Nosebleed

Chapter 3 -- Chase

Just another day in paradise, I think to myself as I pull into my driveway. My place looks like the typical suburban house, two stories, two car garage.

And my parents are typical mother and father. They're both real estate agents. And my little sister, she plays soccer, so of course my mom is the typical soccer mom. Typical. It's all typical. So typical, it's disgusting.

I walk into my kitchen where both of my parents are cooking dinner. That's one thing atypical about my family, both of my parents cook, not just my mother. I admire that about them. They call it "bonding time". As if they need more bonding time. They've been married for 20 years and they still act so young and in love. It's really gross, but I hope to be like that someday. 45 going on 22 and so so in love.

My sister is sitting at the kitchen table, coloring. She doesn't watch a lot of TV. I didn't watch a lot of TV growing up either. My parents wanted me to go outside and play and not kill my brain cells (incidentally, it didn't work. But we'll get into that later). I'll thank them a lot for that someday. Anyway, growing up I played outside most of the time. And read a lot of books. And I only really started watching TV... Well, movies, when I turned 13 and watched The Breakfast Club for the first time at a friends sleepover. I instantly fell in love with film and asked for a camera for my 14th birthday. I've been collecting ever since.

"Hey honey! How was the bookstore?" My mom asked, wiping her hands on a dish towel.

"Good." I replied, tossing my bloody napkins into the trash can. My mother flipped out. Per usual.

"Chase! Did you get another nosebleed? Why didn't you call me? I would've came and picked you up!"

"I didn't need you to pick me up, mom. I'm fine."

"Well... You need to go upstairs and take your medicine. Lay low for the day. We'll bring dinner up to you." My father chimed in. He was standing over the stove, stirring a pot of Mac n cheese noodles.

"I already took my medicine, dad."

"Chase Daniel! You took your medicine and drove? You know those pills make you sleepy!"

"I'm fine, mother. I promise." I kissed my mother on the cheek and went upstairs. I tossed my backpack onto my bed and went into the bathroom to take a shower. My nose wasn't bleeding anymore, which was a good sign. But my mom was right. The pills make me sleepy. So I decided to just make my shower quick and climb in bed.

And that's exactly what I did. After my shower, I pulled on a pair of sweats and crashed into my king size. Once I started to doze off, mom cracked open my door and checked in on me.

"Chase? Are you sleeping?" She whispered.

"Yes." I whispered back, and she walked into my room, shaking her head at me.

"Eat up." She said, handing me a tray of pork chops,  Mac n cheese, and sweet carrots, and a bottle of water. She kissed my forehead and went back downstairs. I could hear the steps of my sisters soccer cleats clacking on the hardwood floors downstairs. She was singing some song, and my father kept shh-ing her. And she never stopped. Just laughed. And eventually so did my father.

As I laid in bed, staring at my ceiling, the sound of some David Bowie song playing on my iHome, I started to think of her. She was so subtly beautiful. Her long blonde hair, and her sarcastic tone of voice that I instantly fell for. She was so funny. And she smelled like vanilla. She reminded me a lot of a girl in a 90s movie. All cuddled up in her sweaters and boots and she seems so wild and crazy, yet quiet and sheltered all at the same time. I grabbed my phone off my bedside table, and decided to text her.

Too soon? I said, hoping to make her laugh. She replied within a few minutes.

Very. Go away. She put the winking emoji. How flirtatious. That's flirtatious, right? Do I flirt back? How do I flirt? I'm so bad at this.

So then I guess it's way too soon to ask you on a date tomorrow?

It might be, but I'll be there.

Holy crap. It worked. She's going on a date with me. You would think the pills took no effect at all, because I didn't fall asleep for 3 hours. I was way too excited.

I started thinking of things we could do. We could go get brunch? Or we could go see a movie? Nah. Too typical. God knows I already have way too much typical in my life. So then I started thinking about her, and what she would probably like to do. And i wrote it all down, and created the perfect date.

A picnic at the park. Good, right? Yes. Cheesy. I am aware. But you should've heard the girls jokes earlier. Pun after pun. Just... The cheesiest jokes. And even though they were all incredibly stupid, I couldn't help but find myself laughing.

And then I dozed off. And I slept for about 7 hours. And I woke up with my muscles tensing. And my body shaking. And I knew the pills were wearing off.