Withstanding
2:13
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and braced herself. She had never been fond of flying. She chewed hastily on a piece of gum trying to prevent her ears from popping, and crossed her legs simply because of custom. She felt her stomach contents move closer to her windpipe as they rose even more. She took a few more deep breaths with her eyes closed until the plane was straight ahead. She sighed.
Hey, a voice said inside her head. She ignored it, rummaging through her backpack for a short novel for the plane she had brought. Finally, with a triumphant smile she pulled it from the depths of the pack. The middle aged business lady besides her lowered her head at her before continuing to type away at her laptop. Which shouldn't be on yet, she couldn't help thinking. Nevertheless, she directed a small fake smile towards her.
This one book, she had wanted to read it for a while but had never gotten the chance with all the last minute stuff and endless forms to fill during the summer. Happily she reclined back and allowed herself to be submerged in the newest Nicholas Sparks novel. It was weird, even though she was crazily romantic and had been looking forward for this book for quite a while, she didn't feel the strong pull that a new, exciting and possibly smutty usually had on her. She tried again to get to reading but found herself not taking in the contents as usual. Unamused by this sudden turn she rummaged through her bag again to produce her iPod.
3:40
Falling asleep certainly had its ups and downs, she considered as she woke up, checking her watch. Firstly, it made flying much shorter. She pulled out the earplugs and stored away her iPod, it still had a lot of battery. She rummaged her purse for another stray piece of gum that would probably be somewhere in it, the one she had had lost its taste. She felt the novel again, and couldn't help the frown that crossed over. Why had she not been able to read the mighty book that she had looked forward too since last spring break?
But, there was the trouble of the downside of sleeping. She was thinking back of yesternight. Was it bad? It didn't feel bad... or maybe that was just the vodka talking to her. She had never ever looked at him like that. What had they both been thinking? Had they been loud? Oh god, if anyone had walked in on them... Both asleep in his bed without clothes...
She shook her head, some images that she should not have on her head were surfacing. I was drunk! She scorned herself in hopes of not remembering much, no details were neccessary. But for some reason her mind decided that this was the moment to bring back the images that she was not interested in. How many times had he ignored her because she was sullen over a break up? And what they did was laugh about all of their ex's. She thought back to the girls that went to her because she was an easy link to get him, he had always mocked the guys that she had gone out with. Reminiscing, that part wasn't bad. At all.
After storing her iPod again, she felt something in her bag that she hadn't noticed before, pulling what seemed to be a flashcard, she was surprised to see an í'll-miss-you card from Marti. Smiling to herself, she took it out carefully and opened it. Marti had drawn a picture of the rest of the family waving goodbye to her and Derek.
For a moment, her mind betrayed her and considered that they were leaving together. Shaking her head again, she smiled, thinking of innocent Marti. How Derek had touched her had not been so innocent. Shaking her head again, she considered how much she will miss her mother and everybody. Miss how he had kissed her softly.
She shook her head for the last time. She had a clear image of them collapsed on the floor laughing so much her stomach hurt. What had been so funny?
6:13
Her dorm room was okay, not too small, not so large either. Her roommate had yet to arrive, and she was glad, because that meant that she would be able to chose her own side and bed. Even though they were both exactly the same, it was nice to chose.
She decided to call her family before unpacking, leaving her baggage on her bed she went towards the phone. She waited for someone to pick up.
"Yellow?" Eddie said on the other side of the phone.
"Hey, you" Casey said to him.
"Hey!" he exclaimed on the other side. "Hey, everybody it's Ca--"
"Hey" someone took the phone right out of his grasp, pushed him slightly away and was now holding the phone.
She was not ready for that.
"Casey?"
"Yeah, I'm here. Just wanted to let you guys know i arrived okay" she said, hoping her nervous voice was not being transmitted.
"That's good" he said. She waited on the other side to see if he would say something else. After waiting for half a minute she decided that he was not going to say anything.
"So..." she said,
"So..." he mimicked.
"Mom there?" she asked. He looked over his shoulder, Eddie had gone to tell everyone. He considered how much time he had.
"Dunno" he said shortly. "Hey, listen, about..."
"CASEY!" Marti had picked up another phone.
"Marti! How are you, sweetie?" she asked the little girl. No one noticed that Derek slammed his fist silently into the wall besides him.
"Good!" the girl said in a high pitch that she had grown accustumed too.
"I found your card" she told her. "and I loved it" Casey told her.
"Shhh! Derek can't know because i haven't given him his yet!" she said loudly. Oops, Casey thought.
