The Singer and the Teacher

Every time I managed to fall asleep, I would jerk awake at the slightest noise. On a tour bus, those kind of noises happened all the time. Adriene was supposed to call me when she got to her parents' house, but she hadn't even texted me. She had finally gotten over her fear of calling me, but she still asked permission over text if she wasn't sure that I had the day off or when she thought I was asleep.

My phone did finally ring, but it wasn't who I wanted it to be. I didn't have the number saved in my contacts, so I answered it.

"Hello?" I asked, my voice groggy.

"Hey baby," said a young woman's voice, one that at first I didn't recognize.

"Who is this?" I asked, still wondering who in the world would call me at two in the morning.

"Did you forget about me already?" she asked haughtily, and my eyes widened and my heart dropped to the floor in dread.

"I thought I told you to stay the fuck away from me," I hissed, my chest burning in hatred and sorrow. Of all the people on this entire planet, she was the very last person I wanted to hear from. I would take prank calls all night long instead.

"Well, I though that you would've been over it by now," she said, scoffing. "We're meant for each other Derek, and you know it."

"I would choose slow, painful death over you," I said quietly, furious that she would even dare talking to me. "Never call me again, filthy murderer." I hung up angrily and rolled over, but all of my chances of falling asleep again were gone. It seemed like hours, but barely a half hour passed before Adriene finally called.

"Hello?" I asked sleepily, and she gasped.

"Oh, I woke you up, I knew I shouldn't have called," she said, her voice laced with worry.

"No, please," I said, my anger ebbing and becoming replaced with an old sadness I thought was gone. "I really need to hear your voice. Talk. About anything."

"Um, okay," she said, taking a deep breath. "I was stuck behind an RV for almost an hour, so that's why I'm a little late. When I got to Medford, I was finally able to get my favorite coffee. It's this place called Dutch Brothers, and they only have them in Oregon, some of California and in Phoenix, Arizona. I'm going to have to take you there when you come see my parents after Christmas.

"I can already tell you aren't wanting to talk, but I kind of thought that maybe after Christmas we could fly out to Oregon and you can meet my family. My mom Google-ed you earlier, and she says you're cute. My dad wishes you golfed, so expect to be taught how to play. Derek, are you crying?"After the phone call from my ex-girlfriend, remembering everything that had happened while I was with her and dwelling on it, I broke down. I hated crying; it messed up my voice.

"Derek, it's okay," she said softly, and I could almost feel her running her fingers through my hair like she would whenever we were together, untangling it and smoothing it over again. "I'm sure I don't understand, but I'm always going to be there for you. Even if you and me don't work out, I'll move in next door and pester your new wife. I'll do anything to keep you in my life, Derek. Anything. Please don't cry, I'm right here."

"What did I do to deserve you, Adriene?" I asked, my voice cracking horribly and holding my locket in my fist. I don't know how she knew what I needed to hear; maybe it was a teacher thing. She paused for a few seconds, letting that brain of hers work. She was too smart for her own good, sometimes.

"You've been through a lot," she said finally. "It's about time you met someone that would care about you no matter what."

"That sounds like something my mom would say."

"Well, I'm not your mom, let's get that straight before we get any more serious in this relationship," she said, laughing. "That would make everything so wrong." I had to laugh with her. "See? That's the sound I love to hear."

"I love you, Adriene. Completely. I don't think I've loved anyone so much," I said, hugging my pillow. "I'm pretending you're sleeping next to me, okay?"

"That's fine with me," she said, giggling. "Just don't do anything to that pillow other than snuggle it. Then it goes from cute to embarrassing."

"I wouldn't do that to my pillow!"

"If you do, Jake will call me and you know it," she said. "I love you. More than anything. Good night, Derek."

"I love you, too. Good night, Adriene." She hung up first, as usual. I felt significantly better, and the severe mood swings made me tired enough to try sleeping again. I rarely felt so much rage and so much love in the same hour. No, I was infatuated and in love with this girl. Jennifer and her stupid phone call could jump off a cliff.

* * *

"He just called you a murderer!" shrieked Pilar in disgusted shock. "You aren't a murderer. You did what you had to."

"He didn't recognize my voice, Pilar," I said, crossing my arms and resting my elbows on my knees. "It's been over two years and he still hasn't forgiven me. This is going to be harder than I thought." I found myself looking down at a hole in a pair of designer jeans that Pilar lent me, fiddling with the strings.

"You can't possibly still like him," she said, sitting down next to me on the leather couch in her living room. "Not after what he did to you."

"I just...haven't heard his voice in a long time," I said, my heart fluttering. "He hasn't spoken to me or acknowledged me since the day we broke up, other than just now."

"Oh, Jenny," pouted Pilar, putting her arms around me. "He doesn't deserve you."

"Alex told me that he gave my wedding ring back to the jeweler, and threw his into the ocean," I said, my voice quavering. "He hates me, Pilar. He called every single one of our guests to tell them that the wedding wasn't going to happen, burned his vows right in front of me and called a taxi to come get me."

"Don't forget your dress," said Pilar, the only one more offended about an article of clothing being hurt than anything else. "He just gave it to a random, ugly old bride! Can you believe that?"

"It's fitting," I said, cocking my head to the side. The light bulb in my head turned on and was burning bright. "I think I can still make this work."

"I knew you'd figure it out," she said confidently, and disappeared into the kitchen. The only problem with this plan was that it was what I wanted. I had never been worried about rejection, but Derek wasn't your ordinary guy. I had a growing dislike for this Adriene, and I didn't like the way Derek looked at her like he had the entire world in his hands. That was supposed to be me, and it would be before the year ended.

* * *

Justin was awake playing his Xbox when I walked into my parents' house, and snuck a "hello" in between ordering his teammates around. I went straight up to my old room that looked exactly like it did when I moved out. My bed was made, my old TV was on top of my dresser and my nightstand had the same lamp and the same alarm clock. My dad left a note on my pillow that said we were leaving by nine in the morning, and I groaned as I quietly laid my suitcase down on the floor. After kicking my shoes off and changing into pajamas, I flopped onto my bed and crawled under the blankets. I fell asleep with a picture of Derek up on my phone's screen.