Human

4.

                  

I decided to sit out on our back porch instead of being cooped up in my room all night.

My parents had gotten home from wherever it was they were at a couple of hours ago but they hadn't found me out here yet. My dad had even texted me saying I'd be in big trouble if I wasn't home by 9. It had taken a lot of my will power not to reply with a smart butt reply about how he was too stupid to know I have been home longer than him. If I had done it though they'd find me, and that wasn't worth getting a jab in on him.

I sat kicked back in my lounge chair with my feet up on the railing. I was enjoying the solitude, just me, my music, and the light breeze that blew through my hair. I was already dreading going back to that disgusting place they call a school. I feel like maybe if I had been raised here my whole life, then maybe I would be bonkers crazy like the other kids around here are. Brittany and Lucas weren't so bad. They could be a little cheesy with all of their lovey-dovey stuff, but other than that I actually do like the both of them. Everyone else though...

My mind wandered back to Garrett and all of the drama that seems to be active around him. The second I thought of him I was startled by the sudden light that filled the neighbor's backyard. Garrett walked out the back door of Carrianne's house carrying two large trash bags and walked them down to the trash cans that were right next to the fence that separated their yard from ours.

I tried to slide lower in my chair so that he wouldn't see me but it had been too late. "Cadence?" He sort of whispered, shielding his eyes from the bright lights on the porch. "Is that you?"

I sighed and stood up from my chair. "Hey, yeah it's me." I said back. "What are you doing here?" I asked as if I didn't already know.

Garrett looked nervously back up to the house and then quickly climbed my fence and walked up the porch to me. "I just wanted to apologize for earlier today again." He ran his hand through his unruly brown hair.

I smiled. "I told you, it's cool." I shrugged. "That kind of thing doesn't really bother me."

"It doesn't does it?" He mused.

"Nope." I smirked.

"You aren't like the other girls here Cadence." He said in a serious voice.

I sat back down in my chair and looked up to him. "I will take that as a compliment, and it's just Cade."

"It was a compliment, believe me." He sat down in the chair next to mine and peaked back over to Carrianne's house.

"You know you can go back over there if you don't want to tick off your girlfriend." I told him.

Garrett leaned back into his chair and covered his face with his hands as he sighed loudly. "I don't care if she gets mad." He muttered. "I just don't want her to get pissed at you."

I smacked him on the arm playfully. "Oh don't go worrying about that." I said. "She already hates me. She was nice enough to flip me the bird last night when I saw her. My bedroom window looks right into hers unfortunately." I replayed the image in my head and got annoyed at her all over again.

He cut his eyes over to mine quickly. "You can see into her room?"

"Yeah." I said. "You two seem to be pretty good together." I smiled.

I could tell he was embarrassed that I had seen them. "God, you saw that?"

I laughed at his squirminess. "It's cool, to each their own and all that." Although I don't know how someone who seems so nice can be with a girl who everyone is afraid of.

"It's not even like that." He said under his breath. "I can't stand her."

"Wow." I joked. "Sure looked like you could stand her earlier today." What I had seen had been pretty clear.

Garrett stood up from his chair and leaned back against the banister facing me. "Honestly, that is the only way I can shut her up. Otherwise she will just whine and complain and talk trash about every person on the planet. The only way to make the torture stop is to kiss her."

"Oh." Was all could muster up.

"God, I shouldn't be saying all of this to you." He groaned. "You probably think I am such a tool."

"No, I don't." I reassured him. "But why do you stay with her if she is so terrible?" I asked.

We heard a noise coming from next door and Garrett dropped to the ground hiding as Carrianne walked out on her porch and looked around. Her eyes narrowed as they landed on me. "Have you seen my boyfriend?" She called to me.

I tried to keep my face clam.

"Tell her I went back inside." Garrett whispered by my feet.

"Uh, he went back inside a while ago." I yelled back to her.

She huffed and stomped back into her house and Garrett jumped up and took off running for the front of the house. "See you at school!" He called disappearing from my view.

That is the weirdest thing I have ever seen. Why is everyone so afraid of Carrianne? Even her own boyfriend literally just hid in terror from her. I laughed to myself as I replayed his face as he laid on the floor in my head.

I grabbed my phone and snuck back into my house and up to my room undetected by my parents.

At nine o'clock on the dot my dad started calling me. I took extreme pleasure when I answered and he immediately began to tear into me about not being home by curfew. The best part of my day was telling him I have been home this whole time and seeing his face as he swung my door open to find me sitting at my desk just like I told him I was.

I had full out laughed for the first time since Stephen's death. Dad shut the door and I looked up out my window just in time to see Garrett wave to me from the other side before he closed Carrianne's curtains.

At least I can look forward to getting to see him around from time to time. Maybe he will make detours to talk to me every time he comes over to her house now. I sure wouldn't mind it. Despite what everyone else said, I think Garrett is awesome.