~8 hours after~
(Claudia's POV)
And there I was. I was in Texas to stay with someone I've only known for a week, and they don't even know I'm going to stay with them. I sit outside of the airport, with my little luggage. It was around 10 am here, and I knew I was going to be a disturbance. But still, I call. I scroll through my phone looking for Jason's name, trying to ignore the fact that I had over 60 missed calls. I find his name, and I call. I hear the tone ring, and I wait. And I wait. And when I thought it was going to be the voicemail option soon, he picks up.
"Hello?" Jason asks, groggily.
"Um…Hey Jason," I start. How was I going to word this?
"Claudia?"
"That would be me," I reply.
"Why're you calling?" he asks, sounding surprised.
"Well…I was wondering if I could stay over," I sigh.
"You do understand I live in Texas," he says, laughing.
"Yeah. I'm at the airport," I say. "In Texas, before you interrupt me."
"This is pretty short notice," he says, in a deep voice.
"I understand," I start. "Something happened and-,"
"I'm on my way," he hangs up.
Well. That went pretty smooth, if you ask me. I sit there, just fiddling my thumbs. I can't help but check the calls I missed. Most of them were from Mitch, but a lot of them were from Tristan. Oh god, I forgot all about him. I call up Tristan, he was probably thinking I ran away.
"CLAUDIA! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?" he says, sounding concerned yet flustered at the same time.
"I'm fine. I'm just…Somewhere. I just needed to let you know I'm okay. I'll come back, soon. Okay?"
"Yes but-," I cut him off.
"No buts. Love you. I'll see you soon," I say, ending the call. I wait there, watching people reunite, hugging, and other things. I just ignore it. At least, I try to ignore it. Okay, fuck it. I didn't ignore it. I just cried, and tried to screw it up for them with the constant sobs I was making.
"Claudia?" I hear Jason say. I look up, and instantly hug him.
"Thank you," I say, sobbing.
"Um…It's not a big deal. What exactly happened?" he asks, picking up my luggage. "Or you rather not talk about it." He starts walking, and I follow. I keep quiet, not knowing how I'd tell it. He brings me to his car, and I sit in the front with him. He puts my luggage in the back, and sits in the driver seat. He sighs, and leans back.
"Mitch cheated on me," I whisper, calming down.
"Wait…What?" he says.
"Did you not hear me the first time you little shit?" I murmur, lying my head against the window.
"Yeah…But isn't he at Eurogamer?" he asks, starting the car.
"Nngrng. Jerome. Livestream. Closet. Nehrgh," I grumble.
"Alright, clearly you don't want to talk about it," he says, pulling out of the parking lot.
"It literally happened a few hours ago. Do you really think I'd like to talk about it?" I groan, burying my face into my hoody. Well shit. I was wearing one of Mitch's hoodies, the one I first met him in. A red and black checkered pattern spread all over the fabric. I honestly didn't give a fuck anymore. It was nice, and warm, and somehow comforting.
Jason stole a couple glances to me, and I noticed all of them. Soon enough, we stop and he just sits there, staring at me.
"I can get up," I imply, opening the door. He does a little nod, and goes out of his door. He grabs my luggage, and I can't help but feel like I wasn't helping. I had my reasons I guess. I look up a little, from my neck being a little sore from looking down a lot. We were at an apartment complex, parked on the street across from it. I take a long breath, just processing what I've done, yet again.
I ran away again.
Why do I keep doing this? I shouldn't run away from my problems. Should I? Stop thinking that. Too late now. My phone vibrates, yet again. I ignore it, and just stand there. What have I done?
"You ready?" Jason asks, tapping my shoulder.
"Yeah," I manage to reply, hoping not to break down in tears. My phone vibrates again. I take it out, and shut it off. It'll only just remind me of what I've just done.
(Mitch's POV)
My phone rings, and I honestly prayed for it to be Claudia. Maybe I could explain. I check my phone, and my heart drops. Tristan. I guess it was better than nothing, it could be related to Claudia.
"Any news?" I ask, restlessly.
"She's alive," he replies. "And that's pretty much all I know. She called me an-."
"SHE CALLED YOU?" I instantly ask. So, she's pretty much ignoring me. As I expected…I guess I don't blame her.
"Yeah. It was a six second call. Basically saying she'd be back and yeah," he explains. "I think she'll be fine. It happens a lot, but it usually lasts about a week."
"You're saying people accidently not-really cheat on her often?" I ask, then realizing how stupid that question was. Of course not.
"What the fuck was that question?" he replies. "Oh, yeah. Of course people do that to her all the time," he jokes. But then, shit gets serious. "You're the first person she's committed to. Since realizing that just a few seconds ago, I may think it might take longer than a week."
"Well…crap," I reply.
"Alright, I have to go. Bye," Tristan says quickly, ending the call. What was that all about? I put my phone away, and try to call her one last time…No answer. Typical. It was getting late, and the city became darker. I guess it was time to leave, the sun was going to go up soon. I stand up, and my head goes all woozy for a few seconds, blood starting to circulate. Is this what it feels like to be on drugs? What the,fuck brain? How long was I sitting there? I check my phone. Holy crap, It was practically morning! 9 am. Damn son.
I walk back to where I was staying. Just another hotel, which means I would have to see the others again. I get to the hotel fairly quickly, as it was really close. I go up the elevator with blood-shot eyes, and walked across the hallway to the room I was staying at. I get out my keycard, open the door, and just flop onto one of the beds, instantly sleeping.
