Road Trip (H.S.)

Chapter 14

Felicity

I hold my phone up to my ear to answer it, something I seem to be doing a lot of on this trip. The device must be cursed, or maybe I'm the one that's cursed, because it always seems to be ringing.

"Hello?"

I didn't even bother to look at the caller ID before I picked it up. My assumption is that it's Colton once again, which is why the tone in my voice is less than enthusiastic. There's a sense of uneasiness running through my body as I think about how this conversation with him is going to go. Our chat this morning definitely did not end on a good note, and the fact that Harry dismissed his call earlier this afternoon doesn't help the situation. But he's not the only one at fault. I've hit ignore on every call Colton has made since then, and I have yet to reply to any of his text messages.

My blatant dismissal of anything related to Colton makes me feel a little guilty. I mean, he is my boyfriend and technically I should be in California by now, but I just can't bring myself to actually want to talk to him. I'm aware that our next conversation will go something along the lines of him getting very angry and frustrated with me and making demands on what he says I have to do, and I just want to postpone that conversation for as long as I can. 

Maybe all of that makes me a terrible girlfriend. If I see the situation from his point of view, I'd be pissed that our plans to be together aren't working out the way they should be, and I'd be frustrated that there isn't a solid date of when I'm arriving in town. It certainly throws off all of his plans, but as far as I'm aware, he has a lot of friends in the area that he can hang out with until I get there. It's not as if I've left him all alone. I'm sure he'll find a way to keep himself busy.

And if I keep him updated on where I am at the end of the day and what I think are the plans for the following day, maybe it will make him slightly less angry with me.

It's all his fault I'm doing this anyway. If he wasn't so ungrateful and demanding, maybe I'd actually want to get there with him sooner.

But not only that, Harry is right. I need to stop pleasing others and do things for myself. I think after all this time, I'm allowed to have a little fun on a road trip. I want to have fun on this road trip. I don't want anything holding me back.

"Felicity! Oh my god, you're alive! Have you made it to LA yet?" 

Sierra's voice floats through my ears from my cell phone and a smile is instantly put onto my face. We haven't talked to each other since I left New York, which is a shame on my part for not updating her on my trip when she was so worried about it in the first place. Hearing her now causes a wave of relief to wash over me, knowing that it isn't Colton on the line and instead someone that genuinely wants to know how things are going. 

"Hey, Sierra! I am alive, indeed," I laugh as I lean back into the seat of the car. "And no, we have not gotten to LA."

Harry looks over at me from his spot in the driver's seat and smiles. The look of concern that took over his facial expression when my phone first began to ring is now replaced with a look of contentment. He turns back to focus on the street light ahead of us, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel in rhythm with whatever song is quietly playing on the radio. It's odd to see him casually humming and having a nonchalant mini jam session to country music. Of all the arguments about the radio that we've had this whole trip, not once has he wanted to listen to a country music station. It's strange but very amusing to watch. 

"How are you not in LA yet? Are you close? It's been, like, four days!" Sierra pipes as her voice somehow grows louder than it already is. "How does your oh so wonderful boyfriend feel about this?"