A Break Apart

CHAPTER 17. Hey, kiddo!

I never knew the word "quiet" could roar, and it was as though rapture had taken the whole human race and had forgotten me in this enormous earth. And this weird "quiet" was because it had been two days since I last heard from William. Two whole days of not being tortured by the jerk who couldn't survive a second without bugging me was enough to dial an emergency number for help. I knew I couldn't stand him, but I still had a heart.

I dialed his number and put the phone to my ear. It started to ring to my surprise, and I cancelled the possibility of a stolen phone in my mental list of suspicions.

"Hey, sweetheart," he answered the call, also to my surprise, because he was still alive. Not that I wanted him dead, but two days of total silence could justify my thought.

The pet name registered in my memory and I frowned, regretting why I called in the first place, because that "quiet" was the best I had had in years! And then I woke up a sleeping jerk.

"Hey..." I forced the word out, picturing that smirk that always sat on his lips like a facial accessory.

"May I know why you called?"

I cringed as I thought of the best answer to give; anything but the truth about my concern for his weird absence.

"Is being nice a crime? What happened to you?" I asked, selling myself out.

"What do you mean what happened to me. I told you I was traveling, didn't I?"

"Oh, so you did travel. I thought you were kidding," I said, rolling a tail of my cornrow on my index finger.

"Why? Because you miss me?"

"What?" My eyes widened, because I would rather fall ill than miss him. "No, don't get me wrong. I haven't heard from you in two days, so I just thought I should check up on you." I rolled my free fingers to a tight fist, my eyes shutting along with them and my lips pressing together at the detailed concern he finally forced out of me.

"Aw, didn't know my absence affected you that much."

I rolled my eyes. "Can you stop twisting my statements?"

He laughed. "I actually envisioned this call, you know. And then here we are, talking on the phone. So just admit it already. You miss me, and that's understandable, I promise."

"Ugh! Rot in hell!" I yelled, and his evil laughter rang through as I pulled the phone down and cut the call. "Stupid jerk," I muttered under my breath.

The phone immediately started ringing and I frowned, and then my face loosened up the moment I saw the name on the screen.

"Hey!" I answered, excited.

She giggled. "What's the name of your weird street again?"

I sat up properly, eyes wide in a joyous surprise. "You're coming over?"

"Duh!"

I laughed. "It's Aisle Street. When you get there, just wait at the park," I said, because I sucked at practical geography.

"Okay," she replied. "Aisle Street. Wait at the park." She sounded like a detective on her way to a crime scene to the person I assumed was Austin. Her "driver". "See you soon!" she yelled and hung up, and I laughed, dropping my phone on the bed and getting up.

I changed from my sloppy T-shirt and shorts, to a red hoodie and tracksuit bottom. Still sloppy, but a lot better. I then grabbed a pair of slide from my shoe rack, slid them on and hurried downstairs.

××××

Austin's white Honda Accord was the first thing I noticed when I entered the park. Getting closer, someone opened the passenger's door. Her loosed, multicoloured linen vest popped underneath a denim jacket, which she paired with a black jeggings, and a bulky white sneakers, and her long relaxed hair laid behind her ears.