Long Distance Call | tayley ✓

15 | Wishing You Were Here

[Hayley]

Oh my god. Taylor likes my face. Thank you?? Something about him saying those words seemed, I don't know, weird, I guess. Maybe not the best way to say it. It was awkward. But he also likes me. It probably felt so awkward because I don't really know how to react when it comes to being complimented. Do I thank the person? I get really shy when people compliment my appearance, mostly.

At least my mom wanting to talk to me gave me a reason to hang up and not face the embarrassment and shyness I would have faced otherwise.

My bedroom door swings open to reveal my mom standing on the other side. She leans into my room, giving me a smile. One that I gladly return.

"Your dad wants to take you out to dinner. Do you want to go?" she asks. Luckily for me, my parents don't have any issues with each other. Not that I know of, at least. They divorced when I was young, so I didn't face too much of the heartbreak that many children of divorced parents face. As much as I wish they were still together, it's okay. When I was younger, I was just really never a big fan of telling my friends I couldn't see them over the weekends because I'd be with my dad, or things like that. They're okay with being friends, though. They seem happy with their current relationship.

"Sure. D'you know if Erica and McKayla are gonna be there?" I ask her, but she shrugs her shoulders.

"Text him. I'm sure they'd love to see you, though," she comments before exiting my room.

Hayley: Hey dad. I'd love to go out for dinner with you. Are Erica and McKayla gonna come? It's okay if not, but I miss them. I haven't seen them in a few weeks. I'd love to see them, if they're available.

Minutes go by, and I receive a text back from him. He probably spent a few minutes just trying to figure out how in the hell to type.

Dad: I bet they would love 2 c u. will bring them.

Why are parents so weird when it comes to texting? The world may never know the answer to that question. Oh well.

I prepare myself for the night. I'm aware that we're going to a BBQ place. Though my dad did not tell me that directly, it's where we always go. But hey, I'm not complaining, they've got good food. And as long as I get to see my sisters, I'm really not complaining. Also, I'll hopefully be able to push the thought of Taylor out of my mind.

Anyway, I really don't dress in anything too nice. At first, I throw on a pair of light blue jeans along with a white top. But considering where I'm going to eat, I decide to go against that. I instead throw on a sweatshirt that says "NICE" in a red font, and then the word "hair" below it, in a smaller font. One of my favorite tops that I own.

But seeing as Taylor and I's conversation came to an end at only 1 PM, I have plenty of time to waste. I should spend that time doing something productive. Maybe getting to writing a story, which I've been attempting to do for weeks. So far, wanna know what I have? Nothing.

Actually, I have one word. Seriously. One fucking word. "The." So yeah, I've gotten a whole lot done. I'm trying to create a plot, before going through with writing the story. But all of this is so much easier said than done. My mom has urged me several times to just take it easy, to not feel so pressured to get all of this done. I mean, as long as I can still stay with her, I'll do exactly that. I get to try to write while I get free food and a bed and everything.

So instead of spending my day being productive, I instead spend it by sitting in front of the television, watching Parks and Recreation on Netflix. Well, I wouldn't entirely say that I'm watching it, considering that I instead spend hours playing Sims 4. My Sims family need me, you can't blame me for wasting so long playing the damn game.

In fact, I'm so distracted, and for so long, that I don't even realize it when my dad texts me around 6 PM that he's waiting outside. I'm so occupied that it takes my mother barging into my room, telling me that he's here, to get my attention. Damn, how did I even play for that long?

Nonetheless, I quickly head downstairs, say goodbye to my mother, and go say hello to my father. I climb into the passenger's seat, turning my head to see my younger sisters both sitting there. McKayla is the youngest of the three of us, Erica being closer to my age. Erica is about seven years younger than me, currently being 15. McKayla being about fourteen years younger, she's currently 8. Quite the age differences, I know.

We head on over to a local barbecue joint, where we wait for twenty minutes before being seated. I sit beside my father, my younger siblings sitting across from him and I.

"So, Hayles, how've you been? It's been awhile since they've seen ya, kiddo," my dad comments, bringing a hand up to mess with my short, orange locks.

"Not much has been up. Trying to continue writing, still no success," I say with a sigh and fix my hair a little bit. Across the table, my youngest sister is currently coloring the kid's menu with the supplied crayons. My other sister is on her phone and doesn't seem to be paying much attention.

"Aren't you into some hot dude?" Erica comments. Well I guess she was paying at least some attention to the current conversation. Of course, that had to be her contribution to the conversation.

"Found a guy, huh?" My father chimes in, causing a deep blush to appear on my cheeks. The little amount of makeup that's also in my cheeks is doing a poor job at masking my embarrassment.

"No, no. Just a guy I happened to run into and went to highschool with. Nothing more than that," I explain, doing my very best to make it sound like no feelings are present. But that's a plain lie and I know it.

"What's his name?" my dad asks, even though I just explained that nothing is going on between me and the boy. But I figure saying that it doesn't matter could only raise suspicion. I sigh.

"Taylor," I tell them, my sister pausing. She was texting, typing away on her phone. But the second I mention Taylor York's existence, she's actually paying attention.

"York?" she asks, and I nod. All the while, McKayla is coloring in the animals and shapes in the menu. Innocence.

"What's so special about him?" my father asks, arms crossed over his chest as he sits back in his seat.

"He's overseas playing soccer. Other than that, though, nothing, dad," I say, but my sister seems to disagree.

"No, no. People still talk about him, in the high school. He broke a buncha' school records in soccer. Most people aren't really known after graduating, but some of my teachers still talk about him. And, I mean, he's hot," she shrugs her shoulders, and now, I'm covering my face.

"How 'bout you, Erica? How have you been?" I ask my younger sister, desperately needing a change of topic.

Luckily, my dad chooses not to pester me about the topic of this boy for the remainder of our dinner.

We finish our food up after an hour. My dad drives me home, and while he walks me to my door, he stops me just before I enter my mother and I's house. He remains quiet, for a second.

"Hayley, I get that what's going on in your life is your business, you know? But just promise to be safe, alright?"

"Daaad," I whine.

"No, just...don't let him break your heart. Because if he does hurt you, I'll go to wherever the guy is and rip him to shreds," he comments, and I giggle before wrapping my arms around him. He's really a harmless teddy bear.

"Bye, pops. If you ever wanna just see me, text me. You don't have to go through mom. She's not the boss of me, y'know," I smile at him, and he returns the grin.

We say our goodbyes and I head back inside. After making some brief conversation with my mother, I head back up to my room. I sit down, resting on my bed. Part of me just...wishes he was here with me.