Cuffed. [Norman Reedus]

26*Pretending {pt. 2}

Chapter Twenty-Six ::: Pretending {pt. 2}

{*UNEDITED*}

I swear my life was a movie set. I had to check the backseat of my car multiple times to make sure there weren't cameras pointed in my direction. This couldn't be real; was I really driving to the bank in order to flee to safety? What was I even scared of? I'm much stronger than my mother, and probably smarter, too. Was it really necessary to leave my town behind? To let my mother scare me away from my own life? I try to run through the possibilities in my head of how I could scare HER away, but nothing adds up. There always seems to be a flaw in the plan.

I didn't even know what she wanted from me. An apology? Drugs? Revenge? Probably revenge. Maybe I could talk to her, settle on an agreement instead of letting her take the wheel of my life.

As I drive, my mind a blizzard of thoughts and ideas, I find myself continuously checking my rearview mirror for Ella's car. Without even realizing it, my heart is brutally gripping onto the hope that maybe she changed her mind. Every time I look back, however, I am only greeted with my dog's big hazel eyes and someone else's car. 

When I finally get to the bank, I drive up to the ATM to make my withdrawal. As I am waiting in line behind the two cars in front of me, my phone―buried under my stuff in the passenger seat―starts to ring. I lean over and struggle for a minute, digging and clawing through the pile of clothes and random stuff I managed to throw in the car after the incident with my mother.  

"Hello?" I answer.
"Norman! It's Boone. .  Ya' know, your best friend? Your pal? Partner in crime. . .?" 

I make the quick assumption that he needs something from me. "Yes, of course!" I respond, driving forward as the line shortens. "What do you need? Aren't you at work?" I pause. "Sorry I ditched you and Janice. . . I uh, wasn't really feeling―"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't really give a shit about why you didn't show up. And yeah, again. I should be at work, but you see, something sort of happened!" he explains. "Janice―well―let me take it back a few days; you remember when I told you about that stupid drunk act I put on for Janice so she would, you know, like, take care of me or whatever?"

"How could I forget?" I roll down the window and rest my elbow on the ledge.

"Well, Janice actually found out about that! Whoop-de-doo!" Boone sounds pissed.

"How the hell did she find out? I mean, it was a stupid fucking idea, but you put on a pretty convincing act," 

"That's a long story, I'll explain later. But, like, getting back to my point: I do need something and that something happens to be a house! Only for like a week. . . Or maybe a month or two," he pauses. "Or three."

I sort of laugh, but scoff at the same time. "Serious? A little bit of short notice. . ." The truck in front of me finally pulls away, so I get my card ready and pull up to the machine. 

"Yeah, sorry about that. Janice didn't really warn me that she would be kicking me out of the house today! " Boone explains, making it sound like it's Janice's fault that he is now homeless, jobless, and bedless. Before answering him, I lean out my window and start pushing the buttons in order to get the max amount of cash I can get for now. 
"So, anyway, I know it's short notice and stuff but I figured you wouldn't mind me staying over for the night," Boone says. His voice gets quieter as if he has pulled the phone away from his ear, but I can faintly hear a door open and Boone belting out "Surprise!"

"Boone?" I sit back in my seat, hoping and praying that my suspicion is incorrect. He doesn't answer. "Boone?! Where the hell are you?" If he showed up to my apartment, I'm a screwed man.