The Quiet Ones

12. Calling All Heartbreak

"Parker?"

"Yeah, hey Nathan. I just want to talk to you about the night before."

"Oh, yeah. Sure. Do you want to meet up?"

"No, it's okay. Can we just talk on the phone? I feel a bit more comfortable that way."

"Yeah, no problem."

"Okay, well, I thought it over and I think I feel the same way."

My heart dropped as I heard the words come out of my own mouth. Nathan was silent on the other line while I spun around to see Avery sitting behind me with her mouth hung open. I put my finger to my mouth to indicate for her to be quiet and not say a word.

"Wow, okay Parker. How about we meet up for a date tomorrow night?"

Shit. I have the taggers tomorrow night. Nathan can't know that I'd skip out on a date for that, it would break his heart.

"Tomorrow night? I don't think I can. What about in the afternoon?"

"Sure. want to get coffee?"

"You know how much I love it," I smiled.

"Okay, perfect. Well, thanks for calling. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay, bye Nathan."

I waited until I heard the click of the call drop before I put down my phone. I watched as the screen went black while I took a deep breath and told myself to calm down. My fingers twitched with each small movement as I became more aware of my surrounding, and finally blinked after staring off into space, lost in thought.

I turned around and sat next to Avery on my bed with my legs tucked under my body. She didn't move when I shifted closer, instead she just pressed her lips together and swallowed hard.

We both sat completely still and stared at the chipped paint on the wall in front of us. Her face was blank and pale, as if I had just told her that a close family member had died.

"Wow. You did it," she whispered.

"Yeah. I still feel bad though. Is that normal?"

"You'll get over it. Besides, Nathan's really laid back so you'll have fun tomorrow," she said sarcastically.

I cringed and nodded as I felt the vibe of the room begin to change and a large amount of tension form between us. I allowed my shoulders to relax while I twirled my hair around my fingers and made small knots with my split ends. Avery got off of the bed and started walking towards the door, practically stomping with each step she took.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"That was a lot. I need to go home and relax."

"Really? You're just going to leave me after all of that?"

"Parker that was just as hard for me to hear as it was for you!" She screeched before slamming the door.

I flinched at the sound of the door hitting the frame. That was very unlike her. Avery never gets mad, especially at things that have no reasoning behind them. I have no idea why she just left shouting, but by the way her eyes watered and her lip quivered it looked like she was about to cry.

I looked out my window but her car was gone, so I went back to my dresser and dialed her number. It rang a few times but then just went straight to voicemail. I tried again, but no luck.

I finally gave up and threw my phone on my bed. I laid down onto the shaggy carpet in my room and stared up at my ceiling fan once again, and watched as the blades glided through the air at a speed so fast that my eyes couldn't even process their movement. They're a lot like my life right now: constantly moving and hard to keep up with.

I don't have the time or energy to figure out or worry about Avery's problems. At least I'm getting coffee with Nathan tomorrow, and who cares if Avery's mad, she has no reason to be. I'm just going to let it go and enjoy the rest of my day and look forward to my date tomorrow. It's all going to work out...right?