Here's chapter three guys. Life's been rough but I'm pushing on through. Hope you enjoy!
August 13th can't get here fast enough.
"Why did you answer the phone!"
It's another rainy day in Seattle (no shocker there), and here I am, holed up in the Shay's apartment once more, getting the mother of all lectures from Carly. It's not like I did anything wrong. Well, I did. Not so much wrong though, as it is incredibly, incredibly stupid. So I answered one of Freddie's phone calls last night while she was in the shower for two years. My dumb heart overruled my brain and I just answered it and talked to him. And talked. And talked. I wanted to just scream at him for the longest time and absolutely rip him a new one but what would that have accomplished? Plus, if I was going to do all that to him, I was going to do it to his face...which is the least I could do, considering, you know, he STILL hasn't had the decency to tell me that he's dating THAT little witch.
I know, me calling another girl a witch. Pot, meet kettle. But for as much chiz I did to Freddie, at least I could always, you know, apologize to him if I went too far (hello broadcasting that he'd never kissed a girl on the internet, it's been a while, how are you?), where as that dirt eating skunkbag didn't once come up to the three of us and apologize for trying to tear our threesome apart way back when. And then he goes and forgives her so easily? They become friends? He falls in love with her?
"How could you do that!"
My thoughts exactly.
"I was stupid?"
It wasn't meant to come out as a question but it did anyways. I look up and see Carly's eye twitching, and right there I know that the worst has yet to come. Why can't Gibby just burst into the apartment acting like a dum dum and be all shirtless? Or how come Spencer can't spontaneously set something on fire...I then remember that the two of them are out getting bear traps and umbrellas...something about camping or a new sculpture he needed help on, who knew with those two goofballs. Either way, I'm seriously wishing one of them would come back so that I'd be spared the fire and brimstone that I'm sure is about to come spewing out of Carly's cute little mouth.
"You're darn right you were stupid, Sam! Do you have any idea what you did last night? You answered the phone when FREDDIE called!"
"Really? I thought that it was Rona Berger calling to tell you how much she hated you."
I inwardly cringe almost immediately; sarcasm is not going to save me here. I'm pretty sure I just saw her nostrils flare, and the eye is still twitching. This isn't good. Not. At. All.
"Don't you go and act all sarcastic with me, Sam! You're the one who showed a chink in your armor and answered the phone last night! You're the one that spoke to him! Now what? You're gonna tell me he wants to see you and talk about stuff?"
Closing my eyes and letting out a small breath, all I wish I could do right now is just sink into the couch and become a part of it, or crawl under a rock and hide there forever. Carly would never find me under a rock. I could hide and eat all the Fat Cakes I want and I wouldn't have to hear all her rants and raves and whatnot. Yeah, that'd be a cool life. No dork, too. That'd be a pretty neat little added bonus. Oh who the heck am I kidding? That'd totally suck. I'll take a crazy psycho rant from Carls any day over living under an idiotic rock.
"No, I didn't say anything like that, Carls..."
"Then what did you two talk about, hmm? Did you tell him your feelings for him? Did he mention how he was dating a jerk? Did he ask about why we've been ignoring him for the past four days? I want answers, Sam!"
"He did ask about why we weren't talking to him..."
The words come out softer and more timidly than I had hoped they would. I hate when I sound all weak and powerless like that, but right now, I feel like I'm at a loss for words over this entire situation. Why? Why do I constantly let that nub do these things to me? And why did I enjoy talking to him so much? I should've hated it the second I answered the phone. But just...I know this sounds so not like me...but hearing his voice calmed me. It's so weird. Ugh, listen to me right now. I sound like Melanie would over some stupid boy that caught her eye up at her school. Which is the exact same situation I'm in right now. Which is why I hate myself for this. And at least Melanie got to tell the boy how she felt about him without him taking her heart and spiking it onto the ground like a football.
"And what did you tell him?"
"That was the point in the conversation where I told him that he needed to leave the two of us alone for a few more days. Or possibly the rest of our lives...he kept asking why but at that point I heard you coming out of the shower so I panicked and I told him to shut up and then I hung up on him. There, happy now?"
By now, her eye has stopped twitching and the color of her face isn't as red as the shirt she's wearing or the strawberries I ate earlier. She seemed to soften her stance, but I could still make out the faintest hint of a scowl on her face as she sat down next to me on the couch. There really is no pleasing this girl sometimes. You think I'd of realized that after being her best friend for only, what, forever? Yeah. You'd think that.
"Not completely. You still answered the phone and actually spoke to him. But I'm proud of you for telling him to leave you alone in a nice, non-violent, non-threatening way. There's hope for you yet, Puckett."
"Yeah well...if I went off on him, you'd of surely heard me screaming at the top of my lungs and not heard it from Spencer...I never should have told him."
"Yeah, I still don't know why you thought that was a good idea. I mean, I love him cause he's my brother and all...but let's face it, Spencer can't keep a secret to save his life...I've gone through enough dead goldfishes and more than enough house fires to know that. What made you think that he'd keep such a big secret to himself?"
"I was stupid?"
This time around, Carly laughs and pulls me into a half hug. I've probably asked myself this question a lot over the past week or so, but where the heck would I be without Carly in my life? She definatly is my rock, and I was too stubborn and ignorant to not realize it until now. Funny how it takes heart-breaking moments like what I've been through to truly realize what you've got in life. Turns out that I've got the best friend ever.
We stayed like that for a few more seconds, laughing and hugging, before the door swung open to reveal Spencer and Gibby walking in holding huge brown paper bags of who knows what.
