Heat Waves

seven

I couldn't sleep. Evan had texted me again -- three times today, in fact -- and as I lay on my stomach, propped up on my elbows with my phone in my hands, the white glow coming from my screen being the only light in the room, I was lost. I couldn't gather my thoughts enough to respond, so I stared at the white bubbles of text for a long time.

I didn't know what to say to him. He wanted to see me again, he wanted to know if something was up since I hadn't texted him back for a couple of days, the last time we spoke on the phone was not anywhere near a decent conversation, and it was clear that he was worried, but... What could I actually say?

Hey, sorry but I got distracted by a guy at work that I can't get off my mind and I just didn't feel like texting you back. Sure, let's hang out

I scoffed at the idea, sighing as I clicked the phone off. It was stupid. Initially, hanging with him had reminded me of the feelings that I had when we were together in the past, but now I just felt uninterested. It would fade, I was sure of it; or maybe it wouldn't. Maybe he was already starting to bore me.

That wasn't good. I rolled over onto my back and breathed out a slow breath as I gazed up at the ceiling. Was that how it worked now? Did I stop finding him interesting just because another guy caught my eye? Did that make me a bad guy? I had known that I didn't actually have feelings for Evan anymore, but this was a whole new level of indifference, and that worried me. His attention had felt like a solution to my problem, but if it was really just a temporary fix, that meant I needed more. Where was I going to get something more?

A small thump at my window registered in the back of my head, but I brushed it off as the wind swaying the branches of the tree right outside my room. I liked the sound of the leaves ruffling on nights like these and the feeling of a soft, cool breeze flowing into my room, and had I not been so lazy, I would have stood up to open my window and let the night air in. I didn't, though. I just closed my eyes and listened to the quiet, arrhythmic thumping against my window. It nearly would have put me to sleep had it not stopped all of a sudden. I lay in dead silence for a few minutes before the stillness of the night was interrupted once again.

This time, it wasn't thumping that I heard. It sounded like two quiet hits against the glass, too close together to have been the wind again. After a few seconds, they sounded again, pulling me out of my near-slumber. It almost sounded like...knocking. When I heard them the third time, louder than before, I knew for sure what it was. Somebody was knocking.

I sat up in my bed and pulled the sheets up on my body to hide my chest, naked beneath the thin shirt that I wore as pajamas. Bunching the sheets up to my body, I narrowed my eyes to try to see through the half-opened blinds. I couldn't make much out until a phone light was shined to the familiar smile that I used to know so well.

I moved off the bed quickly and quietly, confused and a little annoyed as I scurried over to the window and yanked on the string to pull the blinds up. Dropping to my knees, I pushed the edge of the window panel upwards and opened it just enough to look his smiling face in the eyes. "What do you think you're doing?" I whispered, annoyance clearly evident in my tone and all over my face.

He seem unfazed, however, as he clicked off his phone and slipped it back into his pockets. "Reliving the past," he whispered, grabbing onto the window frame to balance himself. I looked outside further and saw that he was standing on the thick branch that held my swinging chair and holding onto another branch above his head with his other arm. "I came to see you."

I looked at him, even more perplexed. "You were here earlier -- thanks for that, by the way," I added, sarcasm seeping into my voice. "What are you doing here now? It's past midnight."