Wheels

Chapter 21: Conflicted

          I feel my phone ring right when I'm unlocking my front door. "Hello?" I ask, not checking to see who it is. "Hey... C-can I come over?..." Norah asks quietly, sighing.

          "Yeah, of course. Is everything okay?" I ask, shutting the door after I get inside. "I guess... I'll explain when I get there..." Norah whispers. "Okay. I might be in the shower when you get here, so the front door is unlocked" I say and grab a change of clothes, going into the bathroom.

           "Alright. I'll be there soon" Norah says, hanging up. I set my phone on the counter and get undressed, getting in the shower.

***15 minutes later***

          I hear the front door open and close so I turn off the water, wrapping a towel around myself. I start to slide myself back into my chair but I fall on the floor, sighing in frustration.

          "You okay in there?" Norah asks through the door. "Yup. Just on the floor again" I say and sit back up, fixing my towel. "Can I come help you?" She asks softly.

          "Yeah" I say and bite my lip. Norah comes in and moves my chair over a little, kneeling down next to me. "I feel like a bad luck charm. Every time we're together you end up on the floor" She says and shakes her head, wrapping her arms around me.

          "You're not a bad luck charm. I just like the view from down here" I say and giggle softly, wrapping my arms around Norah's neck. She giggles and picks me up, putting me in my chair.

          "Thank you" I say and smile. "Of course. I'll leave you alone to change" Norah smiles and hands me my clothes, going back into the hallway. I smile and put on my camo print leggings and black t-shirt, combing my fingers through my hair.

          I look in the mirror for a minute and sigh softly, opening the door. Norah is leaning against the wall, frowning at her phone. "You okay?" I ask, looking up at her.

          "Yeah. Macon and Dani are just being jerks" Norah says and puts her phone back in her sweater pocket. "What did they do?" I ask her and we go to my room so she can sit down.

          "They decided to have a party since Ms. Ellis will be gone for a few days. So, I left" Norah says and sits on my bed. "Well, you can stay here tonight so you don't have to deal with them" I say and smile at her.

          "Thank you" Norah says and smiles back. "I love your outfit by the way" I say and look at her. She's wearing a simple, white dress, floral print leggings, and a light gray sweater with matching gray flats.

          "Thank you..." She's whispers and blushes, looking down. "You're welcome" I say and smile, moving onto the bed next to her. "I like your outfit too. You're leggings are really cute" Norah says and smiles, shyly looking at me.

          "Thank you. Where did you get your leggings?" I ask, looking back at her. "I made them. I make all of my clothes, actually" Norah says and smiles shyly. "That's amazing" I say and smile, softly brushing her hair out of her face.

          Norah smiles and subconsciously leans into my fingers, biting her lip. I smile and peck her on the cheek. She blushes and starts nervously messing with the sleeves of her sweater.

          I smile and move my hand away from her cheek, putting it on her hands instead. She stops fidgeting and smiles, looking at my hand on hers. "Can I ask you something?" I ask, looking at her.

        ***Trigger Warning***

          "Yeah" Norah says and nods. "Why did you hurt yourself?... You don't have to tell me..." I say softly, holding her hand. "I started a while after my grandma died... She was the one that took care of me after my parents ditched me... I was thirteen when she died, and I got sent to my first foster home... It was just too much for me to handle... It still is..." She whispers and looks down, holding my hand.

***Safe Zone***

          "I am so sorry..." I whisper and wrap my arms around Norah, holding her close. "Thank you..." She whispers back and wraps her arms around me too, laying her head on my shoulder.

          I nod and softly rub her back, not knowing what to say now. Norah sighs softly and I notice a few tears streaming down her cheeks. I take off her glasses and gently wipe her tears away before putting her glasses back on.

          Norah smiles slightly and looks over at my open notebook on my night stand, seeing a bunch of random works written on it. "What's that for?" She asks. "Oh. It's just for a song that I'm trying to write. It isn't going very well" I say and giggle softly.

          "I can help you if you want. I used to write a lot of songs" Norah says and smiles. "I would love that" I say and smile back. She grabs my notebook and pencil before looking at me.

          "First thing's first; what genre do you want your song to be?" Norah asks. "Definitely country" I say and look back at her. "Seriously a woman after my own heart..." She says under her breath, biting her lip.

          I smile and giggle softly, acting like I didn't hear her. "So, what next?" I ask, looking at Norah. "Next, we need to figure out what you want your song to be about" She says, looking back at me.

          "I think it should be about... I dunno... I want it to be about a certain person" I say and bite my lip. "And who would that be?" Norah asks, smiling. "A girl" I say and smile shyly.

          "Tell me about her" Norah says and lays down on her stomach, holding the pencil. "Okay" I giggle and lay down next to her. "She is sweet, smart, funny, artist, she loves country music... And she is beautiful..." I say, biting my lip.

          "She sounds pretty great" Norah says and writes down what I said, chewing on her lip. "She is" I say and smile. My phone starts ringing before Norah can say anything.

          "Sorry" I say and look at my phone, seeing that it's Rory. "Hey Rory" I answer and smile slightly, sitting up. "Hey Mars. I have great news, but it kind of sucks" Rory says.

          "What is it?" I ask, biting my lip. "I get to go to Ireland for two weeks! But that means that we won't see each other until I get back" Rory says, sighing softly. "Awe. I'll really miss you! But that is going to be amazing! Make sure you take a lot of pictures for me" I say and smile.

          "I'll miss you too! And I'll send pictures everyday. I'll see you when I get back" Rory says. "See you then" I say and hang up. "That the girl?" Norah asks, sitting up next to me.

          "I'm actually not sure yet..." I say and shrug slightly, biting my lip.