When It all Falls Down

Chapter 2.1

Kaleb

February 1

    On my way to pick my girlfriend, Sam, up for school I decided to try to call CJ again. On the 3rd ring he picked up. "Hello?" He sounded like he just woke up.

    "Hey man, so tired that you forgot you're ignoring me?" I joked, and he sighed.

    "I wasn't ignoring you," he said. "I was ignoring everyone." He didn't sound like himself. He sounded defeated.

    "Not Meghan." I had to admit I was kind of pissed at him for that. Why couldn't he come to me? Instead he goes running back to his girlfriend who only talks to him when it's convenient for her.

"Please stop with that. She's my girlfriend Kaleb, not my best friend. I only went to talk to her because she needed me. If you needed me I would've been there in a second, and you know that."

"You're pulling away from Sam and I again. We miss you. Neither of us has seen you outside of school for weeks."

"I'm just tired. I'll talk when I'm ready," he said.

"Can I ask you one more thing?"

"I guess."

"Why'd you let Craig and his gang beat the shit out of you?" He laughed at my comment.

"Five on one isn't my idea of a fair fight," he answered.

"Ask him why he started shit with him in the first place," my little sister, Ana, said from the back seat.

I looked up at her in the rearview mirror, and rolled my eyes at her. She was 15 years old, but looked and acted like she was 12. "I'm asking for a friend," she said and shrugged her shoulders. I knew the friend she was asking for was Claire. Nothing happened in mine or CJ's lives that they didn't tell each other.  

    I pulled into Sam's driveway and saw her waiting outside in the cold. She quickly jumped in and blasted the heat. "Is that Christopher?" she asked and took the phone from me.

    I snatched it back from her, and she shook her head. "Good morning Ana. I love your hat," she said and Ana smiled at her.

    It was a very fuzzy penguin hat that our dad had gotten her for Christmas.

    "I have to get ready, otherwise I'm going to be late," CJ said.

    "Are you going to talk to me at school?" I asked, and he grunted a response.

    Before I could say goodbye I heard one of his little sisters screaming in the background, "Christopher wake up! Mommy's home!" before the phone call ended.

My eyes widened, and Sam gave me a questioning look. "I think Lauren's home," I said, and she gave me the same wide eyed expression.

"No way," she sighed. I grabbed her hand. "This is not going to be good."

As soon as I parked my car Ana was out and running into the building. Probably off to find Claire and ask about yesterday.

"I wonder what the new girl's name is," Sam said as we entered school. Still standing in the entryway was a girl I had never seen before. As if Sam had noticed her she said, "Hello! I'm Sam!"

The girl turned around and gave us a very embarrassed look. She had platinum blonde hair that went down to the middle of her back, and her eyes were a light brown, similar to Sam's.

"I'm Gabriella. Well, Gabi." She was so quiet I had to lean in to hear her.

"Kaleb," I said and reached my hand out. She took it and shook it very lightly. I thought her name was sort of ironic, because she really didn't seem like someone who talked a lot. "No need to be shy. Everyone here is pretty decent," I added, and she attempted to smile at me. "Except Sam of course. She's kind of a dick."