Falling Helplessly

Chapter 3 | I Took Yours

"Avoid him."

"I do."

"Do a better job," she says, and I narrow my eyes at her.

"Thank you, good idea. Now let's get out of here." I grab her hand and pull her towards the parking lot. However, I fight the urge to look back at Miles. But I give in to the temptation and find ass-wipe staring right at me.

✤

For what feels like the one hundredth time tonight, I pick my phone up and check my messages which, to no surprise, are still empty.

Annoyed, I toss it to the bottom of my bed and continue reading my anatomy textbook of the heart. For the longest time, I didn't know what I wanted to go to school for. Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to be a professional singer. But as I got older, reality set in and I realized it would never happen, especially since I wanted to have a normal life.

So, I chose the next best thing I loved: helping people. I felt that if I became a nurse, it would gratify me knowing I can save someone's life.

My mom and stepdad were ecstatic when I told them I wanted to go to nursing school. Particularly since I was following in my mother's footsteps. As it got closer to applying, all I could think about was the cost of everything, even though they told me not to worry about it.

Ever since my dad passed away from cancer when I was a child, it has been hard on us. My mom was fortunate enough to have met a lovely man named Joey that loves and takes good care of her. He isn't my real dad, but I still love him like he is. I know my real dad would be proud of all of us, including my younger sister, Sierra, for moving forward with our lives.

"Bell, I am running to the store for real, we're out of coffee grounds!" Addy screams from the living room, and then the front door slams shut. She's the only person I know that would run out at nine o'clock at night for coffee, and that's why she's my best friend.

My phone goes off, catching me off guard. I reach it in record time, hoping it's

Jake, and to my luck, it is.

Smiling uncontrollably, I answer instantly. "Hey, Jake."

"Hey, Pumpkin."

I fall back onto my bed. "How was your exam?"

"Pretty good," he says, sounding slightly detached from the conversation.

"That's good." I wait for him to speak, but he never does. I hear shouting and cheering in the background.

"Yep, well, the football game is coming back on. I just wanted to call and say hi. Talk to you soon," he finally says. I bite my lip, trying to hold back my unmistakable sadness.

"Yeah, talk to you la-" Three beeps sound into my ear before I can finish my sentence.

Wordlessly, I pull the phone from my ear and stare at the disconnected call. I rub my hands up and down my face, frustrated, and take a deep breath to collect myself. Is talking to your boyfriend for over thirty seconds too much to ask for?

That pit in my stomach grows stronger. Enough now that it has teeth, and those teeth have sunk into my skin, just enough to cause pain.

I distract myself until Addy comes home. The second I hear the door open, I yell for her to come to my room. Being the amazing friend she is, she doesn't hesitate. Running through the door, she jumps beside me, facing the ceiling.

"What's up?"

"I want you to tell me if I'm reading into things."

"What things?"