"Hey, look who's calling," Michael joked, "John not picking up?"
"Very funny." I grumbled, sitting on the kitchen counter with my legs crossed at the ankles.
"What's wrong sour puss?"
"Did you call me a few minutes ago?" I asked unable to restrain myself from biting my thumbnail.
"Not that I'm aware of. I was taking a nap so I could've slept walked or something." Michael said in a serious tone.
"Michael I'm serious." I said hopping of the counter.
"So am I...what's wrong?" He asked with an edge in his voice. "Did something happen?" Ever since the Ride-A-Longs were cancelled, the four of us were closer than ever. The boys felt as though they owed me their lives, while Jenny saw herself as the mother watching over us. I was left with the job of a child, having others watch over me and hating ever second.
"No nothing, it's probably just Jenny or Cam prank calling me." I said working over the idea.
"Probably, they went out to get food before you awoke me from my beauty sleep."
"What beauty do you speak of?" I laughed, already foreseeing his hurt expression.
"Go harass someone else and let me regenerate my beauty!" Michael huffed before a quick chuckle and we hung up.
Grabbing a plate from the cupboard, I stared at the food before me. The strange combination of colors may have looked interesting, but my stomach wasn't enthusiastic to try it. I scooped out a kitten sized portion of the "food" and placed it into the microwave. After microwaving the cuisine I sat down at the table, eyeing the creation. With a final breath, I stabbed at it with my fork and brought it to my mouth, chunks of the colorful dish were hanging off.
Without any more stalling, I stuffed the fork into my mouth. As slow as a turtle, I chewed on the gummy-esque consistency. My stomach protested with startled gurgles as I forced the contents down. I chucked the rest of the food back into the casserole dish and put it back in the fridge. Note to self: Never again! I scavenged the shelves for any type of editable food and felt my heart swell with joy when I spotted something red hidden behind a carton of milk. I latched onto the apple with a dying mans grip and patted my stomach.
"It's not a feast, but it will do." I said washing the apple and my stomach agreed with another grumble. "If mom asks, it was delicious." I grinned at the apple, and bit into its tangy skin.
After my plentiful lunch, I grabbed my book bag and wandered into my room. I went through a quick list in my mind, trying to remember if any homework was assigned. Dropping the bag beside my bed, I laid down and closed my eyes. An evil cinematographer residing within my mind decided to play a little movie for me.
I watched myself sitting up on the stand, with both Edward and Henderson looking at me, a gleam of excitement clear in their eyes. Their enthusiasm looked vicious, almost manic. Their lawyer, dressed in a new crisp suit, that was ironed to the T, was pacing around the room. His glasses were slipping on his hook like nose, making him appear birdlike. He trained his beady eyes onto my own, locking onto his target.
"Would you please tell the court, Miss Gram, what exactly is your relationship with Mr. Foster?" Before I could answer, the defendant lawyer threw his right hand up. "I'll tell you myself what it is, kind people of the state! She is nothing more than an infatuated child, who will spew forth any kind of lies that will benefit her love interest and do you know who that is?"
Taking a deep breath, the gangly man walked over to where I was sitting and leaned in, leering as though I was his prey.
"Tell the nice people who you would go to end of the universe for, the person you would risk your life for, the reason why you're sitting here today." I looked down at my fingers, scolding myself for the chipping rose nail polish.
"Whatever the child says should- must- be taken with a grain of salt. She is lying for her lover. Lying, LYING, LYING!!!" I squeezed my eyes shut and dug my nails into my palm as his voice shook my innards.
I took in a deep breath and opened my eyes. The courtroom was replaced with my sky blue walls and I sat up. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I shooed the thoughts away. I was there, I saw what they were doing. My relationship with John can't change what I saw. For God's sake, I watched them sell women, sell me! My brain reeled at the thought of Rosie, Jenna and Angie. John told me they were taken and put into the governments care. They were given jobs and a place to live, but he didn't know where exactly. Would they be summoned to speak? A smile made its way onto my lips at the thought of the three women.
"I hope they're happy." I mumbled scrambling out of the bed, hearing my phone vibrate. "Even Rosie." I chuckled and grabbed my cell phone off the desk. I stared at the screen, frowning at the caller ID. Unknown.
"Jen, I know it's you." I said into the receiver. The silence was booming into my right ear, forcing my frown to deepen.
"Cam if this is your idea of a prank, then it's not funny. Why-" I was cut off by the dial tone, the person hung up. I rolled my eyes and searched through my phone book till I found Jenny' name. Hitting the little green phone, I listened to the ringing.
"Hello!" Jenny greeted, stretching out the O with a variety of intonations. "What's up chica?"
"Did you call me?" I asked sitting on the corner of the white desk.
"No." She said after a few seconds. "Why?"
"Why don't you tell me." I chuckled at her attempt to keep her voice serious.
"Sophie dear, is everything okay?" She asked. "I didn't call you today."
"You didn't?" I asked propping the phone under my shoulder and ear. Without any thought, I cracked my fingers.
"Uh- no. Did you ask the guys?" Her voice rose an inch and something in the back of my mind began to buzz.
"Michael told me to ask you." I laughed, desperate to suppress the feeling rising in my stomach.
"The person who called, what did they sound like?"
"I don't know, they didn't say anything. The person was- it was just silent" I bit my lip, stopping myself from telling her about the laughter.
"Whatever, it was probably some dumb kid without anything to do." Jenny said, with a puff of air. I nodded my head in agreement and pushed the worry out of my mind.
"So what's up with you and Cam?" I asked hoping she wouldn't notice the topic change.
"Nothing," Jenny said way to quickly and I smiled, "nothing for now anyway."
The smile was evident in her voice as she told me about their walk home. I listened as my best friend gushed about her developing feelings for a certain dark headed boy. And yet, even though my mind was focused on her words, the worry hidden deep within my stomach didn't recede. I wandered about the house, walking in and out of rooms, laughing when Jenny told me about her impending plan to gain revenge on the brothers. I teased when she spoke of Cam as the her new God, but not surprised one bit by her "sudden" interest.
"Your eyes practically popped out of their sockets when we met them freshmen year." I said as she defended her pride.
"No true!" She squealed. "I just never noticed is all. He was always hiding those gorgeous brown eyes behind a mop of hair."
"Uh-huh." I said, a grin playing on my lips. "A haircut was all it took for you to realize your love-"
"Jenny Woods is not in love." She proclaimed with a defiant humph.
"I never said you were." The silence that followed was unaccustomed, Jen always had something to say.
"Why hasn't he asked me out yet?" Her voice was leveled, but weak.
"Don't worry." I said rolling my head on my shoulders. "He will."
A scratching sound at the door, drew my attention down the hall. I strained my ears, listening as a key entered the lock. Jenny and I parted with the promise for me to call her later tonight to explain the court summons and we hung up. I watched the door open and father stepped in.
"Hey dad." I smiled, walking to his side.
"Hi dear." He said hanging up his keys. "Did your mother make anything to eat?" I tried to warn him, but he didn't listen.