Curious Minds

Chapter 11

"Yes!" I breathed as I latched the lock behind me. I slid down to sit on the floor with my back against the door.

After Caleb had gone off with his cousin and I rejoined the group, it was hours before I had had a chance to escape. Even then, the twins had bombarded me with questions about how I got so good at surfing.

Here it was after 1 AM and I was just now escaping from everyone. I had no idea where Caleb was. His cousin had reappeared a few hours ago and announced that we would be going home in a week or so. I had thought we would be staying for the whole summer. The twins had voiced a similar opinion. Todd had ignored our protests and left. After that, the Twins had put aside their questions and had helped me look for Caleb. We hadn't found him and we all agreed to see if he showed up by the next morning.

Being popular for a day had exhausted me, alone. The questioning, confusion of changed plans, and search for a friend that was nowhere to be found made me want to curl up right here on the floor and sleep till we had to leave.

A sob brought me out of my musings.

The unexpected sound had my whole body tensing. That was when I noticed the silhouette of someone on my bed in the dark. I hadn't bothered to turn on a light when I entered the room. Now the figure leaned forward and flipped on the bedside lamp.

"Caleb?" I said, relaxing. "You scared the crap out of... Caleb?"

He was facing away and hadn't looked over to where I sat on the floor. His elbows were resting on his knees and his head hung low while his hands squeezed one another where they hung between his knees.

When he didn't respond, I tried again, "Caleb?"

Still nothing.

I climbed to my feet and began walking around the bed when I heard it. That sound made me freeze and tense for a different reason than fear. Caleb sniffed again.

"C-caleb?" I said tentavely. Maybe he was making a joke? Caleb never cried. Even if he was, how could I help? I was shit at dealing with emotional people. When I went to sit on the bed beside Caleb, though, I ended up being wrapped in my best friend's arms with his tear-streaked face pressed into my neck. "Uhhh," was my comforting response. I awkwardly patted his back.

We sat like that for a little while before Caleb pulled away, wiping almost angrily at the tears still on his face.

Hoping to either make him laugh or hit me, either of which I preferred over the helpless look on his face, I whispered, "You leaked on me."

Caleb snorted a laugh and shoved my shoulder, nearly sending me off the bed.

"Dude!" I said, feigning hurt. "That's mean."

Now he was laughing.

After I used up my already empty repretoire of crappy jokes and unfunny one-liners, Caleb started throwing a few back at me. We continued back and forth until the tear tracks on his face had dried and practically disappeared. That was when I worked up the courage to ask the burning question.

"So, what upset the stoic jock so much he actually began losing water from his eyes?"

He laughed, but then just sat and stared at the floor for a long moment before answering. "Nothing."

I thought about pressing, but I knew Caleb well enough to know that would only make him close up more. Instead, I nodded and bumped his shoulder with mine. Then I went around to the other side of the bed and crawled under the covers after tossing my jeans into a corner, but leaving my wife beater and underwear on.

"Do you mind if I stay in here tonight?" Caleb asked. He was facing the wall again, like he was worried I'd tell him to leave.

I knew he wouldn't have asked if there wasn't a reason, but I knew he wouldn't share it right now. Caleb was one who liked sleeping alone. Even though he was opular, it was rare for anyone staying over to sleep in the same room as him. When I visited, I usually slept on the couch.

Figuring he'd wander back to his own room at some point, I said, "Sure, just stay on your side." I rolled so that I was facing away from him.

The light went off and I felt the bed shift as Caleb made himself comfortable. I wanted to pry, but held the urge back. It was on my mind until I fell asleep, sometime after Caleb began snoring.