Sparrow of the Dawn

Hear Me

The uber pulls up to my house and I run inside, stumbling to the bathroom, almost tripping on air on the way. I reach the bathroom just in time for the beer I drank earlier to come back up. When it's safe to do so, I get up, pour myself a glass of water, place a bottle of Advil next to my bed, and go to sleep.

I wake up a few hours later to the sun shining through my window and the sound of birds chirping. It would've been a beautiful morning if my head wasn't pounding. Reaching toward my nightstand, I grad the Advil and take a couple pills, washing them down with the water. As I lay back down, I think of everything that unfolded the night before. Just as I'm about to continue my freak-out that I began last night, my phone buzzes four times in a row. I must be popular this morning.

The first three texts are from Sam, and the last is from Jake: "I hope you got home ok," "Want to meet later?" "Please say yes," and, "You should've listened to me more last night."

Of course, I'm not surprised by any of these texts, considering Sam's sweeter than sugar and Jake seems to be more dense than a brick. "Hey Sammy, I'm fine, thanks. I can meet you at my place in 30?" I send the message and get up to get ready, ignoring Jake's text.

Sam texts back 25 minutes later that he's on his way, which means I have about 37 seconds to finish my breakfast and take some deep breaths. After semi successfully calming myself, I hear a knock at the door. I open it up to find not only Sam, but Jake standing beside him. "Hi... Jake I didn't know you'd be here too," I say with a tone of disappointment.

"Nice to see you too, Lex," Jake says with a straight face. I let the guys in and we go to the living room. The guys sit on the couch, and I sit across from them in a chair.

Sam chimes in, "Hey Lex, I don't want to make this more awkward than it already is, so," Sam shifts in his seat, crossing his legs the way guys do in casual business meetings. "Obviously I think there's a little tension between you and me."

"What kind?" I say, playing dumb. I'm secretly hoping we're not about to address our feelings; this could get messy really quick.

"Ya know... like when—"

"Sexual tension?" Jake cuts him off.

"Uh, yeah. I guess." Sam says awkwardly. At this point, no one is looking anyone else in the eyes, but Jake has no problem dominating the conversation.

"Welp, I think that if you two really, I mean really like each other, you should go for it." Jake throws his hands up in the air and stands up, walking around the room. "Lex, have fun with my charming, sweet, safe, little bro. And Sam, I hope you enjoy getting your heart broken. Lex is good for it!" He shouts. My mouth is wide open by the end of Jake's rant.

"Bro, can you chill out? I was just going to suggest—" Sam starts.

"How about you suggest to Lex that she listens to people," Jake cuts him off again. "Tell her to stop jumping to conclusions like she's playing a game of leap frog," he says before storming out of the house.

Sam and I just look at each other for what feels like five minutes. I didn't think what had happened the night before would have caused him to be so frustrated. Maybe we have different interpretations on what was said. Maybe I should go after him and try to have a calm and sober conversation. Either way, we need to get to the bottom of whatever is going on. Sam interrupts my thoughts, "Lex, I know Jake just said a lot, but if you couldn't tell from last night, I am interested," he says. "I know it'll mess with Jake but we can figure it out." I can't believe my ears.

"Sam, I'm not in any space to think about this right now. I really want to figure out what's going on with Jake. I think I owe him a sober conversation," I say. I'm starting to feel bad about the way I acted with Jake last night, even though he's still confusing me.

"I understand, I'll tell him to give you a call," Sam smiles and shows himself out. I think Jake might really be trying to fix things with me.