Call Girl

Ever since Harry had caught Erin out with Cooper, he had become impossible to reach. Every text and phone call was met with an automated answering machine or no response at all, and after just a few days, the robotic voice of Harry's voicemail box had become more familiar than his own smooth one, which she missed so much.

She knew all along that things with Harry - whatever they were - weren't going to end well, and her inability to get ahold of him served as proof of that.

If Erin was honest with herself, she didn't really know what she was going to say to him if she was ever able to actually hear his voice again. She didn't have a plan of attack or some genius rouse to clear everything up. If he did answer, she'd probably just sit there like a babbling mess.

Deep down, she felt like things were pointless, but that didn't stop her from calling him twice a day - once in the morning and once before she went to bed. It wasn't until four nights later that Erin finally gave up.

She laid down in her bed, having not gone to work since Harry had caught her with Cooper, and was staring blankly at her phone. She wanted to call; she really did, but for some reason, her body just wouldn't let her. She couldn't bring herself to push that one little button that would bring up his contact and send him a call. It didn't seem right anymore, because it had become so painfully obvious that he wasn't going to answer.

She had screwed things up beyond the point of fixing and she had to just accept that.

Letting out a pained sigh, Erin tossed her phone to the side before turning on her pillow, hoping that keeping her gaze away from it might actually allow her to get some rest, though that seemed impossible. Her mind was racing far too quickly for her to ever float off into dream land.

It was half past two - several hours after Erin was supposed to be sleeping - when she felt her phone vibrating on the opposite end of the bed. She assumed it was Katie and almost didn't care enough to answer, but decided she could, at the very least, take a peek at the text.

Her eyes were half open when she reached for her phone, bringing it up to her face as her eyes attempted to adjust to the light. At first she thought her mind was playing tricks on her, but once her pupils had finally adjusted, she shot up in bed, peering her eyes at her phone.

She never in a million years expected Harry to be the one texting her, but there he was, his name popping up on her screen as if it had never left. Erin's heart was beating so quickly and her hands were shaking so badly that it seemed impossible to even read the text that followed his name, but she took deep breaths as she slid her finger across the screen to read those three simple words.

No phone call?
- Harry

If her body and mind hadn't been in a total whirlwind, Erin might of chuckled at the text or maybe even smiled, just because she had waited so long for something so small. She tried not to think too much into it, because if Katie had been there they would have analyzed the text inside and out, but she tried to just take it for what it was: a simple text asking why she hadn't called.

She forced herself to ignore Katie's voice inside her head telling her all the different things that the text could mean, and replied to his simple text with a simple answer.

Were you expecting one?
- Erin

She half expected him not to answer at all, even though she'd asked a question, because nothing she had done or said warranted any real response from him. He still thought that she was on a date with another guy, and for all he knew, she could be in Cooper's bed right now.

Maybe a little.
- Harry

That Erin smiled at, because she could picture him saying it with his little smirk and his lips all twisted up. She wondered if he really was doing it, or if he was just sitting in his bed with a blank expression and his face in a huff.

Erin bit her lip as she typed out her text, her hands shaking the entire time. She worried that it would be too much, not enough, or just not right at all. She needed to talk to Harry - really talk to him - but she couldn't do that if she cut him off completely.

Sorry to disappoint.
- Erin

Several long moments passed before Erin received another text, and she couldn't help but think that she'd completely screwed up. She'd probably made Harry realize just how much she had screwed up and that maybe she wasn't worth texting at all.

Goodnight, Erin
- Harry

When Erin read his text, she felt her heart drop in her chest, so low that she could feel it churning in her stomach. Her face was hot like lava and her palms were so sweaty that her hand slipped from her phone and down to the bed.

It was so painfully obvious that Harry was completely done with her. He didn't want to talk or try to work things out; he wanted to be done, and that made Erin hate herself even more.

She didn't know what it was, but there was something inside her that lit up like the end of a firework touching a match for the first time. She was sick of feeling like everything was out of control. She wanted to feel like she had a tight grip on something, just this once, because she was tired of everything falling through her fingers.

Taking a deep breath, Erin picked her phone back up, the sweat suddenly vanished from her hands, and typed as quickly as she could.

I'm going to call you right now and you're going to answer.
- Erin

Her heart was still beating rapidly, but she felt more in control than she had before. She didn't know if Harry would actually answer or even if she could actually gather up the courage to call, but for a few short moments, she felt like she was finally the one with her hands on the steering wheel.

Why should I do that?
- Harry

Erin didn't have time to grace him with a reply, because she had to call him while she could still feel her fingers and she could slowly feel her body numbing up with nerves. She pressed the call button on her phone and closed her eyes as tightly as she could while she brought her phone up to her ear.

It rang several times - too many, Erin thought - and she worried that he wasn't going to answer. She was almost sure that the voicemail was going to pick up and she'd be met with that familiar voice once again, but instead the other end of the line was fuzzy until she finally heard a deep breathing coming through the earpiece.

"Harry?"

"Yep."

His voice was short and pointed, and she could just hear how angry he was. Still, she felt like an excited little school girl because he had actually picked up.

There was still no plan of attack that Erin had come up with. She was flying into the whole thing blind, and she wasn't quite sure what she was going to say. She was hoping the whole thing would just come naturally, but several moments passed without words forming on her lips.

"Did you need something?" Harry asked, startling Erin from her thoughts. She wasn't off to a great start and was already starting to fumble.

"I guess - just - just to talk."

Harry let out a sigh on the other end of the line, and it made Erin's heart jump. "I think we're past the point of talking, Erin."

Erin could feel her eyes beginning to sting, but the burn didn't feel nearly as bad as what she was feeling in her chest. She couldn't believe she had allowed herself to get wrapped up enough in the whole thing to begin feeling so much, but it was too late to stop now.

There wasn't much she felt like she could do, but she knew she had to keep moving forward, wherever forward was, so she let out a deep breath, forcing herself not to stutter when she spoke.

"Meet me, then."

"What?"

"Since we're past the point of talking, let's meet up."

There was a silence on the other end of the line - one that lasted far too long - and Erin could feel the door closing as each second passed. She wasn't sure that he'd ever answer, so she shut her eyes as tightly as she could, hoping it would stop them from stinging so badly.

"I'll be at the Bernice's Coffee House at 3 tomorrow," she said, letting out a deep breath. "I hope you'll be there, too."

Before Erin could say anything else, Harry had clicked off the phone, ending their call. The sound of that beeping as it ended made Erin's heart tug in her chest, and she felt like she just wanted to collapse on the bed and not move until Katie came to get her.

She wasn't sure if Harry would show up at the coffee shop or if she'd be left sitting there by herself, but either way, she felt better knowing that she would finally have some sort of answer.