The Phone Call Consequence

Chapter 10

   I step out of my apartment, freshly showered with unwrinkled clothes.I think I look more confident than I feel but I have to do this. No matter how much I want to lock myself in my bedroom and pretend I don't have any worries and don't have two men in the opposite apartment not getting along because of me.

I freeze in front of the door, fighting myself from turning around. Just as I raise my hand to knock on the door it flies open and I tumble into the threshold right into somebody's arms. "Kyahh!"

Thud.

I slam on top of my unsuspecting new pillow, hitting the floor with a thump. Gasping, I roll away before looking up at Leonard who is glaring at me with annoyance. He wheezes as if a bag of sand landed on him. How insulting! I resist the urge to slap him. Instead, I stand up and brush off my white capris with a sharp glare.

"What are you doing here?" Leonard's tone is snippy and guarded.

"I came to talk." I brush past him into the living room, eyes darting to different corners of the apartment to catch sight of Sheldon. I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't bunkered down in his room under a blanket right about now.

He must have heard me come inside. If he really wants to see me he'll come out of his hermit shell.

Leonard shuffles in behind me and sits down across from me on the sofa. He eyes me with disdain as if I were the one cheating me instead of it being the other way around. The irony.

I keep my eyes on the wall beside his right ear, mentally counting the seconds for Sheldon to appear across the hall. When he doesn't, I frown, kneading a nearby pillow in my hands, becoming acutely aware how much alone I am with Leonard right about now. The awkward vibes just spiked a little higher. I clear my throat, finally sliding my gaze over my ex boyfriend. His glare hasn't softened in the last few minutes.

"If you're wondering where Sheldon is; he's locked himself in his room and can't hear a thing with his blaring headphones. Such odd behavior if you ask me. What did you do to him?"

"I—" I throw the pillow at Leonard, "did nothing to Sheldon! What makes you think I did something?" If looks could kill...

"There's no other explanation for it." Leonard says so matter-of-factly it takes everything in me not to throw something a little harder than a pillow at him. "Talk goes around, Penny. You're not as innocent as you want us all to believe."

I gape at him. Anything I had else to say fled with those venomous accusing words.

A nearby door slams and both of us turn to stare. Sheldon stands there with a worried and unsettled expression. He's heard Leonard talk down at me. I don't expect him to take up for me. He never stays around when there's a fight but there's a part of me that longs for him too. After all, he kissed me. This whole situation is his fault. He came to me. So I wonder if he'll be a man and take up for me? I catch his gaze for a few seconds.

I expect him to shy away from my gaze but he doesn't, not at first. His expression is apologetic. When he looks away, he levels an icy glare on Leonard.

Leonard stares at him in discomfort. I have to admit, Sheldon's angry look is a little scary. I'm glad I'm not on the wrong end of it but unfortunately Leonard is.

I step away as Sheldon takes a few steps toward his best friend and my ex boyfriend. "Don't talk down to Penny, Leonard. I tolerate many things because of you but never that."

"This has nothing to do with you." Leonard brushes off his words, turning back toward me or trying too. I've stepped several steps away from him while he wasn't looking. Finally he finds me situated on the opposite side of him and Sheldon.