Falling Into Sunday

10- I Am Panicking

In a week from last Saturday, Jeff Erickson will be visiting Great Falls to discuss his merger with Travelocity. His incredibly successful line of five star Hudson Hotels will benefit majorly from this transaction and farther his career. While in Great Falls, it is confirmed that Erickson will be visiting with Governor Forrester in the Governor’s hometown.

I read the article on my phone during my first period class. It’s Monday and since yesterday, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this thing with Jeff and his visiting Great Falls. Not only is he visiting though, but apparently, he’s going to be meeting with my dad. The article goes on to babble about a lot of business stuff that I don’t understand so I lock my phone’s screen and put it in my pocket.

I go through the morning without really listening to any of my teachers because I’m so preoccupied with this whole Jeff Erickson mess. We didn’t exactly end on good terms, considering I was shouting at him and he was shouting at me and then he physically threw me out of his front door. I mean, he wasn’t abusive or anything but it still wasn’t a gentle gesture by any means.

“What’s on your mind?” Emmett wonders as I sit down at the lunch table.

I look up at him and shrug. “Nothing. I’m just peachy on this lovely Monday afternoon.”

“Okay then,” He laughs. “Aren’t you going to eat?”

I shake my head. “I’m not all that hungry.”

He nods and then turns his attention to the conversation that he’s having with his friends about some movie or video game or something that just came out. I’m not interested in it and I have a lot on my mind so I manage to zone them out while I try to decide what I’m going to do about Mr. Erickson. More importantly- what can I do?

The bell rings and I go off to music theory. By the time that I get there, Benson is already there, texting somebody on his iPhone. After I saw Jeff Erickson on the news yesterday, I kind of just scarfed down my half of the pancakes and dipped out after putting my hoodie and Uggs back on. I didn’t really explain at all, I just told him that I had to get back before my dad started to worry.

“Hey,” He says quietly. He doesn’t seem particularly happy to see me, but I’m too busy refreshing the article on my phone to try and decipher his mood.

“Hey there,” I respond dismissively. There’s a new update on the article for the first time all morning.

“So, we uh, we need to talk,” Benson announces to me after I sit down.

This just in, (I can’t believe they actually said that) our sources have announced that Erickson will only be staying for the weekend. With Travelocity and Governor Forrester in his schedule, it looks like he’s going to be pretty busy. What’s his rush to get out of Great Falls? A girlfriend perhaps? (I thought this was a political newspaper, not a gossip magazine) The rumor mill is spinning, but he has confirmed in a press conference this morning that he is, indeed, coming to Great Falls alone. Maybe he has a special somebody here as well. The man is full of secrets.

Special somebody.

Oh, God

“Venice,” Benson says, waving a hand in front of my face to try and get my attention.

“What?” I kind of snap at him. I don’t really mean to snap, but I’m so incredibly on edge right now that I can’t exactly remain calm.

“I said that we need to talk,” He repeats slowly.

“Okay,” I sigh, reading through the article once more to get any more answers about his visit here. I know for a fact that he does not have a girlfriend there in Billings because he’s a really terrible boyfriend and no decent human being is able to stand to be in a relationship with him for over a week. Not to mention, I only left a little over a week ago, so that doesn’t give him much time to find somebody else to fuck over. Nobody knows about me though, I’m like his dirty little secret. “Okay, what do you want to talk about?”