"Hey girls, what's up?"
"Nothing much, just..."
My eyes grow wide as I see the person walking in behind Spencer and Gibby. Carly raises an eye before turning around and seeing exactly who I saw. She then quickly spun right back around and gave me an alarmed look, while I just stared blankly ahead, a huge rush of conflicting emotions crashing and cascading over me. My throat became so dry it felt like a desert. I could only choke out one word as he stared at me with an uneasy, nervous smile on his face.
"You."
Oh Spencer and Gibby...you two are so dead when I'm done with this.
"Hey Carly...hey Sam."
Almost immediately, Carly shot up from the couch and walked over to where Freddie was standing, grabbing him by the wrist and forcefully dragging him out of the apartment and into the hall, slamming the door behind her, leaving me on the couch with Spencer shaking his head and Gibby giving me a questioning look. I guess Spence didn't spill the beans about it...good. Having Spencer in on what happened was bad enough...Gibby would do something stupid like tell the whole school about how I felt about Freddie...can't afford that. Out of nowhere, there was screaming in the hallway. The three of us turned our heads to face the door, wincing every time Carly screamed and Freddie lamely answered, which only led to more screaming. It was actually kinda sad, and I almost felt bad for the barrage of hatred that Freddie was getting...and then I thought that this was going to be tame compared to what I'd have to say to him if I ever got the chance.
"Do you have ANY idea what you being here right now is DOING!"
"I just wanted to see you two..."
"Well you CAN'T! And you should KNOW why we don't want to see you!"
"It doesn't help when I don't know what I did..."
I could practically feel Carly's urge to jackslap the living chiz out of him right then and there. By now, Spencer and Gibby had retreated to the studio with their things, and I was all alone in the living room, listening intently to Carly and Freddie's heated conversation. I heard a loud smack -which I'm sure was Carly smacking her palm against her forehead (or Freddie's face) -followed by more screaming. Eventually, the door opened and in walked Carly, looking like she was ready to scream some more or ready to hurt someone or break something. Her hair was frazzled and all over the place, her face was flushed red and she just didn't look like she was in one of her better moods. I was almost afraid to speak to her, that's how scary looking she was to me right now. But right as I was about to open my mouth, there was a soft knock on the door, followed by...
"GO AWAY, FREDDIE!"
I winced at the viciousness in her voice. I don't think I've ever seen Carly this mad in the entire time that we've been best friends. And I don't think I've ever seen her turn Freddie away in the way that she's doing right now. If this were any other situation, I'd actually feel bad for Freddie. But...well, this wasn't any other situation. He's just lucky that it was Carly and not me. She'll apologize about it to him...eventually. I won't.
"You ok, kid?"
After composing herself and fixing her hair, she sat down next to me and nodded her head in response. There was another knock at the door and for a second, I swear I thought I saw a vein in Carly's neck pop as her head slowly turned to face the door. For once, it was me who was doing the calming down and trying to not let Carly kill the little jerk. Funny how life works out like that sometimes, right? I'd be laughing if this was a different time and place. Eventually, the knocking ceased and I could only assume that he went back into his own apartment to sulk and ponder what he did wrong...as if he actually needed to think of what he did. Gosh, for a smart kid, he really did have his idiotic moments. I use to tease him and say that he was the dumbest smart kid I knew. I usually was kidding when I said it. Yeah, not anymore.
"I swear...why are boys so stupid?"
"Wish I had an answer to that, Carls. And um...not that I care or anything, but...what did he say to you when you two were outside?"
"Other than what you heard?"
All I can do is nod my head and remain silent. I know I shouldn't care about what he had to say, but I do. Did he say anything about me? Did he confess to Carly? My mind is racing with so many thoughts, I almost don't hear Carly clearing her throat to try and get my attention.
"He asked me why you weren't out there with me, screaming at him."
"Oh...really? What else did he say?"
"He kept asking why I was mad and why you looked so upset when he walked in. He's so clueless! And he still wouldn't admit to seeing that...that...she-beast. I swear, if he tries coming over here again, I'll...I'll..."
"You'll do nothing, Carly. Don't worry about it...I can understand why you'd want to smack him around and I really appreciate the concern and your eagerness to want to kick some butt...even if it's Freddie's...but I'll...figure it out on my own, alright? Just not now."
"Are you sure, Sam?"
I nod my head and give my best friend a hug. Standing up from the couch, I give Carly a grateful look before walking over to the coat rack and grabbing my jacket. She moved to stop me from leaving, but I put my hand up and she stopped dead in her tracks. Good girl. As much as she liked to be involved with my life and help me out whenever she could, Carls knew when to not overstep her boundaries. Now is one of those times.
"I'm gonna go home, Carls...I need to think about everything. I'll call as soon as I get home and I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"
She smiles and walks over to me, giving me one of those comforting hugs that only Carly Shay can give. Our foreheads touch and she whispers some words of encouragement into my ear as I smile and bid her farewell. Walking out of the apartment and into the hall, I looked straight at Freddie's apartment door and stared at it for a few seconds. I kicked it as hard as I could, then walked past it and down the hall, toward the elevator. Right as it was about to hit the eigth floor, I felt a hand grab me by the wrist and practically drag me away somewhere. The next thing I knew, I felt the steel grating underneath my feet and I was standing mere inches away from Freddie Benson himself. I slowly began to panic on the inside as I soon realized that Carly couldn't help me out now. He opened his mouth and uttered the four words I didn't want to hear.
"We need to talk."
Suddenly, I was wishing I had taken the elevator in her apartment...