Chase and Tyler came back, laughing. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, Tyler led Carmen down the hallway.
“So I apologized to Tyler for acting so irrationally, and he totally understood, so we’re all better,” Chase said, smiling with satisfaction.
“That’s great!”
“Yeah, I’m really happy. And he said we are more than welcome to spend the night with them,” Chase said. “They’ve already got a room and everything.”
“Won’t that be . . . awkward?”
Chase cocked his head to the side, puzzled by my words.
“Because . . . I told Tyler I couldn’t be friends with him anymore,” I explained, sullenly.
“Oh that? Just because you were even willing to do that for me, shows that I can trust you,” Chase said, stroking my jaw line. “If you were able to cut off all connection with him, that must mean you have no feelings for him. Besides, Tyler seems into Carmen, so I’m not worried about him trying to steal you away.”
“So, does that mean I can be friends with him again?” I asked, trying to swallow my excitement.
“Of course,” Chase said, twisting his fingers in my jean belt loops, pulling me closer to him. “You know, I would have never actually made you end your friendship with him, but I’m glad you did it on your own, because it shows me you were willing to do anything to win my trust back.”
Gazing into his eyes, I stood on my tip toes so that my lips reached his. Delicately, our lips touched, sending an electric shock through my body.
“Come on,” Chase whispered, breaking the kiss. “We should probably tell our parents where we will be for the night.”
Slipping our arms around each other, we searched for our parents. We found them, huddled in a corner. My parents were chatting about the earthquake, while Rebecca was on the phone. I shot my mother a puzzled look.
“John,” she mouthed. From that, I tuned into Rebecca’s side of the conversation.
“Well, I’m glad to hear everything is okay over there . . . no, we’re not sure how much damage is done, but I’m sure insurance will cover it . . . uh huh . . . okay, I’ll call them . . . yeah we’re all fine, the kids are here too . . . yeah one sec . . .” Rebecca took the phone off her ear, and covered the mouth piece with her hand. “Chase, he’s asking for you.”
With a deep breath, Chase took the phone. When he heard John’s voice, his eyes instantly brightened. Wandering as he talked, Chase broke into full conversation.
“I’m glad to see Chase is willing to talk,” Rebecca commented. “I just hope he’ll want to visit John soon.”
“Baby steps,” my mother cooed. She was right; Chase just needed some time, and eventually he’d build up to it. Yet, time was running out, and nobody could predict when it was too late.
Time can be both positive and detrimental. Sometimes, time is the best remedy to any situation. But sometimes, time is of the essence, and if you lose track of it, it bites you in the ass.
Thinking of this, I realized that the sand in the summer hour glass was draining fast. It was already late July, and time was flying by. Chase and I haven’t even discussed what was going to happen once the summer ended.
Chase came back, with a huge smile on his face.
“Your turn,” he said, extending his hand that held the cell phone.
“Hey Uncle John.”
“Hey kiddo,” he spoke, in a scratchy, weak voice. “Holding down the fort for me?”
“Of course, you can count on me.”
“Glad to hear the positive report,” he said, chuckling. The projection of his laugh sounded as if it caused him pain. “So Chase gave me the full update on you too.”
Blushing slightly, I was thankful he couldn’t see me. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. Take care of him for me, okay? Make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”
Flattered by the fact that John trusted and relied on me for a favor, I said, “Will do, Uncle John. I’ll keep an eye on him.”
“Thanks kiddo,” he said. “Well, make sure to visit soon and I’ll talk to you in a few days!”
“Bye Uncle John!” Reaching over, I handed Rebecca the phone. She said her goodbyes, she hung up and snapped the phone closed.
“So where are you kids going to be tonight?” Rebecca asked, cheerfully
Chase gave the details, including the room number, in case they needed to find us. We said our goodnights, and were sent on our way.
“John sounds good,” I said, as we started strolling through shelter.
“Yeah, he does,” Chase muttered.
“You seemed pretty happy afterwards,” I commented.
“Yeah, it was good finally talking to him,” Chase admitted. “We talked, caught up, and I realized how much I miss him.”
Thinking of Rebecca’s concern, I said, “Do you think you’ll want to visit him soon?”
“Perhaps,” he said, with a slight smile. “If I’m feeling up to it, I will.”
The room door was wide open, and we found Carmen and Tyler involved in an aggressive game of Rummy 500. They were sitting on a bland, white-sheeted bed, facing each other. Another plain bed was on the other side of the room.
“Can we get in on this fun?” Chase said, interrupting their game flow.
Carmen giggled, and gathered the cards together. “Come closer and join us, we don’t bite.”
Chase pushed the empty bed towards the center of the room, so we were closer the other couple. Tyler got up and placed a cheap, wooden bedside table between both beds. Carmen shuffled the deck, dealt four hands of 7 cards, put the rest of the deck in the center, face down. Taking the top card of the deck, she flipped it face up and placed it next to the stack.
