White Noise {punk l.h. au} Sequel to "Colours {punk l.h. au}"

23

i live for red hair michael and no one can tell me otherwise

I found myself in the city of Baltimore. The city where Michael lived. Our conversation earlier this morning was short considering I didn't really want to explain my situation over the phone. He sounded worried when I told him I needed his help. I just hope he's willing to help me after I explain myself and what I did.

I voice of the gps on my phone yelled at me to take a left, and I found myself in a cute, little neighborhood consisting of condos, apartments, and townhouses. It was a lot hotter here than in New York, but I somehow managed. I'm more of a fan of cold rather than warm weather.

The gps told me I arrived at my destination when I pulled up in front of a small apartment building. I parked in the parking lot and sat there for a second. I was going to think of a good way to approach the situation, but I was interrupted by a figure catching my attention in the corner of my eyes. I turned my head to look at the figure, and I saw bright red hair walking in my direction.

I fumbled with the door handle and got out of the car. I slammed the door shut and jogged around the hood of the car before full on running into the open arms of an old best friend. Michael instantly reacted to my sudden embrace and held me in his comforting arms.

"Damn, I've missed you too, Reba."

I couldn't help but the snicker at the old nickname and pull him closer. I missed the days where I'd turn to Michael when things got too hard for me. I missed having his shoulder to cry on whenever I had problems with Luke or just had really bad pms. I really wished that I didn't let it all slip away after he graduated from college.

"I can guarantee you that I've missed you more." I said with my voice muffled into his right shoulder. I felt him rest his cheek on my head as we continued to hug. A few seconds later, we pulled apart. I took this chance to really get a good look at him for the first time since the wedding between Calum and Olivia. He still looked the same; same face, same tattoos, same piercings. Only thing different was his hair, but I could have guessed that.

He nodded his head at my car before speaking, "Let's grab your shit and get inside. It's hot as balls out here."

After throwing my bag into his guest room, I sat myself on Michael's couch waiting for him to join me. I played with my flip phone in my hands not daring to open it up to see the missed calls from Luke. I knew I had them, but I just wasn't ready to face him yet. I am easily the worst person alive.

I was snapped out of my self degrading thoughts when a glass was handed to me, "You still like iced tea, right?" Michael asked while sitting down on the couch next to me. I smiled and nodded, "Thanks, Mikey."

"So, are you going to tell me what you did, and why you drove your ass over 200 miles to see me?" He asked me. I giggled at his wording. Man, have I missed his humor.

I took a sip from the iced tea before sitting it down on the table in front of me. I pivoted my body to face him, "Just, promise not to tell me how much of a horrible person I am because I already know it."

He nodded and sat up straighter to listen to me, "Promise."

I ran a hand through my dark locks before mustering up the courage to tell Michael what happened.

"So, you know my fiancé Caleb? I went to Calum and Olivia's wedding with him?" I asked before Michael nodded, telling me to continue, "Well, I cheated on him...with Luke." I admitted.

Michael smacked his lips together, "Oh, Reba-"

"Wait, I'm not finished. I told Caleb what I did after I realized I was still in love with Luke, and Caleb and I called off the wedding. Things with Luke were okay until Charlie got out of prison."

Michael interrupted me again, "WHAT? 'CHARIE' AS IN THE DRUG DEALER WHO TRIED TO KILL YOU?! IS THIS WHY YOU NEED MY HELP?! REBECCA I-" he started to lose his shit. I scooted closer to him and placed my hand over his mouth to get him to shut up, "Michael, calm down. Everything will be fine. Just let me finish,"

I removed my hand allowing him to talk, "Okay."

"One night Luke drove me to my old apartment where Caleb lives and told me to go back with him. Of course, I was confused but then he told me that Charlie was out of prison, and he was looking for me. Luke said he was coming back for me to take me to Philadelphia, but he needed time. So I stayed with Caleb. Things were rocky with him at first, but they improved. Until last night when I royally fucked up."

"Did you sleep with him? Oh God, please tell me you didn't sleep with him, Reba." Michael begged. I started to feel worse about myself hearing his words. All I did was nod causing my guilt to wash over me like a tidal wave.

He must have noticed my reaction because he engulfed me into his arms again. I hugged him back and let out a loud sigh, "I'm a slut. I should just become Amish or something. I shouldn't be allowed around other humans because I might end up sleeping with them."

Michael pulled away from me and gave me a condescending look, "Listen to me, you are not a slut. You hear me? Sounds like you were and still are confused. I think you need to take a few steps back and some deep breaths. You gave up everything to be with Luke, and he tossed you back at your ex's house. Of course that was going to be a recipe for disaster. I think you need to call Luke and tell him to take his time with the whole Philadelphia thing because you need to go on a testosterone cleanse."

"But you have testosterone." I pointed out.

"I don't count. You're like my little sister." He told me.

I forced a smile, "You're the best, you know that?"

"Yeah I know."

I got up from the couch with my flip phone in hand, "I'm going to call Luke now."

"When you're done we're going to watch reruns of Hannah Montana just like old times, cool?"

"Cool."

I left Michael in the living room to shut myself inside the guest room. I shakily dialed Luke's number and brought the phone up to my ear. It rang several times before he finally picked up.

"Hey, why are you calling during the day? Is everything okay?" Luke's voice instantly soothed my nerves, but only for a little while due to the sudden memory of why I was anxious in the first place rushing back into my brain.

"Yeah everything's fine. There was just a change in plans. I'm at Michael's apartment in Baltimore." I told him.

"What? Why are you in Baltimore?!" His voice rose. I didn't blame him for it.

"Just...something happened with Caleb. I couldn't stay there anymore. Don't worry, nothing involving Charlie." I assured him.

"What happened with Caleb?" He wondered.

"Don't worry about it, Luke. Just focus on what you're doing, okay? And take your time, babe. I'll be fine here with Michael waiting for you." I tried switching the subject. Hopefully it worked.

"Okay, call me later, love." He said.

Mentally sighing out of relief, I replied telling him that I would.

Maybe this 'testosterone cleanse' is what I really needed after all.

i need a fucking testosterone cleanse and a small loan of a million dollars