Don't Try the Noodles

Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Caleb

"Just think about it for me. Please."

"The two of them are probably having a ton of fun without me at Ethan's place by now."

A ton of fun.

Think about it.

The two of them.

Her crying in his arms.

Ethan's place—

"Stop! Stop!" Aiden shouts into the microphone. He turns to me with his hands out in complaint. "You're late again, Caleb."

I stare down at my guitar, unsure why I can't get into the rhythm. That's already the fifth solo I've screwed up this morning. "I'm sorry..."

Although he sounds angry, Aiden's face is actually sympathetic. His intuition has probably already informed him about what's on my mind. It can only be her. "You need to snap out of it, man."

"Hey, we should take a break," Roy says out of breath. Beads of sweat are rolling down his forehead, and he's just on the verge of taking his t-shirt off. "Phew! It sure as hell is hot in here. Let's cool our heads a bit."

"Sounds good," Aiden replies. "How about we go buy some ice cream while Caleb gets himself together."

"You buying?"

Aiden sighs, grabbing his wallet from the table. "I guess I am now."

"Alright! Mallory, you coming?"

Mallory is sitting on the couch, busy on her phone. She briefly lifts her head up and looks at me. Something sparks in her eyes. "No, I think I'll stay here with Caleb. Noah, you should go, though."

"Uh, me?" Noah says with concern.

Roy stands a little taller to put an arm around Noah's shoulders, to which the poor kid gets scared stiff. "Yeah, dude! You need to put those scrawny arms to use if you ever want them to look like these." He flexes his impressive biceps.

Noah is overwhelmed to be seeing them so close. He gulps and is left speechless as he is dragged behind Roy like a long piece of string with glasses.

Aiden's already stepped outside, so Roy shouts, "Hey, Aiden! We better buy a ton of stuff! Noah's going to carry them!"

"M-M-Me? Why me?!"

"And you expect me to pay for all that?" Aiden's definitely glaring at Roy from the sound of his voice.

"Aw, come on! The kid needs exercise!"

The door closes. The studio is very quiet now. With three fewer people around, the air begins to chill again from the air conditioner.

Five minus three is two.

It takes basic math for me to notice this awkward tension in the room. Although we don't classify as strangers, Mallory and I never really got the chance to become friends. It's only been getting harder at that because she reminds me so much of Bailey. I wish I never made that connection in the first place...

"Caleb, you should come sit here," Mallory says, patting the spot next to her.

Now that I think about it, it must seem odd for me to be idly standing here in the silence. "Okay."

I sit next to her but make sure to keep some space between us. However, that space disappears immediately as Mallory scoots over to show me something on her phone.