"Okay. Marti, is mom there?" she asked.
"One second!" she said. then covered the mouthpiece before calling loudly to their mom.
"You can't know a thing, Derek" Casey said.
"Oh, but I do remember everything, now that is" Casey opened and closed her mouth several times.
"About the card, stu-
"Hello?" just then her Mom picked up.
"Hey!" she said happily, it was good to finally be able to speak to her mom.
"Honey, how was your flight?" she asked. "Did you find your dorm okay? Have you meet your roommate?"
"Derek, hang up" Casey told him, knowing full well he was still listening in.
"Whatever" he said, but didn't hang up.
"My roommate isn't here yet, my guess she'll arrive in a few hours or tomorrow, i found my dorm okay, it's pretty close to the building where most of my classes are. Flight was so so, wasn't able to read my book, but slept a bit and found Marti's card" she said.
"That's good" Nora said sweetly to her eldest daughter. "Marti insisted on making everybody on the picture."
"That's good" her mind flashed to see Marti drawing her with Derek, but then she came back soon. "I liked it just how it was" she said, masking her real opinion.
"Case, I know you probably don't know, but George insisted I ask everybody" she said concerned. "He says a couple of his bottles of vodka have gone missing." she said. She took in a deep breath to keep from reacting. "But off course, you wouldn't know anything of it" she continued.
"No, nothing" she lied quickly.
"Ha, I knew it, now he has to ask Derek." she said. "I am sure another bottle will go missing tonight and he can't say that was you" she said.
"Huh, since when has he been missing bottles?" she asked.
"Said he checked today, but the last time he had checked was two weeks ago." she said.
"Ouch!"
"What is it, mom?" she asked.
"What?" Nora asked confused.
"Did you bump into something?" Casey asked.
"No, didn't you?" Nora asked back. Oh, shit...
As silently and he could he hung up the phone and then sat himself on the kitchen table, where one of Eddie's comic was half open. Just then, Nora came into the kitchen. She came inside and saw him, but decided that it wasn't him.
"Marti!" she called. The toddler was soon enough besides her. "Were you snooping on the phone?" she said to her.
"Mom, don't punish her because of me." she asked.
"No" Marti said, then produced her puppy dog eyes and Nora let her go.
"Wanna say hi to Derek?" Nora said, Derek looked up at the mention of him.
"No, no. It's okay, i've got to unpack anyways" she said, fidgeting with her knuckles and then decided it was time to hang up.
Back in the house, Derek was also signaling that he had no intention of talking to her either.
"Huh, well. Okay. He does not want to talk to you either, it seems" she said and walked away.
As soon as she left the kitchen, Derek went towards to pick up the phone again.
"Changed my mind" he announced on the speaker when he picked up. Ugh, no, Casey thought.
"Fine, call soon!" Nora asked of her and then hung up herself.
"What?" she asked irritably.
"Whoa, don't get snappy" he told her.
"Anything productive to say, or are you gonna so... all night long?" she asked him.
"No." he said challengingly.
"Good"· she said, then opened her suitcase while waiting for him to say whatever it was he wanted to say but she didn't want to hear. Derek considered his words carefully.
"So..." he started. Casey sighed at the other end. "Okay! I just wanted to say sorry." he said.
"So- sorry?" she said, baffled.
"Um, yeah, for thinking you were talking about last night and not about her card." he said. Stupid, he thought.
"Oh. Right. That." Since when had she been so inarticulate?
"Yeah, that" he said. "And about last night..."
"Shut up" she said.
"Excuse me?" he said.
"Whose there?" she asked.
"Hi Casey!" George said jovially to her.
"Hey George. How's everything?" she said.
"Good, good. Derek's leaving tomorrow." he said proudly. Derek sighed on the other side of the phone, seemed like he would have to wait... again.
"Yeah, he was just telling me that he was making sure he had everything ready tonight." she said, hating herself for lying.
"Yeah, I was" Derek piped in.
"Oh, okay" George said. "Well, I'll leave you kids" he said. He hung up again.
"Case?" Derek said.
"Look, I don't think it's a good idea to talk about it like this," she said cautiously.
"Oh, okay, I'll just drop by tomorrow" he responded sarcastically.
"How about you send me an email with whatever it is you need to say?" she said exasperately. She had had enough him not saying anything.
"Sure, whatever" he said, feeling a bit lame.
"Good. Have a good flight tomorrow." she told him and was about to hang up.
"So... did you have a nice dream during the flight?" he said. She opened her mouth in disgust to tell him anything to shut him off.
Instead, she hung up.
