"Here's the birthday girl!" Trish squealed and I was immediately enveloped into a tight hug. I grunted when Dez decided to join in on the affection.
I laughed. "Guys, my birthday isn't until next week, remember?"
They pulled away and Trish smiled. "Yeah, we know. But, it's really exciting that you're turning eighteen. Jesus, people would think you're, like, fourteen!"
"I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be flattered or offended," I said, rolling my eyes but grinning nonetheless. "Why would people think I'm fourteen, anyway?"
"Because you're childish and always giddy," she said. "But anyway – Ally, you're turning eighteen! Eighteen! We should do something fun on that day!"
"We don't need to think of that now," I laughed. "It's a week away. How about we make it to class? I have a math test."
September had ended a long time ago. It was pretty amazing how the months can go by so quickly. It was almost well into November and school had already gotten a little tougher. Honestly, September was the easiest and now we had a ton of tests to study for. Christmas vacation was not a long way ahead, though.
Christmas was very weird here in Miami.
Shaking my head, I smiled and walked with Trish and Dez to class. I spotted Austin rummaging through his locker, his eyes furrowed.
"Austin!" Trish yelled. His head craned to look at us. "Guess what? Ally's turning eighteen next week."
He went back to searching in his locker. "Oh, really? People would think she's about twelve-years-old."
Trish snickered and I glared at him. "Why does everybody keep saying that?"
"'Cause you look like one," he answered, pulling out a book. He slammed the locker shut and turned to look at me. His eyebrow raised in amusement. Trish and Dez were already walking down the hallway, bickering about some pointless topic. Their arguments, however, were always amusing.
"So," he said. "You're turning eighteen, huh?"
I grinned. "Are you thinking of getting anything for me?"
"No, not really."
"Figured as much but it was worth a try!"
He rolled his eyes. "Goodbye, Beatles girl."
Come to think of it, turning eighteen was a huge difference for me. I didn't know to feel about it, though. It felt pretty exciting but scary at the same time. Turning eighteen meant finally being a legal adult. Being a legal adult meant making your own decisions and living an independent life. I never really depended on anyone – not even my parents. But, I was a senior and that meant this was the final stage of high school.
College was a whole new thing.
It meant living alone. Maybe not always but I knew it would be like this for me after I graduate. Now that was pretty scary. Being eighteen was going to be a new step in my life. I almost wished I were a twelve-year-old or a fourteen-year-old Trish and Austin saw me as. I didn't think I would mind it. It meant being young. I didn't have to think about this whole new step when I was younger. It didn't feel complicated.
My father kept complaining about how I was growing up too fast and my mother did, too, but she also made sure to state the fact that I had never been in a relationship. I laughed at that. My father did not. And that made me laugh even more.
"Ally, are you okay?" Trish asked, stirring me out of my daydream.
"Huh? What? Yeah. I was just thinking."
"You're always thinking," Dez said. "It's not healthy."
"Thank you, Dr. Phil," Trish snapped, rolling her eyes. I laughed when Dez and Trish began to bicker again.
It took them about five minutes to finish their argument.
The bell rang and Trish rose from her seat, slinging her purse over her shoulder. "Finally!"
I rose up with her and the three of us exited the classroom, maneuvering our way through the crowd of students in the hallway, just as eager to leave school as we were.
"How'd you do on that Biology test?" Trish asked. "We had it yesterday."
"I think I did pretty well," I replied, smiling. "What about you?"
"I definitely failed."
I laughed. "I know you'll do much better next time. We have a Spanish test next week. How about we meet and do what we always do?"
"Sounds good to me," she answered.
"Me too," Dez smiled.
"Great!" I beamed. "I'll catch up with you guys later. I need to get something from my locker."
We departed ways and it didn't take time for me to retrieve my English book from the locker. I shoved it into my bag and rounded the corner only to stop and stare at a furious Austin. He was a good distance from me, his phone pressed to his ear. His hair looked like he had been running his hands through it all day. His bag and jacket lay on the floor and he was shouting obscenities to whoever was on the other end of the line.
"Are you fucking serious?" he spat. "You better be fucking with me here." Austin paced back and forth, running a hand through his hair. "Don't fucking tell me what to do, Alex. I've had enough of this bullshit."
Alex.
His brother.
"What the fuck does he even want?" Austin stopped pacing and sighed, rubbing his temples. "Whatever. Fine. Bye."
Before I could do anything, Austin balled up his hand into a fist and swung it in a locker's direction but stopped midway. He let his hand drop and that's when he realized I was there.
