Something Unexpected

TWENTY-NINE: Uno

After dinner Miranda, Maya, and I watched Princess Diaries 2, while playing Uno. My phone buzzed against the carpet and I reached for it thinking it could have been either Grant or Charlie. I hadn't heard from either of them since early this morning which was understandable because Grant was working and Charlie was celebrating his birthday.

I unlocked my phone and tapped on the message notification from Grant.

Are you busy right now?

I put down a red skip card and Maya pouts. Miranda smirks, and puts down a red reverse card, effectively skipping my turn and allowing Maya to go. I swear those two were ganging up against me.

While I waited for Maya to go I texted him back.

Sort of. Why?

I place my phone down, ready to play until I saw Maya put down a green reverse card, to skip my turn again. When it buzzed again a few seconds later I picked up up and looked at the message.

I was just wondering if you could help me out with my math homework again.

Finally it's my turn again so I put down a green draw two card, making Maya pout again. She was such a sore loser.

I tap on the screen and hit send.

Sure, do you mind waiting like twenty minutes?

My phone vibrates against my palm as soon as he sent back a message a second later.

Not at all. Take your time. I'll be up.

I sigh and send back a quick response.

Alright, I'll text you when I'm back in my room and we can FaceTime.

I place my phone back on the coffee table and see that Miranda and Maya are both staring at me.

"What?" I ask as I put down another card. Ha, I only had two left.

Maya smiles and tries to peek at my phone, but the screen goes dark before she can see who texted me. "Who are you texting? Charlie?"

I narrow my eyes at the sound of her smug implication.

"No," I stick my tongue out her and she giggles. "It's Grant. He was just asking if I could help him with his math homework."

Miranda's eyebrows bounce as she looks at Maya and I'm able to interpret their not-so-subtle exchange. Miranda places down a blue card and I place down my blue five.

"Uno!" I yell.

Maya jumps up and runs her hands through her hair. "No!"

I stick my tongue out again and laugh. Unless one of them make me draw, I was going to win for the fourth time that evening. Maya changes the color to red, and Miranda puts down a reverse to skip me.

"Charlie is cute. He should be your boyfriend." Maya says, she's calmer for now since she was able to make me draw two.

I frown and tilt my head, thrown off by her statement. "Me and Charlie are just friends. There's no way that we would ever date."

"But he likes you." Maya says as she stretches and yawns. It's getting late.

"As a friend. Besides, I don't want to date right now. It'll just be a distraction." I shrug.

Miranda shrugs too as she puts down a green card.

"A little distraction never hurt anyone," she says with a quick wink.

I don't want to admit that she's right. If I was going to be honest, I've been having thoughts since yesterday night. What would it be like to date someone? Would it be as fun as last night?

I push the thoughts aside, change the subject, and win the game.

Maya doesn't want to let me go when I tell her that I need to call Grant. She was having fun, and I was too, but there was only so much Maya I could take at a time. Her and Miranda both exhausted me with the amount of bubbling energy they had. I just couldn't keep up.

I return to my room and pull out one of my notebooks that I used just for scratch paper before calling Grant. It didn't take him long to answer either, since he was already expecting it.

A small smile forms across his lips as he waves. I wave back and he leans over to reach for something in his bag.

I could see all the paintings, drawings and photos that covered the walls of his room, and an open sketch pad on top of the red and black plaid comforter on his bed. He shifts his web camera a bit, so that it's not as zoomed in. Although, I liked being close enough to count the little baby moles and freckles on his face.

"Hey," he says. He looks tired and by the looks of his ruffled hair, he's probably frustrated.

"Hey, are you okay?" I ask.

He shrugs and flips to another page in his pre-cal book. "Not really. I'm over this stupid homework. I hate it so much."

"Well look on the bright side. You have me to help, and once you're done, you'll be free for the rest of the weekend. You won't have to worry about formulas and all that while you're at the art exhibit tomorrow."

His smile widens as he rubs his arm. "True."

I feel better as I see Grant loosen up a bit. His green eyes almost seem brighter, even though the skin beneath his eyes is still a little dark.

Grant tells me what he's been having trouble with and I explain it with ease. So within thirty minutes he's nearly done with all of his math problems.

Halfway through one of them I hear someone calling him.

He looks over his shoulder, his eyes slightly wider. "Yeah mom?"

"What did you do with my wine?" I heard the angry voice getting closer, and I recognize the look of panic on Grant's face.

"Alana, is it alright if I call you back later?" He asks quickly.

"Grant! Tell me what you did with it now!" She yells.

"Yeah, it's fine. I'll be up."

"Okay. Talk to you later." He hangs up before I could respond, but I'm not upset. Not if he was dealing with what I think he is.

I do start to worry a little more a little closer to midnight, when he doesn't call back. In the few weeks I've known Grant he's never said that he would do something and didn't follow through. Something's happening, I can just feel it.

I try to stay up as long as I can, just in case he calls. But as 3 A.M. rolls around, I realize that he's probably not going to call back. So my body starts to shut down, and I fall asleep hoping that he's okay. 

A/N: 

Uh oh...what's going on with Grant? I wonder...

Hmmm I guess we'll find out in the upcoming chapters. I haven't written them yet so I don't know what will happen. I'm totally writing all this as I go. 

If you enjoyed this chapter then please show it some love! Add it to your library and reading lists. Comment on your favorite or least favorite parts. Let me know what you think! I love your feedback! And if you enjoyed this chapter then please don't forget to vote. 

And the next update will be next Friday or Saturday. Stay tuned until then!

Yours Truly, 

Nani