Look Closer

It was nearing the end of her shift and Chelley was beyond ready to go home. Her feet were hurting and she was tired. Her mind had been racing for the few days she'd been back from Vegas and it was exhausting her more than she'd thought possible. It didn't seem to matter how busy work kept her, how many people came through her line, she couldn't get her mind off her situation.

It had become difficult for her to focus on what she was supposed to be doing and she found herself hardly even speaking to her customers but she never realized it until it was too late. She knew she was coming off as rude, even to her regulars, but no matter how many times she told herself she would do better, her mind would still wander. The worst part of her was that she just couldn't figure out what it was that she wanted to do.

"Hey Chelle," a familiar voice spoke to her.

She looked up from the items she was ringing up at the young woman standing in front of her. "Hey Ang," she said, "How are you?"

"I'm good," Angie replied, "But it doesn't look like you echo that sentiment," she said.

Chelley sighed, "No, I'm alright," she said, "I just have a lot on my mind."

Angie nodded but wasn't convinced. "Have you talked to Jack?" she asked and Chelley shook her head. "Oh, then you don't know where he is any better than the rest of us?" she asked.

"What?" Chelley asked.

"Well, he had been staying with Alex and Rian, but they both stayed with Cass and me last night and when they went home earlier, Jack was gone. They tried calling but he won't answer," she said, "I'm sure he's fine. And he probably just went to the Over It house to hang with the dudes. That's where we all run away to when we need to clear our heads."

A confused look spread across Chelley's face, "The Over It house?" she asked.

"Oh," Angie laughed, "More commonly known as the Runner Runner house."

"Right," she said, "He was calling me yesterday and the day before but I told him when we got back from Vegas that I needed a little time, so I haven't been answering. I'm having enough trouble sorting all this out as it is and I just didn't see how anything good would come from talking to him yet. We would just go around in circles again."

Angie's eyebrow raised, "Jack is a really good guy. He respects that you want an annulment. I think the reason he's been calling is to get it all taken care of, not to try to convince you otherwise."

Chelley nodded, letting out a sigh as she reached up and turned off her check stand light. "My shift is just about over. I'll call him when I get home," she said.

"Alright," Angie said, handing money over to Chelley to pay for her purchases, "If you need anything, let us know. I know we're not great friends or anything, but we're here for you."

"Thanks," she said, giving Angie her change, "But I'm really fine."

She nodded, "Sure, but if you get to a point where you're not," she said, picking up her bag and waving to the younger girl, "See ya around."

Chelley watched Angie walk away and let out a loud sigh. She was more than thankful that her shift was over but suddenly dreaded going home. Dreaded the phone call she knew she had to make. She couldn't avoid it any longer.

Her apartment was empty when she got home, which she had expected. Mikey didn't spend a lot of time there. If he wasn't at work, he was out being a social butterfly. Angie didn't mind it though. She preferred the quiet when she was trying to do school work, which seemed almost never ending when she wasn't between semesters.

As she sank down onto the sofa, she let out a heavy sigh. Her heart beat faster as she scrolled through her phone in search of Jack's number. She grew more nervous by the second and had no idea what to say to him. But once his name was highlighted, she hit the call button, knowing she would chicken out if she waited any longer.

She put her phone to her ear and waited. Each ring made her heart pound harder. After the fourth ring, she was sure it would go to voice mail but just as she was pulling it away to hang up, the ringing cut out and was replaced by a voice.

"Hello?"

"Hey," she said quietly. When he didn't say anything, she asked, "How are you?"

"I'm fucking fantastic Chelley," he said, his words dripping with sarcasm.

She sighed, "I couldn't answer your calls, Jack. I told you I needed some time."

"Yeah, I know what you said. But I hoped that since you were in such a fucking rush to not be married to me anymore that we could just get this shit over with."

Chelley sighed again, "Jack, don't do this."

"Don't do what? Be frustrated and annoyed?" he asked.

"No," she said, "You can be frustrated and annoyed. I know I'm not making this easy in the slightest. You can even be mad at me if you want. I would completely understand. But just don't be a dick to me. I'm not trying to hurt you."

"Then what are you trying to do?"

"I don't know," she said, "I'm so lost right now. I hadn't planned for any of this."

Jack laughed drying, "You know, Chelle, sometimes life just happens."

"I know," she said, tugging at her hair, feeling her frustration levels rising, "I just don't want you to hate me. I still want to be friends when this is all said and done. And I guess, I don't know, I thought maybe if we both just took a little time to get our heads straight that we would both be okay with that."

Jack remained silent on the other end of the line, making it rather clear that he was choosing not to respond to what she'd just said.

"Where are you?" she asked finally.

"Home," he said, after a moment's hesitation.

"Home?" Chelley asked, "As in-"

"Baltimore," he said, not letting her finish.

She sighed, "You can't run away from this, Jack," she said quietly.

"I'm not running away. You said you needed some time. And while you were taking your time, I decided I need some time too. So how about this, I'll call you when I'm ready to talk to you again," he said right before hanging up.