Fuel to the Fire

I sank into my red recliner, a sigh quickly escaping my lips. I closed my eyes and bit down on my bottom lip, just soft enough to not draw blood. All I could think about was the fact that I couldn’t turn back. No, I was in this and I certainly couldn’t get out, at least not easily. Groaning and running a hand through my hair, I sat up, opened my eyes and just sat there, looking forlornly at the photo album that still lay open on the couch, a perfect reminder of what had just occurred in my house.

The album was opened to the picture of my family and Shelly. I couldn’t bare to look at it a second longer, so I walked over to the couch, grabbed the photo album, quickly flipped it shut, and placed it back in the bookcase. I wanted nothing to do with it, absolutely nothing. And yet I knew that tomorrow I’d have to bring it back out to show Garrett.

Garrett. God, he was interesting. And everyone knows that when you call someone interesting, it’s not really a good thing. You see, the thing about Garrett was that, even if I’d only known him for less than a day…well, he definitely didn’t seem like the kind of guy who I worked well with.

The bad thing was that I was going to have to work well with him if this was going to work. And okay, I guess I’m just involved with the planning, but that’s still a lot of quote-unquote alone time with him, right?

I shivered. I didn’t want to spend a minute more with this guy than I had do. I found hope only in the fact that this was Shelly, and in the past two days, her track record proved that it doesn’t take much for her to ahem, fall for a guy. So I found solace in that fact, hoping and praying that this whole ordeal would be over and done with within a week or so.

Because, come on, it can’t be that hard to find a time and a place for two people to hook up and then have someone else show up and interrupt, can it?

•••••

As I was brushing my teeth, my phone rang. I spit out the watery-toothpaste mix in my mouth and sauntered into the kitchen, grabbing the phone. “Hey, I’m brushing my teeth. Can I call you back?”

The voice laughed. I recognized it as my brother’s. “I’ll just stay on the line.”

I tensed. Then I untensed. He didn’t know. He couldn’t know. Because he was laughing. That meant that he was in a good mood. I carefully set down the phone and walked back to the bathroom. I’m not sure if it was intentional or not, but I took my time finishing brushing my teeth. I tried to think of how to act. I figured the best thing to do was act normal, but I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off.

After I rinsed my mouth out, I slowly walked back into the kitchen and picked up the receiver. “Hey, Jared,” I said, my voice surprisingly calm. “What’s up?”

Jared laughed again, and I became more calm. “Not much, actually. I just wanted to tell you thank you for taking Jinx out today. Shelly didn’t come home until around five, so I know if you hadn’t have come, Jinx would have been starving by then.”

Forcing a laugh, I replied, “I honestly don’t get why you don’t just leave extra cat food out for him.”

Jared sighed. “You know why, Court. I don’t want him to overeat and get--”

“Fat, I know,” I finished. “God, Jared. Just let him get fat. If he’s hungry he’ll eat it and if he’s not he’ll leave the food alone. Everyone leaves their cats extra food.”

I could imagine Jared shaking his head on the other line. “No. Not everyone does. Because I don’t.”

This time I shook my head. “Whatever, Jared. So, how are mom and dad?” I twisted my hair around my finger nervously. As much as I wanted to know the answer, I kind of didn’t want to know. Our parents had moved to Colorado after I graduated college, I guess figuring that I would be okay on my own. And I am okay on my own; it’s just that I hardly get to see them anymore. After they moved, Jared was the only family I had around here. And yes, I loved him to death, but it’s pretty scary being by yourself when you’re fresh out of college. And because of this, my parents and I kind of had a falling out recently. I was mad at them for leaving me and they argued that it was their life and they could do whatever they wanted to.

I could hear Jared sigh on the other end. “They’re fine. I just talked to mom yesterday. She said that their new neighbors have this really cute dog, but it barks all the time and she’s not getting much sleep. She also said that dad’s been having to use his inhaler a lot more recently. Something about the allergens up there in Fort Collins.”

“Oh. Okay.” My voice cracked on the last word and I prayed that Jared didn’t notice.

He did. “Come on, Court. Mom and dad aren’t going to be mad at you forever. Maybe you should call them.”

“No,” I said, sternly. “Not yet. Not now.”

Jared sighed. “Fine. Just think about it, okay? It’s been over four months. And mom keeps asking about you. She’d really appreciate it if you called her, I promise.”

I shook my head. “You can’t talk me into it, Jared. So don’t try.”

“Fine. But promise me you’ll think about it.”

I sighed. “I will.”

“Great! Hey, uh, Shelly just got done with her shower, and we’re about to go to bed, so…I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the fact that Shelly took a shower. I was surprised she hadn’t taken it earlier, what with the stink of that orange-haired guy all over her. But then again, Jared’s really not that intuitive so I understand why she wasn’t in too big of a hurry. “Yeah,” I said. “Bye, Jared. Love you!”

Jared laughed. “Love you too, Court. Hey, call me tomorrow afternoon. Maybe we can get together for dinner or something tomorrow night. I know Shelly has the day off tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” I replied, nodding. “Sure thing. I’ll call you around noon, okay?”

“Alright. I’ll talk to you then.” Jared hung up.

As I placed the phone back in it’s place, I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of plans Shelly had for her day off.