest as I laugh at the repetition of hiccups from across the table.

Noah puts a tattooed hand over his chest and makes a face like he's in pain. "Owww." He croaks, his lips turning upside down to create a pout.

My attention is brought away from him when my phone buzzes, lighting up with a call. My face drops and my heart nearly stops beating. Her blue eyes squinted from the smile formed on her lips appear on my screen. The same, beautiful face I've been trying to get out of my mind. "Mar baby" it reads at the top of the screen. I never changed her name.

"Uh-" I clear my throat and stand up, grabbing my phone. "I'll be back." I tell the couple, speed walking out of the restaurant.

I click accept and hesitantly raise the phone to my ear. "Mariah.."

I hear a relieved sigh from her. "Oliver... hi." She says.

I exhale harshly and stare at the ground under my feet, staying silent until I can get my words out. "Are you okay? Why are you calling?"

She walked out on me. She has no reason to call. Money? Her family is rich, get it from them. Sex? She's beautiful, get it from anyone. Conversation? She has a million friends, talk to them.

"I wanted to check in on you. How are you doing? I-" she cuts herself off, just clearing her throat.

"I'm..." I shift my eyes to the right and see Noah making his way toward me. "I'm fine. What do you need?"

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I shouldn't have walked out. I was stupid." Her voice breaks halfway through and I scoff. I don't say anything as the tears well up in my eyes. Mariah catches the silence and draws in a breath. "You don't have to accept my apology, but I want to come back. I miss you." She whispers the last three words.

"Ya know," I start. "If you would've told me that a week and a half ago, I'd be on my way home to unlock the door for you." I blink the few tears away as Noah finds himself at my side.

She doesn't say anything for a second, probably realizing I won't let her come in and out of my life whenever. "I understand." She sniffles.

I wave Noah off but he doesn't move. "You left me, Mariah. You took everything but your memory and the ring with no warning. So, I'm sorry that I can't let you come back." I go to hang up but she quickly speaks.

"I miss us!" She blurts out. "Everything about us. You treated me so well and I got scared. I was scared that I wouldn't..." she chokes up. "That I wouldn't be enough for you."

Noah tries to grab my phone and I slap his hand away, getting a wince from him. "I wouldn't have given you a ring and planned a whole future with kids with you if you weren't enough." I explain, putting a hand on my hip.