Psychedelic Hollow

Chapter 16

itsmeocean@hotmail.com

"Frank?"

"Callie! I missed you!" Frank gushed into the phone. On his way back home, he could think of nothing but her, yearning to run to her and lay on her lap, unloading whatever stress he had onto her willing shoulders for a little while as she tenderly stroke his hair.

And it was during the drive when he reaffirmed what he knew. The definite knowledge had slipped away momentary as nostalgia for a lost love wove cobwebs around the truth. However, when the mustiness cleared, Frank came to understand that Nancy's return was but a distraction, stirring up memories of what was already buried and returned to earth. That was all he felt for Nancy- echoes of the love he once shared with her. Like echoes, the confusing emotions faded away into the hollowness, revealing the emptiness within.

His choice had always been Callie and no one else. It was a terrific feeling to finally know what his heart already knew.

"You do?" The sarcasm stunned him and he grew anxious- was she just jesting? Her tone was uneven, sounding like the aftermath of a breakdown. Something was very wrong. He sat down slowly on his couch and clutched the receiver tighter.

"Are you okay, darling? Anything wrong?"

"You."

"Me?" Frank asked, baffled, "Why? What do you?"

"You are wrong for me. Let's not deceive ourselves, Frank. I know everything about you and Nancy. Just spoke to Joe and it just confirmed every gut feeling I had and everything I've heard. You know what I'm doing now? I'm going through your emails, something I have never done even though I knew the password. Oh look! There's a folder named ND- Nancy Drew. With letters between you and her dating back years ago! To dates before we had that hiatus from each other. How exciting! Shall we open this one with the subject, 'Missing you this weekend' or this one 'Love you, Can't Wait to See You,' or better yet! 'Love song for Frank Hardy!'" She sucked in a deep breath before continuing. Frank shocked to speechlessness- the folder. The email was a web account that he had neglected for quite some time as he had switched to a better provider. And yes, he had forgotten about the folder as well.

"You see, Frank. You betrayed my trust by cheating on me. I betrayed your trust by checking your emails. We're almost even. Let's call of the wedding since there is no longer an 'us'"

"Cal… let me explain!" Regaining his faculty of speech, Frank spoke hurriedly into the phone before she could hang up, "It's…"

"You can say whatever you want but there's nothing I want to hear. Goodbye, Frank. And don't come over to my place. I'll hate you forever if you do. I don't want to marry you anymore as I don't see much of future between us."

She didn't slam down the phone. The soft 'click' served only to accentuate the silence and void which was suddenly carved in his chest. Callie wasn't joking. She was serious. She knew.

"I just spoke to Joe and it just confirmed everything I've hear"

He held on to the phone. Just a while ago, he was about to be married to the girl of his dreams. Now, he was holding those jagged shards of a broken hope.

She just spoke to Joe, he thought angrily. Thoughts and emotions jumbled inside of him until he was about to crash. Hurling the phone onto the floor, he stood up and marched out of his apartment.

She just spoke to Joe.

Joe.

***

"What the…" Joe gasped as he cupped his jaw, staggering back to delay his brother's assault. "Frank!"

"Don't Frank me!" Frank whispered harshly. Stopping abruptly a couple of feet in front of Joe, he pointed at him accusingly with exceptionally infuriated tapered eyes and body quavering with rage.

"You. Told. Callie. About. Me. And. Nancy."

He had been stunned by the blow but slowly, as he regained spatial awareness, he fell into the spell of provoked anger. Seething as laborious breaths came to him painfully, slowly fanning the fire building his chest, he returned the flame blazing behind Frank's eyes spark for spark.

"Did. Not."

"Did too!" Frank jabbed Joe's chest hard with the offending finger, "She said she spoke to you and decided to call off the wedding, telling me to have a grand time with Nancy! How would she know if it wasn't for you? Through Nancy? Through me?"

"Yah, maybe! And don't point at me!" Joe swiped his brother's outstretched hand away, "I don't deserve this! This is among the three of you and I told her to talk to you, not me! Maybe you told her, unconsciously slipping up as your guilt eats at you! I'm not obliged to cover up your dirty tracks!"

