Chapter Twenty-Two
“Jules?” I heard my name being called, as a faint knock was evident on the door.
“Yeah?” I said, straightening up in my bed.
“Can I come in?” they asked.
“Uh. Sure,” I said, being too lazy to say no to whoever it was.
“Hey!” they said, walking into my room. “They” being the one and only Chase Ryan. Why the hell was that boy in my room? Why was he even in my house?
“Hi…” I said slowly, as his eyes wondered around my room. A smirk was placed on my face as Chase’s expression grew to full disgust. Ah! The power of my perfectly messy room. It’s been said to make people with OCD faint.
“You’re room is so…” he struggled to find a word that fit the description.
“Amazing?” I suggested.
“No; chaotic maybe?” he said, attempting to do a 360 of the room to survey it, only to be stopped by tripping on a volley ball, that just conveniently happened to be placed on the floor. I didn’t even know I had a volley ball in here… The first time he had been in here, it was uncharacteristically clean, so I guess seeing it in its normal state is a bit nerve-racking.
“Oh! Wipeout!” I laughed, still remaining on my bed, no offering my help. It’s Chase; he’s a big boy, he can get off the floor by himself.
“Yeah, this is real funny,” he said, standing up.
“I know, isn’t it?!”
“Wow, I guess you weren’t lying,” he said, looking at me.
“Excuse me?” I said, very confused. I lie about some things. I try not to, but it’s in my nature. I don’t however recall ever lying to Chase about anything… big… that he would actually remember.
“You play the guitar. That first day, when we went over to Izzy’s house, and you told them that you played the guitar, I didn’t believe you,” he said.
“Oh! You mean this thing?” I said, holding up the instrument I had been screwing around with just moments before he had entered my mess of no return.
“Yeah, I didn’t think that you really played, I thought that you just said that so they’d like you or something.”
“No, I don’t really do that anymore. I like people liking me for who I am, not who I pretend to be,” I said, lightly strumming the strings with my somewhat callused fingers to generate a nice, and in no way melodic, sound.
“Play something for me,” he urged, sitting down at the foot of my bed, after jumping over the glorious obstacle that was a heap of laundry.
“What?” I asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Fine,” I said, trying to think of any songs that held any relevance to either of us. Breakeven. Even if Chase doesn’t care about the song, I just learned the first half, and it’s an epic song, so that’s what I’m playing. That first line- I’m still alive but I’m barely breathing- I’ve always felt a connection to. I know the song’s about a breakup, but still.
I placed my fingers in their position at the neck of the guitar, pressing down on all required chords. Grabbing a red pick that happened to be next to me, I ran it along the center of the instrument, producing the first notes of the amazing song. I looked up at Chase, to see his eyes on my fingers, as they continued to move about to the required harmonies of the song. I kept going, up to the point that I knew.
“That’s it?” he asked, once I was done.
“Yes, that’s it!” I said, slapping him. “That’s as far as I know.”
“You’re good,” he complimented.
“I know,” I sighed, putting the guitar to my side, so my lap was free.
“Most people would say thank you.”
“I’m not most people.”
“How long have you been playing?”
“Forever.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Emily told me to stop, so I did. By the way, why are you here?” That question was really the only one I wanted to be answered. Why the hell was Chase Ryan in my room, sitting on my bed?
“Talia was driving me home, and had to stop by here to make up- or maybe it was make out- with your brother or something.”
“Oh. Cool,” I said, hoping it was the first, because Adam kissing anyone is nasty.
“Also, I wanted to talk to you about something.” Here it goes…
“Is this something serious?” I sighed, standing up from my bed, and stretching my legs out.
“Yes.”
“Oh! Chase! I hate serious talks!” I whined.
“Too bad,” he said, determined to convey whatever he had on his mind to my small wealth of knowledge.
“Am I in trouble?”
“No,” he paused, “I am.”
“Oh. What’d you do, rob a bank? Murder someone?”
“No, it actually has to do with Emily,” he said, scooting to the back of my bed, so the white wall supported his back.
“I don’t like that girl,” I said, taking my guitar from the cocoon of bed sheets it was indulged in.
“I know… I wanted to talk to you about what happened in 7th grade,” he stated.
“A lot of shit happened in 7th grade,” I said, opening up my oddly shaped case, and placing the wooden guitar into it.
“I wanted to talk about why I went out with Emily.”
“I don’t like to dwell on the past,” I said. I didn’t want to relive those few months. Everything had happened so fast. One minute Chase was my whole world, and the next, my “best friend” took him from me. It wasn’t a pleasant time for me. But then, Mason came along and saved the day.
“Too bad. We’re talking about it.”
“What’s there to talk about? You went out with Emily after I told you I liked you. We were in middle school. Naïve, unintelligent, trusting, stupid, and innocent; we didn’t know any better.”
“Why did I go out with Emily?” he questioned in rather a grim tone.
“If I recall, she said that you asked her out.”
“See, Emily said a lot of things. Some were true, most weren’t. That one was a lie.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, still not comfortable facing that period of time again. I didn’t want to handle it. I do that a lot. I push my problems aside, and pretend they don’t exist. Sometimes not dealing with an issue is easier than staring it straight in the face. I don’t know… it works for me I guess.
