Page 11 of Falling With a Spin

I change the trash cans and roll the bin out to the dumpster we have in the back. I walk back inside, grabbing my purse and checking my phone for any messages. I see a few from Taylor and Caleb about tonight's movie night. Caleb asks if he needs to bring anything, and I shoot over a quick reply, letting him know that we have everything. Taylor sent over a list of candy requests for me to pick up on the way home. I scroll through the rest of my notifications. There are endless messages from Chad, but I can’t bring myself to answer any of them.

“Alright, I’m out of here. Have a good night, Liam.” I say while leaving the store. He throws me a wave and a smile.

Walking towards my car, I see Laney sprinting towards the store. I throw her a quick smile as I open my door. Sitting there for a few minutes, replaying last night's events in my head. I close my eyes and lay my head back against the seat. I’m not sure what to do about it. Tears start to well up in my eyes, exhaustion running through me.

Taylor attempted to ask me about it but I knew she could already tell what happened. It wasn’t the first time she’s seen me come home crying after going out with Chad. She supported our relationship for about the first six months, and then, one night, I came home early from a night out with him. She sat me down and explained to me why she didn’t think this was a good idea and that if Chad loves me like he says he does, then he shouldn’t be treating me like this. But what she doesn’t get is that he genuinely does love me, and he hates it when we have these fights.

All couples have arguments and will disagree on things, I tell myself. But none of them almost try to hit you or what you think could nearly be a hit to you. The other part of my brain tries to tell me.

I pull up Chad's contact and start typing a response to his many messages.

His response is instant, as if he has been waiting by the phone all day.

I chew on my lip, contemplating the decision. But I would have to cancel on Taylor and Caleb, and that's something I don’t want to do. A night of relaxation is something I’m in desperate need of.

The text bubbles pop up so many times I’m wondering what is going on in his head.

The message brings a smile to my face. See, Chad does love me, and maybe I was just overreacting about last night. He would never lay a finger on me.

“I was thinking we could watch a horror movie,” Caleb says, walking into our apartment just as I’m putting the popcorn in the microwave. He’s carrying a six-pack of Mike's Hard Strawberry Lemonade in one hand and a six-pack of Corona in the other. I don’t question him on how he gets the alcohol, it’s not like he’d bother to tell me anyway.

“Hell no,” Taylor and I say in unison. We hate horror movies, and will be awake for hours after watching one. Caleb, on the other hand, loves them. He laughs during the most horrifying scenes, and then later, after the movie is over, he tries to scare one or both of us.

“We will watch anything but a horror movie, Caleb.” Taylor shoots him dagger eyes and grabs the Twizzlers that she requested, as well as a Mike’s Hard, as she walks over to the couch.

“Em, come on, I know you secretly like them.” Caleb wiggles his eyebrows as he walks towards me.

I raise my hand to stop him, narrowing my eyes, “No, I specifically told you that I don’t like them, and then you proceed to take me to see Us. I left the theater crying.”

The ding from the microwave indicates that the popcorn is done, and I turn my back to him and grab a few bowls from the cabinet, splitting the popcorn up. Walking over to the couch, I hand Taylor her bowl and sit down next to her. Caleb soon follows and sits on the far opposite side of us. Taylor rolls her eyes at the open space and picks up the remote.

“Since we aren’t watching a horror movie, then we can’t watch a chick flick,” He grumbles while stuffing his face with popcorn.

“Too late,” Taylor smirks as she clicks on Mean Girls.

Caleb groans and runs his hand over his face. A chuckle leaves my mouth and I cover it with a cough as he shoots daggers my way. Anytime we do a movie night, we ultimately end up choosing Mean Girls. “It’s a classic,” Taylor says each time. I secretly believe that she wishes she was Lindsey Lohan.

“Tay, can we watch something else besides this, please?” I look towards her and put on my best puppy dog eyes, hoping she will cave.

Rolling her eyes, she tosses me the remote. I give a triumphant yes while Caleb yells no. We all know what I’m going to choose. Scrolling through Amazon Prime, I smile when I find what I'm looking for. She’s The Man starts playing as Caleb throws his popcorn at me, but all I could do was laugh.

We are halfway through the movie when my phone starts vibrating from the back pocket of my jeans. I pull it out, and seeing the name on the screen makes the popcorn and candy almost come right back up. I click the lock button, send the call to voicemail, and place it on the coffee table. A few minutes pass by, and the vibration starts again. I look at the screen and see the same name as before.

Glancing up, I see Caleb give me a tight smile. Sighing, I lift myself off the couch and pause the movie. “I will be right back.” I grab my phone, quickly press the green accept button, and bring the phone to my ear as I walk out of the apartment.

“Hey, Dad.”

“Hey, little lady.” I cringe at the nickname that he has had for me since I was little.

“How have you been?” What I really wanted to ask is, “What do you want?”

“We are doing pretty good here. Your sister got onto the honor roll and is first chair in her orchestra class. She had a recital last week and did amazing. You should have been-” I cut him off before he can finish.

“Is there something you need, Dad? You called twice.” I pace in front of our apartment door.

“Oh.” I can hear the hesitation in his voice. “Well, I wasn’t sure what your plans were for Thanksgiving break or even Christmas break. I know it’s still early, but since we haven’t had you here for a while, I thought it would be nice to see you.” His voice goes soft towards the end, and I stay quiet.

After a couple of minutes of deciding, “Yeah, I’ll come during Thanksgiving break. I’ll leave once class ends and get the first flight out.”

---