Insomnia

Chapter 18

I parted from the crowd and patted down my pockets again. I was relieved when I found that I didn't have the card, but I did have my phone.

I pulled it down and felt sheepish when I remembered that I haven't used it much. I barely remembered how to open it and put in the password. When I did, I had to try and recall which buttons did what. I eventually managed to find the actual calling feature and called Cal.

I could hear the phone ringing a few times before I heard his voice. I almost cried out in relief before I realized it was just his recording. I ended the call angrily and tried again. I ended up calling him about five times before I gave up. I looked down angrily at me phone before making the realization that I had other contacts on here.

I stared at Stephanie's name and not considered calling her. Not because I thought she might be busy, but because I didn't really want to see her. I dialed her number after thinking and coming to the conclusion that I'd probably be stuck here a few more hours if I didn't call her. Unlike Cal, Stephanie actually picked up her phone, and she did so very quickly.

"Rory! Hi, how are you?" Stephanie answered excitedly.

"I'm fine," I replied. "I know you're probably busy, but-"

"Oh no, it's fine." I was confused. She hasn't even heard what I was going to say, yet.

"It's just that, I was kind of abandoned at the mall. I was wondering if you would be able to-"

"Yeah, I can come pick you up. We can hang out if you want."

"I did necessarily say-"

"Are you hungry? We can go out to eat?"

"Stephanie, I just need a ride."

"Yeah, it's cool. I'll be right there. Go to the main entrance." I didn't get to say anything else because she hung up. I hoped she knew what mall I was at, because I didn't know how many there were exactly. I just did as she told me to, and wandered till I found the main entrance to the mall.

I stood around for a bit. I didn't know what her car looked like exactly, or how far she was from the mall. I got a lot of complaints as people pushed to get around me. I almost got shoved into the street. A car screeched to a stop when they thought I was going to fall into the street. Somebody poked their head out, and I was relieved to find it was Stephanie. She gave me a large smile and waved me over.

I got into the passenger side of her car, and she drove off. She was wearing a small sundress and had sunglasses sitting on top of her head. Her dimples appeared when she smiled a bit more at me.

"Hey, how are you?" She seemed a lot cooler than she had been over the phone.

"I'm fine, what about you?"

"I'm great, thanks for asking." She gave me an innocent look. "So, I know you only needed a ride..."

"Stephanie..."

"But when I told the guys I was coming to get you, they really wanted to see you." She sounded like she was only telling about half the truth. "Besides, you were just stranded at the mall. You sound and look like you need to have a good time."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're not even doing anything, are you?"

"And what if I was?"

"Then I would've taken you home," she said genuinely. She took her eyes off the road for a split second to give me a serious look. I let out a sigh.

"I don't even have any money on me, I lost my wallet."

"You don't even know where we're going, why do you assume you need money?" I gave her a deadpan look.