Lie Until You Laugh

38- Phone Calls

“Sienna.”

“Hmm?” I grumble tiredly.

I hear Penn laugh from my left and then I feel his lips on my cheek. “I have to go.”

“Where?” I ask him, opening my eyes to see him standing beside me, sliding a t-shirt on over his head. I appreciate the quick glimpse of his abs that I get before the fabric drapes over him like a curtain.

“Well, I have this thing called a job,” He tells me with a small laugh. “It’s really crazy, I know, but I can’t be late.”

As I start to move around, I suddenly become aware that I’m completely naked under the covers so I sit up but I bring the blanket up with me to cover my chest. “What time is it?”

“8:45,” He replies. “I really have to go.”

“Okay,” I yawn. Penn walks over to me and ducks down and presses his lips to mine for a lingering goodbye kiss but before it turns into anything, he pulls away again. “Lunch?”

He nods in agreement. “I’ll text you.” He stands up straight and walks for the door. Just before he opens it to leave, he turns back around and sends me a quick sheepish grin. “I love you.”

I can’t help but smile back and then I reply, “I love you too,” And then he’s out the door.

I sigh in complete and utter happiness because really- everything is completely and utterly happy right now. I have a wonderful boyfriend who loves me and I have my family who is now safe and free from their seven year span of abuse. I have amazing friends and I actually have a future that I can see. Maybe not a long term future, but at least for the next year before college. And that sure is something to be proud of considering I’ve never had a stable future to look forward to for even a day or a week but now I have a whole year.

No matter how completely happy I am in this moment though, I’m also extremely tired too, so I lay back down in Penn’s bed and it doesn’t take me very long to go back to sleep. It’s a lot more comfortable this time because through the night, we had to share a twin size bed which was cozy but also uncomfortable at times but now I have the bed all to myself which is really nice.

The next time that I wake up, it’s because my phone is ringing at noon which is around the time when Penn is supposed to have lunch. I get out of bed and answer my phone, putting it on speaker phone so that I can talk and get dressed at the same time.

“Hello?” I ask into the phone, pulling on my panties and shorts but it’s harder than usual because my shorts are on the floor by the bed but my panties are hiding under the blankets on the bed.

“You have about five seconds to tell me where you are before I lose the rest of my patience,” His voice demands on the other end.

I freeze in the middle of putting my bra on and feel all of my blood run cold like I was just splashed in the face with a freezing cup of reality. A terrifying, heart wrenching feeling rips through me.

“Five… four… three…” He starts counting down but I’m so stricken by his voice that I haven’t heard in so long that even if I wanted to speak, I wouldn’t be able to because I forget what talking is. I forget what anything is. I just forget. “Two… This is your last chance, Sienna. No? Fine then. One.”

“L-leave us alone,” I find my voice just to sputter that one out as I finish putting my bra on and then I grab one of Penn’s shirts, pulling it on too because I can’t find mine and I’m too frazzled to look around for it and then I slide my cargo boots on because I guess I slept in my socks which is usually something that I never do because I think it feels weird. “You won’t be able to find us.”