“The game is simple. We rotate left of the dealer, and when it’s your turn you can either draw the top card from the stack and keep it, or pick up as many cards from the discard pile,” she said, pointing to the flipped face card. “To get points, you must place down three of a kind, or a straight. At the end of your turn, you must get rid of one card and add it to the discard pile. We play till everyone runs out of cards, then add up the score points.”
As the game went on, our competitive sides came out. We laughed, we screamed, we sang, we swore, but most of all, we had a good time. For the first time, all four of us were able to have a carefree, quality, bonding experience. All the drama, fights, and tension was forgotten and in the past. It felt like nothing, nobody could ruin this . . .
Except for Jessica.
Carelessly, we had left our door wide open, allowing anybody to peer in. Poor, lonely Jessica must have been strolling around the shelter alone.
Knocking on the open door, she said, “Hey guys.”
Our laughter, fun, and game stopped, as we all turned up to look at her. Silence and awkwardness filled the room. While Jessica was not completely hated among us, she was not exactly loved. As Chase’s bitchy ex girlfriend and Carmen’s long time rival, Jessica was only on good terms with Tyler and me.
"Hey Jess,” I said, forcing a warm and friendly tone. “How’s it going?”
“Good, minus the earthquake,” she replied. Each of us forced an awkward chuckle. “Can I join?”
“Well, we’re kind of already in the middle of a game,” Carmen sneered. “So you’re going to have to wait till we finish.”
I glared at Carmen, for her rudeness and contradiction. Earlier, Carmen had cut her game short with Tyler to include Chase and me.
“Th-that’s okay,” Jessica stuttered, obviously hurt by the words. “I don’t mind.”
Awkwardly, Jessica grabbed a plastic chair from the hallway and dragged it into the room, next to the table. She sat uncomfortably between the two couples. Occasionally sneaking a glance at her, I noticed that she looked upset, like she was trying to force back some tears. It was clear that Jessica knew she wasn’t accepted.
We all tried getting back into the game, but it wasn’t the same. The energy and flow could not be re-created. But we pushed on, and finally finished the game. Carmen, being the card expert, won. Chase came in second, I third, and Tyler last. Carmen playfully teased him and told him to never go to Vegas.
“Should we start another game?” Tyler asked, hoping to redeem himself as well as considering Jessica. Jessica’s body language instantly relaxed, knowing her discomforted wait was over.
Faking a yawn, Carmen said, “I’m actually pretty tired. Let’s call it quits for the night.”
Even though I wasn’t the one being unfairly treated, my body was boiling with anger. Just because Carmen doesn’t favor Jessica, doesn’t give her the right to be an outward, rude bitch!
“Okay,” Jessica’s voice quivered. “I guess I’ll just see you guys later.”
Picking up speed, Jessica quickly exited the room.
“Now look what you’ve done,” I scorned Carmen, before running after Jessica. Yes, Jessica wasn’t the nicest girl in the world, but nobody deserves to be treated like crap.
“Jessica,” I called down the hallway. “Wait up!”
Jogging down the squeaky hallway, I caught up to Jessica, who was already in full-on tears.
“I’m so sorry about Carmen. You didn’t deserve that sort of treatment, and Carmen should know that.”
Jessica said something, but her sobs made it completely indistinguishable. People roaming through the shelter were beginning to stare, so I hurried her off to the closest bathroom. Turning on the sink, she rinsed her face to cool off - total déjà vu.
When she was all better, she said, “I just can’t believe it. Lately, I’m trying so hard to be nice and friendly, but nothing seems to work. Even when I’m doing my best at being a good person, I’m still labeled and treated as a bitch. What’s the point anymore! Nobody likes me anymore! Not girls, not guys, nobody!”
“Don’t say that, Jessica,” I said, firmly. “Don’t even think that, because it’s not true. You have tons of other friends! Carmen and you have always had difficulties, tonight it was just magnified. And things will always be awkward with Chase, as it is with every ex. Don’t let one sour night with one sour girl get you down. Don’t let it stop you from trying your hardest to be a good person, because eventually it will pay off. It just takes a little effort and determination, but it’s worth the work.”
“I’m just so sick of everyone still treating me like the bad guy,” Jessica muttered, wiping a tear away.
“It sucks, but years of bad attitude doesn’t erase overnight,” I said, trying to be honest yet sympathetic. “But it will get better, I promise.”
“You sure?” Jessica looked at me, wide eyed. I nodded, and gave her a slight smile. “Alright, we’ll I probably should get back. Thanks, Hayden.”
“No problem, I’m always here.”
Leaving the bathroom, we headed in different directions. Running my hand across my face, I prepared myself to confront Carmen.
-------------------------
sorry for the long wait, it was a really busy week! thanks for all the awesome bday wishes! i had a great birthday! and i passed my permit test! everybody get off the roads!! hahaha anyway, feedback please! comment what you think, and don't forget to vote cause thats uber important! thanks everyone!