“She asked me out,” he said.
“Oh… kay?”
“I said no at first.”
“Uh huh. What made you change your mind?” I asked, making my way over to my desk chair, and sitting down in it.
“She said it would make you jealous. I liked you Jules. Back then, and now.”
“I don’t get it? Why did you stay with her if I told you that I liked you?”
“Because I was with her at that point, and I felt guilty if I had left her to be with her best friend, even if the whole relationship was partially based on a lie. Oh, and there was the whole Mason thing.”
“Why are you telling me this now?” I asked, dully spinning the chair in a circle for lack of anything else to do.
“Because I thought you should know,” he said, looking at me, as the chair slowly revolved.
“Okay. Well, I already knew that Emily was a lying bitch, but thanks for telling me yet another example of that. Really Chase, it means a lot to me,” I said sarcastically.
“Whatever Jules. I wanted you to know.” He got up from the bed, and carefully stepped around all the miscellaneous objects that had somehow found a home on my floor.
“Where you going?”
“Talia said five minutes, and I believe it’s been that long,” he replied.
“Oh.”
“Jules, one more thing,” he said, about to leave the room.
“Yeah?”
“I liked you then, but I like more now,” he said.
“Great to know,” I said, disregarding the words he had just spoken.
“Bye Jules,” he said, waving, and shutting my door closed.
“Bye Chase,” I said faintly, with the click of the door closing. I heard footsteps depart from my side of the house, and sighed. That was an… interesting visit by Mr. Ryan. Kind of random. I don’t know. What he said, I totally believe because that’s something that Emily would do in heartbeat. I’m not sure how emotionally I feel about it, but I can leave my heart to decide that later.
I heard a distant buzz coming from somewhere in the room, and instantly regretted putting my phone on silent. How the hell was I supposed to find my phone in this place, while it’s on silent? That’s like asking someone to find a pair of Vans in a Converse store! IMPOSSIBLE! [A/N: Shoe analogy! Or is it a metaphor? Or maybe a simile…]
I hunted the wondrous floor of my room, hearing a buzz every few seconds. I lifted up a shirt. No phone. I pulled up a pair of pants. No phone. Under a binder. No phone. In a purse. No phone. I looked practically everywhere, and had know idea where the damn phone was!
I heard it buzz once again, and had a thought. I picked up a red Converse shoe, and turned it over. Out came my phone, tumbling to the floor. Only I, have the ability to loose a phone, and find inside a shoe; not to mention dropping it. Wow. Talent right there! I looked at the screen to see could possibly be calling me. Trent.
“Hey TJ,” I said, answering it.
“Hello JT,” he said, using a nickname I had only been called one other time in my life… by him.
“I thought you hated that sound of that?” I said, getting up off my floor.
“I do, but you started out with TJ, so I thought I’d reverse the letters on you. See, I’m smart.”
“Of course you are Trent…”
“So, what’s up?”
“Satellites.”
“I would’ve said the sky.”
“I know.”
“So seriously, what are you up to?”
“Nothing,” I said, quickly contemplating whether or not to clean my room, but deciding against it. Too much effort involved.
“Cool. So, I just called to say hi.”
“Of course you did Trenty...”
“Mhmm… See ya tomorrow?”
“Maybe…”
“Planning on ditching?”
“Maybe!” I laughed.
“Okay. Night Julesy,” he sighed.
“Goodnight Trenty,” I said, ending the call. Oh Trent…
I went over to my desk, picked up a white cord, connecting it to my dying phone. I really should take better care of it. I was pretty tired, so decided to either take a quick nap, or just go to sleep and not wake up until the morning. I lugged myself over to my bed, and collapsed… only to hear my door swing open, and have an obnoxious child enter.
“Jules!” he whined.
“Adam!” I whined back.
“We never talk anymore! I think we should start now,” he said, jumping onto the foot of my bed. I groaned.
“You sound like a middle aged mother. I’m tired. Get out,” I said, putting a pillow over my eyes.
“Funny. Chase was in here earlier?” he asked, patting on my legs.
“Yes he was,” I yawned.
“You two talked?”
“Yes we did.”
“What about?” he asked, snatching the pillow away from me.
“Stuff,” I replied, not wanting to talk about the discussion at all, let alone with Adam.
“Uh huh. Talia thinks you two are perfect for each other.”
“Good for Talia.”
“She says he likes you.”
“Uh huh. Please leave.”
“One more thing.”
“Fine!” I groaned.
“I’m sorry I pressuring you before to be with Trent,” he surprisingly apologized.
“Uh huh. Why the change of heart, and why’d you do that anyways?”
“Talia enlightened me about the outcome of brotherly pressure, based on her own experience. He’s a good kid. When you were in 7th grade, he was the only one of your friends, besides Mason, Trent, and Aaron, who I could actually stand,” he said, getting up, and causing the bed to shift with a loss of his weight.
“Okay Ad. Get out now?”
“Fine. Night Jules,” he said, making his way over to the doorway.
“Can you get the light for me?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he said, flicking his finger over the light switch, as the room turned to a peaceful darkness. The blackness captivated my eyes, and padlocked them shut for the next however many hours.