Chapter Seven – Adam's Phone Call
In the middle of another fit of laughter, Ryan's phone rang. She picked up the phone, still laughing. "Hello?"
"Hey baby," came from the extremely familiar voice on the other end.
Ryan suddenly stopped laughing. She normally would have been so happy, but she wasn't. She didn't know how Adam would react to Ephram being at her house. She had told him about him, but she never said they were going to hang out.
Ephram looked at Ryan and it seemed as though she didn't want to be talking to whoever was on the other end. Her mom? Her dad? Friends from home? He was curious, but he didn't ask.
"Hey, Ryan, I'm going to go to the bathroom," Ephram said as he stood up and headed towards the bathroom she had off her room. He shut the door and looked around. More girly decorations.
"Ok," Ryan said to Ephram, "Hey, Adam."
"Who was that?"
Ryan looked over at the closed bathroom door. "It's just a friend from school."
"It was a guy. Is it that … guy who's name I can't remember or say anyway?"
"Yes it is. Look, Adam, I can't really talk--"
"Oh, so he's more important than talking to me?"
Ephram was standing up against the bathroom door. He probably shouldn't have been listening in, but he couldn't help it. I wonder who this Adam is, he thought. He was about to open the door, until he heard Ryan's voice get a little louder, in an angrier tone.
"No, it's not that! I just can't talk right now! Look, I'll call you later. I don't want to be rude to my guest." Ryan knew the distance was already taking a strain on their relationship. Before, Adam wouldn't have cared if she was hanging out with a guy. He was used to it. But now, she was so far away from him and with guys he didn't know and he was jealous.
"Whatever. Have fun with your new boyfriend." Click.
Ryan sighed as she hung up the phone. It was at that moment Ephram walked out of the bathroom. He took one look at her and she seemed a little mad and a little upset. "Hey, you okay?"
Ryan nodded. "Yea, just …" She didn't want to finish the sentence. She looked at this boy she had just met. She just couldn't let herself open up to him, no matter how trustworthy he seemed.
"What?"
"Long distance relationships," Ryan said. And with that, she saw this sudden look of hurt sweep across Ephram's face. Oh no, she thought. No, no no.
"You have a boyfriend?" The hurt was evident not only in his face, but in his tone of voice.
She looked him straight in the eyes. "Yes, I do."
Ephram couldn't believe it. Again, he had been led in by a beautiful girl just to have them tell him that they had a boyfriend. First, Amy had a vegetable and now Ryan has nothing but a voice on the phone that's 2000 miles way. Why did she invite me over? Why did she seem interested? Why did she look at me in that way? So many thoughts were racing through his head, but one thing was sure, he had to get away from her.
"You know," Ephram began, "I just remembered, I'd promised Delia, my little sister, that I'd save her from my dad's cooking, so I should probably go." He turned and headed towards the door.
"Wait, Ephram, I'll walk you out," Ryan said, as she started to follow him.
He put his hand up to stop her. "No, it's okay." And with that he walked out of her room. Ryan stood there, feeling horrible. She went over to her bed and looked out the window. She sat down, pulled her knees to her chest and heard the front door slam. She watched Ephram walk down the steps of the porch and get on his bike and ride away.
She laid back and stared at her ceiling. What have I done? I've gone and probably lost my only friend in this damn town. She reached back and grabbed one of the pillows behind her head and threw it across the room, knocking over a few things along the way.
She reached over to her nightstand and opened the drawer. She pulled out a plain, black notebook and opened to the first available page. She grabbed a pen that was sitting on her nightstand and began to write. This was a Friday night she'd spend all alone in this big, empty house, with no one.
