Before I could question what he meant, the line went dead. He had hung up on me.
Michael eyed me quizzically, temporarily forgetting that he had been in the middle of pouring out his feelings to me.
"Is everything alright? You seem uneasy."
Reaching for my keys, I backed away from the table and stood up.
"Uh, I'm actually not sure." The key chain jingled as I made it to my feet and headed towards the door. "Look, I absolutely promise we'll finish this, but I really think something is wrong, and I have to see what's up."
Michael nodded quickly, worry creasing over his features.
"Yeah, of course. Just tell me if there's something that I can do to help."
I smiled, thanked him hurriedly, and rushed to my car. Whatever was happening between us would have to wait
*
I finally made it back to my house after what seemed like hours. I was never one for surprises, especially when the odds of that surprise being something awful were higher than they should be .
As I jogged into the garage, I noticed all the lights in Luke's house were out.
Hmm. Must still be out.
The only sound in my house was the echo of the door slamming behind me and the clatter of my shoes as I took them off by the door.
"Hello? Dad?"
Silence met me again as I strolled through the kitchen and towards the living room. When I got there, I nearly jumped out of my skin when I noticed a dark figure sitting in the corner of the couch. All of the lights around them, as well as the with the tv, were shut off.
"Oh my god! Dad, what are you doing? And why did you hang up on me?"
Clicking on the overhead light attached to the fan, I could now clearly see his stance.
He was hunched over, elbows resting on the tops of his thighs. In front of him, his hands were clenched impossibly tight. The veins, outlined atop of his skin, threatened to pop out of the backs of them.
I waited uneasily for him to speak first. He was in an obvious state of disdain, and I didn't wan't to be the one to make it worse.
After some time, he finally looked up at me, fire danced around in his eyes, and I couldn't fathom a reason why he would be so upset. There was no way he could have found out about what had happened with Michael...was there?
"He's..." Even though I didn't think it was possible, he gripped his hands together even tighter. At any second I was expecting to hear a bone snap, defeated under the persistent pressure. "He's...out."
He spat the sentence out between gritted teeth.
I knew the expression on my face had gone from apprehension to confusion.
"Out? Who's out? Out of where?"
His eyes never left my face as my mind began to work. I could almost physically feel gears turning in my head.
It was impossible. There was no way.
That much time hadn't passed already...had it?
My phone slipped out of my hand and crashed to the floor. I was frozen in place, mouth dry and heart racing.
How? How was this happening?
it seemed like just yesterday he was being taken away. I was being led away andCalum was talking to...my dad.
It hit me all at once that this was something that not only my dad, but myself as well, had feared all along. The day of the sentencing, when I was being taken away, Calum had been glaring at my dad. I could almost hear him telling Cal to stay away from me forever. He had probably even threatened to kill him if he showed his face again.
"Hello? Leisa?"
My theories were drowned out by a distant voice. I shook my head, bringing myself back to present day.
My dad stood in front of me, scanning my face.
"I have to go." I stooped down to pick up my phone and immediately dashed up the stairs and into my room before I could be followed. I clicked the lock behind me and slid my back down the door.
I couldn't wrap my head around what was happening. Had it really been two years already?
Everything still felt mostly the same, though I knew deep down that I was completely different.
With a deep sigh, I folded my arms over my knees and rested my head on them.
*
Later on in the night, I was drawn from thoughtless slumber into a disgruntled mood. Somehow, I had dozed off but remained curled up by the door. Beneath me, my phone vibrated wildly.
I grunted quietly, rubbing my eyes until my vision cleared. Assuming Michael had gotten worried about me, I tapped my thumb on the accept button and lazily answered.
"Hello?" I waited rather impatiently for a response, but when I did, I dropped my phone for the second time.
I stared down at the glowing screen, the hand that had held it seconds ago shook slightly.
From the speaker, there was a light buzz of someone's voice speaking.
With a sudden realization of where I was, and what had occurred in the household within the past few hours came rushing back.
Without a second thought, i snatched up my phone and hid away in the bathroom, trying to get as far away from the hallway as possible in the slight chance my dad had been eavesdropping.
I pressed my back to the door and held the phone up to my ear just in time to hear-"Leisa? Are you there?"
He sounded just as he had in all of my dreams, the tone deeper but still recognizable. It was still the voice I loved.
A cloud of nervousness unlike anything I had ever experienced hung above me as I plucked up the courage to finally reply, my hand trembling more aggressively than before
" Calum? H-hey?"
I envisioned him perfectly in my mind. He probably had a hand shoved in his pocket, eyes trained on the floor, and that smile-it was probably creeping up on his face.
"Hey, sweetheart. How have you been?"
My entire body was in a complete state of shock. Nothing seemed to work on it's own, and I stood in place, stuck in one position.
I had dreamed about this moment a thousand times over, and now that it was actually happening, I was paralyzed.
"Alright, I just...how are you talking to me right now? My dad told me you had been released but, i don't know, i guess i didn't believe him."
On the other end, I could hear traffic and honking horns in the background. Calum remained quiet.
I knew that bringing up his nemesis on our first phone call in years was probably a mistake, but he had to have already known that the situation with my dad hadn't altered. if anything, it had gotten worse.
"So he knows?"
I let my head fall back against the solid wood of the door.
"Yeah, he does. And he's definitely not happy."
I knew that Cal was puffing up his cheeks and blowing out the air. It's what he always did when he was stressed about something.
"Look, babe, I just need to see you. I know it's a selfish thing to ask. I've gotten you into more than enough trouble for a life time but just...please?"
This was the moment I had been dreading.
Everything within me wanted to be with him. Hearing his voice again made every single old feeling run through my veins the way it used to.
But it wasn't like I could just leave and meet up with him. Nothing was that simple anymore.
"Calum, you know I want to, but it's not that easy. It never was, but especially now."
I had barely finished speaking when he jumped in.
"I knew you would say that. That's why I came up with a plan."
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Most of the plans we had made together were executed perfectly, but since our arrests, most things made me skeptical.
"Not that I don't have faith in you or anything, but you have to understand why I'm a little nervous about this, right?"
In the background, there were muttered voices. Calum had pulled the phone away briefly, and I couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but for some reason, a couple of the voices sounded familiar. A few moments later, he returned to our conversation.
"Sorry about that. Listen, I know this is hard for you, believe me I do. You really need to trust me on this. I wouldn't put you in danger again. I shouldn't have done that in the first place. This plan will work though. I promise you, Leisa."
I closed my eyes and rocked back and forth, weighing my options.
Before, our little game had been innocent. Sneaking around my dad's back had been a thrill. Teenage innocence.
But the stakes had changed so much. It wasn't the same child's play it was before. In all my years, I had never seen such rage in my dad as I had when he told me Calum was free.
Getting caught wasn't an option.
Against my better judgement, I pressed my free palm to my forward and whispered, "Alright. Tell me your plan."
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Yooo, I finally did it! Didn't realize how much time had passed between chapters, but here you go! Hope you like it, and the next one will be a thousand times better so stick around!
Vote and comments pleease!
xxx
