Savage Me

Chapter 9: One Call Away

"You little shit."

He burst out laughing. "Man, I missed you."

"I rushed out in the middle of the fucking class, asshole!" I yelled into the phone, hoping to hell that his ears bled from my shriek.

"This is the only free time I have," said Oz defensively. "As hard as it is to believe, I missed your sorry ass enough to call as soon as I goddamn can."

I snorted. "You could've texted to check if I was free. Some of us have lives, you know."

"Right, I heard you joined a sorority. Is that your new life now?"

I was quiet for a moment, panicking a little because how could he have known? There was no one else who could've told him other than Scout. But still, I played it cool.

"Who told?"

"Drew."

I fought a sigh of relief. Of course, it was my brother.

"I didn't know you guys still talked," I said.

"We were talking about football, and then you came up."

I rolled my eyes, sitting on the nearby bench. "Uh-huh."

"How're you holding up over there?"

"Eh."

He chuckled. "Don't sound too excited."

I didn't reply.

"What, you're not gonna talk to me now?"

How could I let him know that I wanted him to keep talking because I missed his voice so much without appearing sappy as fuck?

"And deprive you of the spotlight?" I said instead. "I'd never."

He laughed, and with a dreamy sigh, he whispered, "I miss high school."

I drew a line with my shoe, before asking, "Is it tough?"

"Everything is," he admitted. "Especially fucking football. I'm catching up but Alfie..."

"How is he?"

"Not good. He's keeping up the tough guy act, but I can see through his bullshit."

My fingers reached up and fiddled with a lock of my hair.

"Maybe he just needs a little more time to adjust," I reasoned.

Oz didn't reply right away. I could clearly imagine him shaking his head.

"I won't be surprised if one day, he just snaps."

"What do you think he'll do?" I asked quietly.

"I don't know, Con," he said, worry etched in his voice. "Alfie can be so goddamn unpredictable."

I silently agreed with his statement.

"Do me a favor, though."

I snapped to attention, waiting.

"If he runs to you, don't turn him away."

"Never." He was my best friend. "But Oz, I don't think Alfie –"

"He will."

"How can you be so sure?"

"'Cause besides me, you're his only family."

* * * * *

I was still staring at my phone, sitting on the bench outside, when Scout found me.