His eyes narrowed into slits. "Why am I not surprised that you're fucking here?"
I approached him, my arms folded. "Are you okay?"
"Guess."
"Well, you don't look okay to me."
"What fucking gave it away?"
I cringed. "There's no need for consistent cussing."
He grabbed his bag and jacket.
"Do you need a ride home? Given you're distressed and all..."
"No," he interjected and I startled. "No. I don't need anything from you. Not a damn thing. Frankly, I am in no fucking mood for this bullshit so don't fucking ask me questions and lay off."
"I was just trying to—"
"Don't."
Austin turned around and left.
I stood there, blinking, a million questions running through my head. He had never snapped at me the way he had right now and frankly, I was pretty upset.
I mean I was only trying to help.
"Alison?"
I jumped at the sound. I turned around and found Dallas looking at me with a confused look. When I looked at him, he broke out into a smile and I almost died.
"Dallas! Hey!"
Maybe I was a little too enthusiastic.
"How are you?" he asked. "And what are you still doing here?"
"Oh, I just wanted to get a book from my locker," I replied. And then I got shouted at. "What about you?"
"Football practice," he answered. "Was that Austin who was cursing? Did he say anything to you?"
"What? Oh, no! Of course not. There's no need to worry."
"Are you sure? He's not a really good influence, Alison," Dallas said. "He's trouble."
I opened my mouth to say something but I didn't know what to say.
"I just don't want to see you get hurt," he said.
"No, no," I shook my head and shot him a small smile. "Don't worry. We, uh, we don't even talk that much."
"I digress," he laughed. "But anyway, I heard that it's your birthday next week."
"Yeah."
"How does it feel to be almost eighteen?" he asked, smiling.
"Pretty good, I guess."
Dallas smiled wider. "Well, I'll see you around, then. Bye, Alison!"
"Bye!" I waved goodbye to him and watched him disappear around the corner. Sighing, I walked out, got into the car, and drove home.
So I got shouted at it (which left me feeling upset) but Dallas talked to me (which made me very happy.) Frankly, I didn't know how to feel or what to do so I ended up lying on the couch, watching re-runs of an old show I adored. My parents were out with some of my dad's colleagues. I kind of liked being home alone. It was quite a gloomy night and I realized that it had begun to rain. Actually, it was heavily raining by the time I was on the second season. I got up from the couch and stretched. Then, I walked into the kitchen and popped a bag of popcorn into the microwave. Might was well make my Friday entertaining.
"Hey, Charlie," I smiled at the dog. He barked and made himself comfortable on the couch.
Then, there came a knock on the backdoor of the kitchen.
I froze.
My parents weren't supposed to be home until later. Who was out in this god-forsaken weather? I grabbed the nearest weapon: a pan. I gripped the handle tightly and with my other hand, I grabbed the doorknob.
"Who-who is it?" I asked, gulping.
There was brief silence, which didn't calm me down or make the situation any better.
"It's-It's Austin."
My eyes slightly widened but my nerves calmed down and my heart returned to beating at a natural pace. I unlocked the door and opened it, a gust of wind taking me by surprise. Austin stood there, his jacket covering his head. He was drenched in rain. His eyes flitted down to the pan I was holding and then back at me. "So, were you planning on smacking me with that?"
"If you were a stranger, probably," I replied, slightly smiling. I set the pan down and opened the door wider. Austin entered and placed his jacket on the counter.
He sighed and looked at me and I pursed my lips, swinging back and forth on the heels of my shoes.
"So..."
Austin cleared his throat. "I'm here to...well, I'm here to—" He sighed and I laughed. "I'm here to apologize for blowing up on you like that. So, I'm sorry."
"You've never said sorry to anyone, have you?" I laughed again.
"Not really."
"So, what made you want to say sorry?" I asked, grinning.
"Uh, I was...I was in a bad mood," he said. "And you...well, you didn't deserve that. Can this be fucking over already?"
I laughed at how confused and lost he seemed.
I folded my arms. "Apology accepted."
Austin opened his mouth to say something but was cut off when the lights went out, leaving us in pitch darkness. And suddenly, a loud crashing sound erupted from within the kitchen and I jumped.
"Fuck," I heard Austin whisper. "Fuck, fuck, fuck. Shit."
"Austin? Are you okay? Are you hurt? What was that sound?" I asked. I couldn't see anything.
"T-the pan..." He was breathing heavily. "The pan...i-it fell."
