Behind Closed Doors

Chapter 13: "What is your name?"

Everyone went home. Me and Cam and Collin are laying on the couch.

Mom walks in the room with a camera.

"I need a picture." She says. She takes a picture of us just laying here on our phones, and then puts the camera on the table. I'm wearing my Halloween costume, but my hair is in a messy bun and I don't have my Nikes on, so I'm just in black spandex and a white t-shirt. Cam is in sweats and a white tank top and Collin is in jeans.my head is in Collin's lap and my feet are on Cam's and I'm scrolling through twitter. Collin is on Facebook and Cam is on Instagram.

"Are you getting a dorm?" Cam asks.

"I don't know." I admit. "I don't want to live with a stranger."

"Let's get a little apartment." She says.

I shrug. "Okay." I say.

"How much do you love me guys?" Mom asks. All of us exchange a look and then look at her. We don't answer. She sighs. "I ate all your candy this morning."

I sit up and stare at her.

"All of it." She adds.

"We walked for hours to get that!" I say.

"I hope you get diabetes!" Collin snaps.

"Can you forgive me?" she asks.

"No!" all three of us say.

She laughs. "I'm kidding. Say hi to Jimmy Kimmel."

I blink three times. She's going to post this on YouTube and it's going on Jimmy Kimmel. "Oh, you bastard!"

She ends the video and starts laughing.

_____________

Cam and I went to Newark, Delaware where our college is for the weekend. We're looking for apartments. We're both enrolled online. Cam and I found a job and she's starting work the same day the spring semester calluses start, which is November fifteenth, and also the same day I start work. We won't be going home for Thanksgiving, which made Mom and her Mom really mad.

"We should look here." I say, tapping an Ad in a newspaper. She takes a sip of her orange juice and then snatches the page from my hand. We're in a hotel.

"Alright, I'll call the guy." She pulls out her phone and dials in the number and puts it on speaker. I sit across from her, and we wait. It rings and rings and rings, and then finally.

"Hello?" a man asks.

"Um hi...is this Jared Hardon?" Cam asks, casting me a glance.

"Come on baby, come back to bed!" a girl purrs in the background.

Me and Cam lock eyes, and I clamp my hand over my mouth to stifle my laughter.

"Um, this is he." He says.

"Jared, come on! I'm so wet for you, baby!"

Cam has tears of laughter pouring down her cheeks.

"Hang on Candy!" he says.

And her name is Candy, oh my god!

"I was calling about your apartment for rent but um...I think we'll look elsewhere." Cam chokes out.

"Oh no, really, it's okay."

"No, no, thanks." Cam hangs up and we both start laughing even harder. "Oh, that shit was good!" she says.

We sit there, laughing, clutching our sides for a good ten minutes.

"Okay, okay!" Cam gasps. "What about this place?" she shows me an apartment on her computer. We've already looked at seven houses. We're going home tomorrow, so we really need to find a place.