Rules of the Game

Winnie

  By the time we had gotten around to figuring out and writing down all the rules of our arrangement, there were about six missed calls on my phone. The no caller identification was enough to make my stomach twist and churn; I knew who it was.

  "Okay, so there's the last one." I scribbled the last rule and then signed my name before sliding it across the table to Chance. He looked over the page briefly before taking the bright blue pen from my hand, his fingers brushing against mine.
 
  The same jolt of electricity that shot through my body when we had first touched last night, rippled through me again. I quickly pulled my hand back before he felt it.

  "Wait, are you serious about this one? No calls past 10pm?" Chance's face twisted into a look of boyish confusion and I laughed. "What if I'm having an emergency or need to rant about Isabel?"

  "I'm not your therapist, DeLuca," I replied, motioning to Baron. "That's what your best friend is for."
 
  Baron's brown eyes went wide and he shook his head vigorously. "Oh, no, I agree with Chance on this one; my therapist side is all worn out, it's time for someone else to take charge of that department."
 
  Chance shook his head. "Fuck off, both of you." His eyes scanned the page before a scowl broke across his face again. "What's this about me having to buy you flowers every week? Isabel never made me do that for her."

  "Maybe if you had, you wouldn't have broken up." I tapped the page with my index finger. "You don't have to do any of these. Think of them less as rules and more as guidelines, things a real girlfriend would like. If we were actually dating, you would want to do them."
 
  I could almost see the wheels turning in his head as he continued down the list, his mouth moving as he silently read them to himself. I laughed when he scowled again.

  "I agree with some of these, but a lot of them are a bit extra." He mumbled, more so to himself than to me. After about five minutes of him scrutinizing the page, he finally signed his name at the bottom next to mine.
 
  When he handed it back to me, I almost burst out at his signature. "Wow, you've got a real John Hancock here. We'll work on that."

  "My signature is fine, thank you very much." He shot me a lighthearted glare, the corners of his lips curling upwards in a smile.
 
  I stood up and grabbed my backpack, laughing under my breath. Chance DeLuca was something else.

  "Where are you going?" He asked, almost sincerely.

  "I have a busy schedule, Chance. I have things to do, people to meet." Phone calls to dodge.

  He nodded and then his eyes widened. "You missed a rule by the way. Probably the most important one, too."
 
  I sighed and looked down at him. "And which rule is that?"

  "Don't tell anyone."

  I smiled. "Duh, the first rule of fight club is don't talk about fight club." I turned on my heel and headed towards my car and laughed when I heard the poorly whispered, "Dude, she's seen Fight Club."
 
  Once I reached my car, I sat in silence. Running my hands across my face for several seconds, I composed myself. And then I reached for my phone. There was a text from Chance, telling me a wildly inappropriate joke, and then the six missed calls. From my father.
 
  I always dreaded his calls, even though I knew he wasn't allowed to make very many. Our calls were always very strained and tightlipped, at least from my end.
 
  He always wanted to act as though nothing had happened, as if we were just any other father/daughter duo. As if he wasn't in prison and calling me from a cell.
 
  He always begged me to come see him, but I couldn't. Not right now. Not yet.
 
  He had left a voicemail and my thumb hovered over the screen. I knew I should listen to it, hear him out; I just couldn't bring myself to.
 
  With a sigh, I exited out of the app and shut off my phone. Maybe one day I'll be able to listen to all 46 of his voicemails, that day would simply not be today.
 
  The drive from campus to the house Stella and I shared was a quick yet scenic one. Trees lined the drive and to my left there was a large waterfall. I had wanted to take a hike up there, right up to the very top and just look over the forests. But then life got busy and complicated and I couldn't find the time.
 
  Some plans would just have to wait.