"You don't...you don't sound okay," I said. "I'm going to go upstairs to get a flashlight—"
"No," Austin interjected and I felt a warm hand curl around my wrist and I was pulled forward. "Please don't." Austin gripped my hand tightly and I could hear his heavy breathing.
That's when it clicked.
Austin was afraid of the dark.
"You're..." I breathed and swallowed. "You're afraid of the dark, aren't you?"
He didn't reply but his grip on my wrist did not falter.
"Come on," I said. "Let's go sit down on the couch."
I began to walk slowly, my free hand being my guide. Austin never let go and I figured he wasn't going to until the lights came back on. We reached the living room and we slowly sat down on the couch. For a minute, I didn't know what to do or what to say. I wouldn't be able to get a flashlight from upstairs. I hoped the electricity wouldn't take much time to come back on. Austin was panicking but I knew I had to do something to calm him down.
"Hey," I spoke lowly. "Hey, it's okay. You'll be okay."
"Do you have your phone?" He spoke fast and hastily.
"No," I said, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry. I didn't expect—"
"You to have a fear of the dark? Yeah, I know," he breathed.
"I didn't expect the electricity to go off," I corrected. "I didn't know what you were afraid of because you told me you weren't afraid of anything. If I did know about your fear of the dark, I would have had a flashlight and my phone with me at all times." I found myself drawing invisible circles on his hand in attempt to soothe him. Maybe the talking distracted him, too. "It's okay, you know. It's okay to be afraid of something – anything. No matter how many fears you have – it's okay. You...you shouldn't be ashamed or anything. We're all afraid of at least something."
"What are you...what are you afraid of?" he asked.
"I know you may not classify it as a fear – I don't – but I do hate blood," I said. "It scares me."
"I'm sorry."
Somehow, I knew that he was referring to the fight he and Dallas had and how it ended up.
"It's okay," I said, smiling even if he couldn't see it. We stayed quiet and the only sounds I could hear were the pitter-patter of the rain and Austin's breathing. For me, it was calming.
"I can't believe I'm actually about to say this, but please keep talking."
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"
He exhaled half a laugh. "It means I usually want you to shut up."
"Oh, that's nice," I wrinkled my nose. I smiled, anyway. "Hey, can I play cupid? I'm really bored. Remember Abby? I already told you you guys would make a cute couple. Now, Abby doesn't like me but I do think she likes you. You guys are a good fit. Trust me, I am never wrong at these. I have good abilities. So, what do you say?"
"No."
"Alrighty, then. You're no fun." Rolling my eyes, I began to play with his fingers and wondered when the electricity would come back on. The weather was quite hectic. "So," I sighed. "This afternoon – were you okay? I know it's a dumb question because with all that cursing and pacing, you looked pretty angry to me. Is everything all right?"
Austin sighed and shifted his position. "Yeah, yeah. Everything's okay."
"You told me you and your dad don't talk. Do you and Alex talk?"
"Yeah."
"Is he nice?"
"He has a girlfriend, Beatles girl."
I grew red and my hands flew up in the air, forgetting that one was holding onto Austin's. "What – I didn't mean it like that! Why did you – oh, that's just crazy! It's insane! I'm not interested in him! I've never even met him! Why you—"
I could feel Austin rolling his eyes. "I was kidding, Beatles girl."
I was then able to breathe. I nudged Austin and smirked, still aware that we couldn't see each other. "So, who are you interested in?"
"Oh, shut up."
I opened my mouth to retort but it was then that the electricity had come back on. I smiled and looked at Austin and when I saw how close we were sitting, I jumped back and squealed.
The usual.
It's quite ironic, though. I was holding his hand about two minutes ago and yet I jumped at the proximity. Maybe it's better in the dark?
Austin closed his eyes for a brief moment and inhaled. When he opened them again, he stood up from the couch. "I should go."
"Okay." I followed him to the front door and held onto it while he stepped onto the porch. It was lightly raining now and I could smell the petrichor. It made me happy.
Austin stopped in his tracks and turned around. He looked tired and weary. "Thank you," he nodded. "For whatever this was."
"You're welcome," I said, lightly smiling. "And hey. If the electricity ever goes off again, you know where to come."
He raised his eyebrow in amusement. "What if you're not home?"
"I'm pretty sure you have my number on speed dial," I teased, grinning.
He rolled his eyes. "Goodbye, Beatles girl."
I smiled and watched his figure disappear. Today was a weird day. I got shouted at and Dallas talked to me. Then, Austin came to apologize and I saw a side of him I don't think he ever showed to anyone here.
I don't know why that made me happy.
