Abeyance

Chapter 11. Collective Commiseration.

"Well, then, what happened to the two of you, exactly?"

"Well, you see," Kalen began before he was rudely interrupted.

"I was walking along, minding my own business, when suddenly I got jumped by this socially inept mad mad from out of nowhere!"

"Hey! I did what I had to do," Kalen rebutted defensively. "I didn't have to risk my life to save yours."

"Excuse you, this is my version of the story," she leaned back against the wall as she attempted to finish her tale.

"Oh, no you don't! We're telling it my way." He leaned in towards Laila when he added the last bit. "The right way."

Growing more and more intrigued, yet immensely exhausted by their bickering, she gestured for them to get on with the story.

"Okay. This is what really happened, not the imaginary ramblings of a sociopath." Callie snorted at the snarky remark and crossed her legs, forcefully digging her heels into the middle of Kalen's torso. He threw them off of him and continued. It was mildly irritating, but he was not at all surprised by her rash actions anymore.

"I was just walking to school one day. It was a day just like any other. I just felt this... this really odd sensation, so I looked up to find this girl in front of me, minding her own business," he added, looking up. She raised an eyebrow approvingly and nodded.

"Then a huge friggin' truck zooming down the street with no signs of slowing down. So I did the only thing that I could think of to do. I ran. I ran towards her, trying to save the both of us. And, well, you know the rest." Kalen crossed his arms and leaned back contently, mildly pleased with himself.

The momentary happiness didn't last long, though. He bit the inside of his cheek when a small wave of guilt crept over his body. He felt like a dark shadow began to loom over him, and he swallowed hard, desperately willing the inexplicable feeling of shame to go away.

How can I be bragging about something like this? I didn't even save her... He thought sadly, forcing a smile back on his face. It was more of a mask, an illusion. But, maybe then I can fool myself into thinking everything is okay. Kalen inwardly scoffed, wishing that he was actually stupid enough to believe that. 

"Wow," Laila said in awe. "That was a very brave thing you did, Kalen." Callie frowned and turned her head away slightly. A very strange mix of insecurity and jealousy that she had never felt before began to brew in the pit of her stomach. She pulled her legs off of Kalen and drew them into her chest, all the while keeping her face stoic and unreadable.

Oh, Kalen, you're sooo brave! So fucking fantastic, Callie mocked Laila in her head while shooting her a look out of the corner of her eye. Kalen turned to her, without her knowledge, and gave her a curious look. He then turned back to Laila, smiling from ear to ear.

"Oh, no, it was no big deal," he blushed. He waved his hand to motion for her to stop, though his inflated ego wanted more.

"No, really, I don't know many people with the courage to do what you did. It was very sweet to give your life for a complete stranger like that," she gushed.

"Well, you know, I did what I had to do." He tried to sound brave, squaring his shoulders and puffing out his chest slightly.

Callie poked him in the shoulder. "Oh, you sound like a walrus. Stop trying to act so manly." She swung her legs off the desk and moved to stand. "You can't pull it off," she added bitterly.

"Hey," he scoffed as she jumped off the desk. "I resent that."

"I resent that," Callie repeated sarcastically in the deepest voice she could muster. 

 "You are such a child."

"Takes one to know one!" She didn't know why she was being so cruel to Kalen all of a sudden, it was like an automatic reflex inside of her. She couldn't help it, the words just spilled out of her mouth without permission.

"Way to prove my point. Why do I even bother to argue? It never seems to make a difference with you." Kalen shook his head in what could only be described as an interesting culmination of amusement and disappointment that he had honestly never felt before. He decided to attempt to shift the conversation in a completely different direction.

"So, Laila, what happened to you? If, you know, you don't mind my asking."

"No, no, not at all. Okay, if you really want to know, but it will be a long story, and it's not a pretty one." Kalen solemnly nodded, and even Callie leaned over, her curiosity getting the better of her. And so the blonde girl went on to tell her story, every last detail that she could remember, trying very hard to keep her composure as she re-lived every single heinous detail of the last night of her life.

She didn't meet the eyes of her listeners until the very end, else she'd probably lose her nerve. She felt her voice waiver towards the end, and her hands began to tremble. She clasped them together tightly, attempting to calm herself.

When the young girl finished telling her tale the room was silent, save for the quiet murmurings of Addison on the opposite end of the little room as he slept restlessly. Kalen tried to think of something deep or comforting to say to her, coming up completely blank. Laila didn't want to be the first to speak, so she let her head hang for a while. Kalen still tried to rack his brain, praying, silently begging that Callie wouldn't be herself and say something so very... Callie-like. As always, his prayers went unanswered.

"Damn, your life really fucking sucks." And then after a very long moment of uncomfortable silence and to everyone's--especially Laila's-- surprise, they all let go of their insecurities and sorrows and shared a laugh.

"Oh, I'm so happy to have found you guys!"

Laila had tears in her eyes, but she was pleased to know that they weren't tears of sadness anymore. They were tears of happiness, because, for the first time in a long time, she knew that she was safe, and she knew that she belonged.