Frank grew pale but it wasn't because he was ashamed. His anger, white and hot, had burned his complexion to the color of ash. Both of them glared at each other, locked in a battle of stubborn rage. Then, cutting through the tension which almost manifested into a physical form by its sheer intensity, Frank poked at Joe's chest again and the latter stumbled back from the sharp, annoying pain.

"You asked for it!" Joe hissed and charged at his brother. A flurry of tangled limbs, fists, kicks and head butts had the both of them soon wrestling on the hard ground, desperate to better the other man. When it was clear there could be no winner, the only thing on Joe's mind was to destroy Frank's expensive shirt.

Grabbing both of Frank's sleeves, he pulled at them hard as Frank, from under him, yanked his fringe sharply, causing him to fall forward. Frank then finished by giving him a hard push just below the chest, utilizing momentum to topple Joe over. Joe scrambled up and spun around quickly to find that his brother had already jumped to his feet and was right in front of him, giving his shoulders a rude shove.

"That's it!" Frank advanced and pushed him back a couple of steps again, "You not only ruin my marriage but you ruined my shirt! Why did you have to come back anyway? You're always causing more trouble for everyone!"

"You pushed me too far! Take back what you say, brother!" Joe yelled. He waved at Frank tauntingly to make his next move like the pugilists in gong-fu movies. "Why stop now? Afraid? Use your martial arts against me, Nanny Goat!"

"STOP THIS NONSENSE! I WILL NOT TOLERATE FIGHTING UNDER MY ROOF!" Joe heard the door swung open and next, Fenton's awesome roar. Frank heard it too, obviously, but chose to ignore the warnings as he launched a high kick at Joe only to hop backwards on the standing leg to regain his balance as Fenton grabbed him hard by the shoulders. When Frank managed to stand on both his feet again, Fenton stood in front of him, effective blocking Joe and Frank from each other.

"Frank Hardy! Stop this childishness now!"

"I didn't start it! He did!" Frank pointed at Joe over Fenton's shoulders as he tried to barge through, "Tattletale!"

"Cheater bug!" Joe shot in reply but cowered at Fenton glanced sharply behind with lethal caution.

"Kids!" Laura emerged from the house, joining in the commotion, simultaneously securing her robe around her waist, "Listen to your dad and cool down!"

"What's there to cool down?" Frank was still glaring at Joe only that now, the shine came from unshed tears, "There's nothing left for me anymore! Nothing! He ruined everything! ARGH! Forget it!"

Throwing his hands in the air with vexation, Frank, under the watchful glower of Joe's incensed eyes, marched towards his Lexus to the chagrin of Laura who needed peace between everyone in the family like she needed air. Fenton simply let Frank go, seemingly annoyed by his eldest son atypical violent nature.

Laura jogged up to Frank and tapped his shoulder before he could slip away into his car.

"Honey, what's wrong? I'm sure there's a misunderstanding somewhere."

Frank shook his head, adamantly on the side of his mistaken anger.

"Sweetheart?"

"I'm not getting married." Frank whispered brokenly but the silence carried his melancholy loud and clear to everyone present. Though still teed off, Joe's heart almost cracked in pity for his brother.

"What?" Laura and Fenton exclaimed in unison. Fenton threw his head back, looking questioningly at Joe with worried eyes. Joe hung his head low, knowing he had done nothing wrong but, by his unwilling involvement, couldn't help the sudden pangs of guilt which only served to aggravate his antagonism. Looking up with his eyes, Joe saw that Frank had slowly turned around, his crestfallen expression announced the depths of remorse drowning him.

"Callie's telling her parents tomorrow, just like I'm supposed to." He shrugged despondently, "Makes no difference if you guys know it now or when the sun rise. I'm going home."

"Don't go. This is your home too. Stay here tonight and let us talk about it." Laura slipped her hand through Frank's and nudged her son, "We can solve this."

"It's too late, mom. It's too late. I'm sorry, Joe." Now that the madness had passed, Frank was the composed, mature brother again but Joe didn't feel generous enough to patch up though he really felt for his brother's predicament.

He didn't want me to come home. Jerk!

"It's not your fault. If you want, I'll let you hit me back."

"We'll see." Joe replied sounding colder than he would like as he nonchalantly ambled back pass Fenton and Frank back into the house, feeling torn between wanting to comfort his brother and desiring for him to feel extremely small for the unwarranted blows and infuriatingly insensitive words.