Torn » h.s./marcel

Chapter 27: The Hangout

Chapter 27: The Hangout

Marcel's POV

I stared down at the paper Allie had given me. It was actually her phone number. Whoa. Never in a million years did I think this would happen.

I wanted to call Allie, but I wasn't sure if that was the right thing to do. It had only been a couple days, but I already missed how Allie and I would meet up after school and hang out as we worked on the project.

I played with the paper in my hands. To call or not to call. That was the question.

I huffed. Sheesh, what was I afraid of? Allie and I were friends! I could call her anytime I wanted. I didn't have to be afraid.

But what if I interrupted her in the middle of something important? What if her phone broke? What if she changed her number? So many things could go wrong. Knowing me, it probably would go wrong.

Oh, man up! You're being such a wimp, I scolded myself. It was Saturday. Chances were she wasn't in the middle of something important, her phone wasn't broken, and she didn't change her number.

I picked up my home phone and precariously punched in the numbers. I didn't have my own phone. If I told my mother Allie had given me her phone number, she probably would buy me one.

I pushed in the "talk" button. I waited as the phone rang. My heart raced in my chest. I wasn't sure if I wanted her to pick up or not.

"Hello?" a female voice asked loudly. I recognized it. It was Allie. I mentally sighed in relief.

"Hey, Allie," I said. "It's me, Marcel."

"Oh, thank goodness! You scared me, Marcel. You were an unknown number."

"Oh, um, sorry. I--"

"No need to apologize," Allie interrupted. She sounded amused. "I'll just put this number in my contacts under your name. No worries."

Okay, so Allie had picked up. Now what? I did not have a single idea. Whoops.

"How's your weekend going?" I asked politely.

"Not too good," she sighed. "Tell you what, I'll come over to your house and we can go someplace. You cool with that?"

"Sure, but--"

I cut myself off when I heard a strange noise. There was a muffled sound in the background, from Allie's end. After a few seconds I identified the noise: screaming. People were screaming on Allie's end. I swallowed hard.

"Okay," I said softly.

"Great. I'll be over soon!" Allie chirped. She hung up.

I put the phone down slowly. I was confused. How could Allie sound so cheerful when her parents were clearly screaming at each other? Was she just that used to it? Was she faking it? I wanted to help her. But how? I couldn't tell anyone about her father.

I just sat at the kitchen counter in silence until my mother walked in. I stared blankly ahead of me.

"Hey, Marcel," Mum said. "Off in LouLou Land again?"

I blinked. "What? Oh, no. I was just thinking."

"Yeah, that means LouLou Land for you. What were you thinking about?"

I bit my lip. "Allie," I finally admitted. "I talked to her on the phone."

"You know her number?"

"Yeah. She gave it to me."

My mother stared at me, then she grinned widely. "Marcel, this is excellent news! We need to get you a phone!"

"No, that really isn't necessary," I tried to protest, but she ignored me.