What About Us?

Chapter 10

Jackson

I was catching up on sleep with Angela when I heard her phone ring. I said something between a groan and a 'please turn the damn thing off' as she got up and answered it. She walked into the bathroom. I was just dozing off again when she screamed.

"WHAT!"

I jumped up and rush to the door.

"I can't just tell him!" She said, silence followed by, "Are you INSANE! NO! Teddy this isn't up for debate, if it was Charlie's . . ." more silence, ". . . sorry, sorry, I know. But still, it would ruin everything. Until I find the right time don't say a word!"

She opened the bathroom door and ran into me. Her curly hair was disheveled and was sticking straight up in some places, he chocolaty eyes studied my face.

"How much did you hear?" She asked

"It's him, isn't it? He tracked us all the way here and came looking for me . . ." I started to panic again

"Jackson just calm down a minute!" She urged. I started leading myself into a panic attack, I felt claustrophobic in our room. That made everything worse.

I started pacing, shaking my head and letting out short sobbed breaths. Angela gave me my space for a bit. Eventually the lack of sufficient oxygen got to me and I rammed into my dresser.

"Ok, just calm down." She said. She tried to get near me, but I dashed out the door.

I wasn't sure where I was going but the place felt too small for me. I wondered around the lake, it held an orangish glow from the setting sun. I walked around it enough times to make someone dizzy, but for me it cleared my head. I'd gotten over my panic attack but wasn't ready to go back yet. I wondered over to the sports storage area and grabbed my stick. I took the bucket of balls and chucked them one at a time at the net.

I was out there until well after dark. I just shot until I ran out, gathered the balls, and repeated. I perfected my left hand shot and trick shots. I worked on random tricks and ran the field. Finally, I decided to grab something to eat, I was sweaty and gross, but I knew no one would mind.

<*>

I was finishing up my 5th slice when Teddy walked in.

"Jackson! What are you doing here?" He asked

"Eating." I replied munching on my pizza

"Angela is looking for you. She says you've been missing for hours. Melisa and Charlie are with her now, she was saying something about you freaking out and running away . . ." He acted to cool, like he was talking about a boring class.

"Yeah, I walked around the lake a bit, then went and practiced, lost track of time. Ya know?"

"I've been running errands all day. Jeez, I walked into the director's office to find out what happened, and BAM! He had me all over camp delivering god knows what! I missed all the excitement AGAIN! I went to the post office to mail a letter this morning, saw some guy walk into camp. I thought it was a parent or an uncle and when I get back police cars are swarming the area and won't let me in! Finally, an officer starts questioning me and I lose it because he's waving a gun around, thinking I'm the shooter. Then two officers walk out with same dude I was earlier between them and Charlie following in tow, looking for me. We take off and that's when we find you and Angela." He finally stopped to breathe, "So you've been practicing? How's the trick with the ball and the stick thing coming?"

"Good, perfected my left hand shot. Ran a bit, you know."

He sat down across from me.

"You shouldn't run out on Angela, you scared her man." He said

I would never admit this because Jacob is my best friend, but I seem to connect more with Teddy. He'll take you seriously or put on his emo face and pretend like nothing matters. He'll look after you, (so will Jacob but whatever) give you space, but somehow always shows up when you need someone to talk to.

"I know I did. I just had to leave, you know? Clear my head a bit, talk a walk." I said

"She'll understand, what happened anyway?"

"You called her, I heard you talking, and she said she would tell me it was HIM. I put two and two together and found out who 'HIM' was. I panicked a bit and needed some air."

"Let's get back, it's late." He said

It was late. I'd been gone for 3 and a half hours. Most of the lights had been turned out since it was nearing mid-night. Angela was sitting on the porch steps sipping tea and talking with Melisa. Their conversation stopped when Teddy and I approached.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" Angela shrieked loud enough for Alaska to hear, "I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR HOURS! I HAD TO SEND THIS ONE TO FIND YOU!" She gestured at Teddy

"Sorry." I mumbled. She set down her mug and wrapped her arms around my neck. I knew she wasn't mad, she was just worried. One day Charlie had been pulled into the infirmary on his off day, he ended up spending the whole day there. Charlie is like Angela's big brother, and when we found him half-awake in the dining hall with a half-eaten chocolate bar, Angela yelled at him for "Disappearing without a trace all day." He simply chuckled and hugged her, we practically dragged him back to his room he was so tired.

"You're not allowed to disappear on me." She mumbled

"What fun would that be? You're cute when you're worried." I smiled. She playfully punched me in the arm. We said goodnight to Melisa and Teddy and headed inside.