"Casey?... Casey?" he said as he started to hear the hung up tone. "Shit" he said and redialled.
She saw the phone, but ignored it and went to unpacking. Her shirts on one side, her underwear was aside in a bag inside a bag. Her pants, her socks. Soon enough everything was out, and it was easy to store things that way. The phone kept ringing.
9:51
The phone had been ringing about every half an hour until nine, he was probably not calling any longer. Her roommate did not show. She closed her eyes and did not see any images about last night. Content, at least while conscious, that it wasn't bothering her so. She drifted off to sleep. Or rather, she tried. Just then, the door opened.
"Jueputa mierda" somebody said. She had her eyes open and saw another girl, with a popped baggage and a handbag. She noticed Casey and smiled an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, missed a plane and my baggage went missing" she told Casey. "Um, i know it's kinda late, but i'll try to be silent" she said. Casey then rolled over in her bed. The other girl took off the tape from her bag and started to organize everything in the other side that was empty. After pulling all her clothes out, some books that were at the back, and a small pillow, she rolled her luggage to under her bed. She was not even tired because of jetlag.
She was putting her clothes on the other side of the closet when the phone rang.
"Alo?" she said.
"Casey, about time you pick up" a guy on the other side said.
"Sorry to disappoint you, guapo. I'm Nadia" she told him.
"Um, sorry. Are you Casey's roommate?" he asked.
"I guess so, she's asleep though" she told him.
"Oh, can you wake her?" he asked her.
"And who might you be? Her boyfriend?" Derek swallowed nothing.
"No, her stepbrother" he said.
"Oh, that sounds naughty" she said, sitting on the edge of her bed with her other bag and moving most of its contents to the bedside table.
"Har har. Just wake her please." he requested.
"Would love to, guapo. But you see, I only take messages. I'll tell her tomorrow you called, Derek" she said sweetly, and hung up.
"Thank you" Casey said. She had been signaling the girl during the duration of the phone call.
"You're welcome. Now, if i might ask, why don't you wanna talk to your boyfriend, or brother, or stepbrother or whatever he is" Nadia asked Casey.
"Um, we kinda left awkwardly" she said feeling odd about it.
"Oh... so he can't be your boyfriend? Is that the case?" Casey rubbed some sleep out of her eyes before addressing the girl.
"Dunno, never considered it." she told him. Just then the phone rang again.
"Alo?" Nadia said again.
"Nadia" Derek was silent for half a minute trying to remember.
"This is she" she said enjoying it too much.
"Can you do me the biggest favor and wake up Casey?" he asked, trying a different approach.
"Guapo, I already said no. Plus, Casey says she doesn't want to talk to you. Deal with it" she said and hung up again.
"Thank you so very much" Casey said, plopping down on the mattress again.
"Hum, you look just as tired as I do," Nadia told her.
"Yawn, yeah, good night. Thanks again" Casey responded as she was falling asleep again. Nadia got herself tucked into bed again.
"Just like my sister" she yawned to herself, and soon enough she was asleep too.
1:11
Casey woke up with a start. She held her hand to her chest. She had been imagining things again. Or had she? She looked around and saw her new rommmate, not her room, not Derek's either (thankfully). She shortly decided that she would not think again about last night so long as she could, there ought to be more than enough sexy guys (not that she considered Derek sexy) on campus to flirt with tomorrow, er, today.
1:11:10
Derek woke with a start. He had been dreaming about last night again. Rolling over in his bed he realized that was going to be one long, hard night. He tried to fall asleep again. He needed to rest, and he could not go get another bottle of vodka since he knew that his father was now checking his stash of liqueors. Why did he have to chose tonight to be restless? He turned again, and as he closed his eyes, another image of Casey lying in his bed in with his, or rolling with laughter while certainly lightheaded from the vodka. It was wrong to think of her like like this! Stupid and wrong, but oh so good. He clenched his eyes shut one last time in an attempt to forget, and soon realized that it had not been bad at all. He checked his clock. Was this the make-a-wish time? 1:11 or was it 11:11? Wishing that Casey would hear him out and be reasonable he drifted off to sleep again, knowing full well he would be trashing awake in his bed in less than an hour.
So... so... I made it a two shot. Hope you guys enjoyed it.
fyi: jueputa mierda is roughly translated as sonofa... shit, and yeah, my oc had to be latina, sorry!
AN: i had fun with this chapter, not as much as with the first one, but you guys were right about making it a two shot! hope you liked the way they are both dancing around the issue and not addressing the problem, if you think there is one.
thanks for reading! and i hope you'll review so i can improve!
