Landslide

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Present

Landon's POV:

"Lan, your phone, bud!" Dean calls over to me.

I ignore him and continue punching the bag, watching it swing after every hit.

"It's ringing!" He yells louder. "It's ringing louder!"

It's easier to tune him out. He knows not to interrupt me when I'm busy. This is the only time I get to myself.

Em, at hearing Dean's loud voice, enters the basement to see what all the commotion is about. She sees my boxing stance and quirks an eyebrow at me. "Pretending to not hear him again even though the whole neighborhood does?" She gestures over to Dean who is now talking amicably on my phone to someone.

I nod. "Uh-huh." I hit the bag with a right hook before bobbing and weaving. "He's annoying me."

She grins. "The usual, then."

I don't care what anyone says, seeing my sister smile makes my day. It means I've done something right.

"Oh, Sarah, you're so funny!" Dean laughs loudly before catching my gaze. "I think I'm handsome too!" He accidentally puts Sarah on speaker phone while turning to smirk at me. "I'd love to go on a date with you."

"That's not what I said. Is Landon there?" I hear Sarah ask him as if confused.

I focus on my footwork and roll my eyes, unfazed by Dean's stupidity.

Em laughs at him, thereby encouraging him on. "Dean is a moron," she says, turning to look at me.

I stop punching the bag and grin down at her. "You don't gotta tell me, Sis."

"Isn't Sarah that girl whose sister was sick?" Em asks, remembering what Dean told her a couple of days ago.

I nod and remove my gloves before reaching for the shirt laying over the basement couch. "Yeah," I answer, shrugging the black shirt on and pulling it over my chest.

"The pretty one?" She winks at me, a mischievous smile floating over her dumb face – I know what she's trying to do.

"Dean thinks every girl is pretty," I tell her, knocking her shoulder with mine as I pass her by, "including you."

"Hey! He's right, Landon! I am pretty!" Em calls after me, finally catching on.

I chuckle and snatch my phone from Dean's hands. "Landon speaking," I say into the phone before winking at my little sister – it's fun messing with her.

Dean grins at me as if satisfied. "Works every time," he says, having predicted that I'd snap and take the phone away from him eventually.

Before I can react and slap him over the head, a shy voice comes through from the other side of the line.

"Hey. It's Sarah," a timid voice greets me. "You helped me with my car about two weeks ago. You gave me your number when my sister–"

"I know who you are," I cut her off, straining to hear her over the sudden arguing in the background.

"I need to talk to someone who understands," she replies softly. "I'm struggling to make sense of everything." She pauses as if nervous. "Can we meet up somewhere sometime?"

I'm about to refuse but then sigh in guilt. I get where she's at. Experiencing the death (I'm assuming) of someone close to you is not something I want to go through again. And I did stupidly offer because, at the time, I felt like she needed it.