Andrew
“Shit.”
My words slide out of my mouth as a desperate hiss. My feet move on their own, carrying my body to the wall to pick up our forsaken Bang Book. At least Hazel was nice enough to not throw this thing at us directly.
God, the look on her face… she’s heartbroken. We did that.
“How did she find it??” Dylan says, finally takes his head out of his hands.
“I-I don’t know.”
I really don’t. In fact, I haven’t thought about this thing in so long, I didn’t even remember that I had it.
“What the hell are we going to do?”
“She could still be out there.”
I nod toward the door as our feet move. Shirts and pants are the last thing on my mind as we race to the front door. My head swivels and my eyes quickly scan my front lawn.
Where the hell is she?
The fresh morning sun blazes on my skin. Dylan is looking as hard as I am through the levels of traffic on the street. Nothing.
“She’s gone.”
Dylan’s panting, sounding weaker than I’ve ever heard him.
“Come on, let’s go in. The last thing we need is some headline about two Burgess Airline pilots caught in their underwear on the streets of L.A.”
My house feels so cold. I can’t even bring myself to drink the coffee she made. It only reminds me of Hazel. I keep replaying the look on her face when she held up our stupid Bang Book. The pain I saw on her only solidifies how much she really felt for us.
I can’t help my thoughts turning to the hurt she must feel. It kills me that she probably thinks she’s just some stupid number to us. A competition or a trophy to be won and showed off and then simply thrown away.
Dylan’s eyes sparkle as he looks at me. They’re wet. Is he about to cry?
“What the fuck are we going to do?”
His voice is shaky. I’ve never seen him this emotional over anyone, or anything.
“She thinks we fucked her for our game.”
I hardly recognize my own voice as it comes out. It feels more like I’m floating in the room, hearing the words, like they’re someone else's. I’m trying not to panic along with Dylan.
“We need to show her that she means more to us than that.”
“She does! Last night was the first time I’ve felt right in a week! This whole thing… this is the best I think I’veeverfelt! This can’t happen, not when things just got good again.”
I can see Dylan’s jaw clench, over and over, like he’s biting down his emotions. It seems to be working. His eyes are no longer wet, but this breathing is still unsteady. I wish I could help him, but I know exactly where he’s coming from.
We really fucked up something that was good. Better than good. It was a once in a lifetime thing.
Sun beams hit the counter. The glare from his phone catches my eye, and I pick it up, handing it to him with more weight than ever.
“We need to show her how much she means to us. You text, I’ll call.”
Dylan snatches his phone and types furiously while I click her number. It rings and rings and rings.
“Hey!”