A slow fall

Chapter 34 - Lucas

    Caleb sounded fine when I rang him on Friday night. After a few unanswered calls and unread texts the radio silence made me uneasy. Something about dinner made me worry. My mind would drift back to that night a few weeks ago, Caleb's room shrouded in darkness and the emptiness in his voice. I wondered how long things had been like that.

When he finally answered the phone his voice was the same as always.

Though his words were hesitant as we skimmed over Wednesday night. I didn't try to pry, not really. Curiosity burned inside me: Was Tony like that often? How did you feel about their views? How did you feel about me?, though I said nothing.

I let the conversation quickly drift away from the topic, moving onto things easier, safer, even if my mind stayed locked onto Tony's firm grip around Caleb's arm.

Caleb's voice was a whisper as he spoke, the late hour begging for quiet, "I think Froggy's going to lose an eye."

"Oh no. Do we need to take him to a doctor?"

"I fear it's too late."

"I'm surprised he lasted this long."

"I've taken great care of him. So thank you. For giving him to me." A warm feeling fluttered in my stomach at that, and I was glad he couldn't see me sitting here grinning like an idiot.

"You never need to thank me for something like that." And before he could protest, "do you have any more song recommendations?"

"You finished listening to the playlist of my favourites?"

"Yeah, I play it all the time when I'm at the studio." It makes me think of you.

This excitement in his voice was noticeable, and I wished hearing it wasn't as rare as it had become. "Yay. I'll make you another one. You need to tell me which song you did and didn't like." So I opened Spotify up and told him which songs now had a little green check next to them and which ones I tended to skip.

"I've listened to yours a few times as well."

While our music taste didn't overlap too much, the playlist I made had a lot of older songs in it. Songs my parents would play often in the house, so I knew Caleb had heard them before. He said as much and somehow that got us reminiscing.

We thought back to the car rides we'd all share on the way to school and my dad would turn up the radio in an attempt to make us shut up. Or when we'd hang out by the lake in summer, a speaker blaring as we splashed about in the water.

Back when everything felt a little bit easier, laughter came faster and smiles were in abundance.

As the night wore on I could hear the tiredness slip into Caleb's voice, and when his speech got slower I took control of the conversation. I knew he still struggled to sleep, I saw it in his tired eyes and sluggish movements.

So I did my best to encourage it. 

"Do you want me to read?"

He was quick to agree and I opened to the page we'd last read up to. I didn't stop until Caleb's breathing had evened out and I was sure he'd drifted to sleep.

I felt slightly creepy as I sat there, listening to him breath down the phone, his soft inhales and exhales, but it relaxed me in some way.

Knowing at least for now that he was okay made it easier for me to find sleep too.

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"So what have I missed?" Adam asked. My phone was propped up on the kitchen counter, the camera facing me as I went about grabbing ingredients to make lunch.