The Cassidy Boys

Chapter Thirteen: Let's Go To the Mall

     My eyebrows furrow and I finally get my fingers to type out a response.

     Do I have a choice?

     I shouldn't be surprised by the next text that floats in, but my heart still stutters inside my chest.

     See you then.

     I open and close my mouth a few times before I emit a strangled sound, and abruptly stand up from the couch. 

     "You're going?"

     I throw my phone back down onto the couch cushion before immediately scrambling to catch it before it flies onto the floor. "He actually decided not to give me a choice."

     My mom almost chokes on her coffee as she laughs. "Maybe I should try that when your dad decides to leave his dirty clothes on the bathroom floor."

****

     Forty minutes later, I'm wiggling my eyebrows in the mirror and am still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that I'm still not sprawled out on the couch. My comfy pjs were sadly traded in for a pair of light jeans and a grey three-fourths sleeved t-shirt. A quick shower left me with damp hair that I braided back and away from my face, thanks to some partial assistance from my mom.

     I still can't believe I'm going to the mall with Xavier Cassidy. Actually, I still can't believe I'm being forced to go to the mall with Xavier Cassidy.

     I give myself one final look in the mirror before retreating out of the bathroom. My combat boots sound like an avalanche coming down the stairs as I momentarily forget that my dad's still sleeping, and I lighten my steps as I round the banister, swiping my army green jacket off it along the way. I throw the jacket around my shoulders before plopping back down on the couch. My hand automatically picks my phone back up from where I left it in my muddled haste to get ready, and the knots that latched onto my stomach before resurface as I slowly unlock it.

     I guess this is what I get for being antisocial. Anxiousness every time I do go out.

     My foot begins nervously tapping against the carpet underneath the coffee table and even though it makes no sound, I can just picture the beat of it in my head. It falls in sync with the accelerated beat coming from within my chest, and I go to bite my thumbnail again, but then my phone chimes.

     You have a red door right?

     No, I made you drop me off at a random house the other day. I immediately type back, but when a honk resonates from outside, I take it as his response. I stand up, and stuff my phone in my pocket before lightly jogging my way into the kitchen.

     "Bye, love you," I say, and give my mom a quick kiss on the cheek from her position at the sink before dashing away, and almost smashing into a sleepy-eyed version of my dad. "Bye, dad, love you." I repeat the cheek kiss before sliding past him as my mom throws me a farewell over her shoulder.

      I step outside and am immediately greeted by a chilly breeze while my eyes land on a small black car parked across my front lawn. As I get closer to it, I see Xavier's mop of hair as he's bent over the center console, fidgeting with something. I pull open the passenger side door and his head flies up.

     "I cleaned most of it up." He retreats back into his seat, sending his seat belt snapping back with him. "But I'm just letting you know that if you see any chip bags, they're mine, but if it smells like sewage then its Ryan's fault."

     "Hello to you too." I can't decide whether to laugh, or be disgusted, but I go with both as I plop down in the leather seat.

     "Ryan usually leaves his gym bags and football gear in the back, but last night he forgot to take them out."