Fallen

Chapter 2. Every breath you take [Caleb]

She is laughing.

Sprinting across the court with the orange ball in hand.

Her long legs, moving her effortlessly over the asphalt courtyard in a few quick strides. The soles of her sneakers, scraping by the gravelly ground.

The next thing I know, she's on my side of the court.

She leaps. Striding through the air as if she weighs nothing. The ball goes down the net smoothly. And score!

"At least give me something to work with, Caleb."

The bubbly voice of my best friend - Tina - calls out from across the court. Her hands are on her narrow hips. She giggles, the whites of her teeth showing.

"I can't do this," I heave out.

I'm gasping for breath. Exercising isn't really my forte. Neither is running back and forth repeatedly to catch a stupid ball.

My t-shirt is soaking wet. So is my hair. I can literally feel the droplets of sweat trail down my forehead. As if that isn't enough, my legs are wobbly.

"I feel like dying."

A simple thing such as breathing the humid air is slowly becoming a chore. I really need to sit down and catch my breath.

"We'll take a break," Tina chuckles. Probably of my dying state. What a friend.

"-And stop your moaning," She adds.

She probably links my torturous state to me being dramatic. I swear I'm only exaggerating a little bit. She is the reason I'm running myself to death in the first place. She should not be taunting me.

Almost the entire summer, basketball is all she's been talking about. Mainly because there is this guy, who is obsessed with basketball, and Tina has a fat crush on him. I swear, last year at school, he talked about nothing else. And Tina was just eating him up with her eyes. It was revolting.

Now, after starting our last year of school and with tryouts coming up, she's been begging me to play with her. To practice. So that's what I've been doing. And it's sucking the life and joy out of me.

"I can't believe I'm doing all of this for some guy you like," I say.

I lay down in the grass. It cools my back.

Tina hums in agreement, laying down in the grass beside me. Her arms, stretching beneath her head.

It's nice outside. I look up at the clear blue sky. Listening to the chirping of birds. And kids' laughter a little bit further away.

We're in the heart of our town. The park of Angel Valley is where there's always life. A playground where the kids are free to be as wild as they want. Picnic tables everywhere. A small lake for fishing or whatever. And finally, the sports area. A place where you can run yourself to death just like me, chasing a stupid ball, while your friend - Without breaking a sweat - laughs at you.

I sigh.

Things are nice, quiet. It's been like that for a while.

Both my parents took off back at the start of summer. To travel. Leaving me with the house, their car, and the responsibility of my 12-year-old sister, Lucy. They've done that every year since they deemed me old enough to take care of myself and her.

And as much as it can be nice to have the responsibility that I do. It can also be the shittiest thing ever. Not being able to go to parties or hang out with friends because I have to keep an eye on my sister, help her with homework, or something else entirely.

I blame my high-school status on my parents. I'm at least 90% sure of that. I could have been a part of the popular kids at school. Maybe even meet a cute guy. Try kissing for the first time.

Well, I have kissed someone before. Tina. From spin the bottle at a birthday party when we were eight. But that doesn't really count. Hell, it still haunts me to this day. The first and last girl I will ever kiss.

Being lonely sucks, but at least I'm helping Tina find someone.

The sound of laughter brings me out of my trance.

Someone enters the court.

Tina and I both look up at the group of grinning seniors. I recognize a few of them from my classes. Tina's crush is one of them. Kyle or something.

They stop and look over at us.

"Wanna join?" The tallest of the group asks, also known as Tina's crush.

I look over at Tina, who is blushing. All red-faced.

I poke her in the ribs to get her attention and to give her a knowing smile. Knowing her, she might need a little push.

"Go get your man," I whisper so only she can hear.

She looks over at me with wide eyes. Her cheeks are even redder than they were before.

"You sure?" She asks, sounding hesitant.

"Of course," I say. "Go show off."

Even though she's doing this for Kyle or whatever his name is. She's pretty good at basketball. Considering she's never given a second thought for sport before him. Or even touched a ball.

I'm sure she's got nothing to worry about.

She stands up, brushing herself off.

She looks down at me and nods as a reassurance. Maybe more to herself than to me.

"See you at school on Monday?" I add.

"Yep, thanks for today Caleb," She waves goodbye. Making her way over to the group of guys.

I gather my phone and my bike. And walk out of the park.

The sun is slowly on its path to set. I don't even know what time it is.

I unlock my phone to a screen full of unanswered messages from my little sister.

[Lucy] 18:57: Where are you???

[Lucy] 19:02: You promised to pick me up at six

[Lucy] 19:03: It's more than six now

[Lucy] 19:26: Are you dead :((

Only reading a few of her messages. I scold myself internally. I've totally forgotten everything about my promise to pick Lucy up from her friend.

I text her a quick message that I will be there in 10 minutes. And jump on my bike.

Hopefully, she's not too mad at me.

My phone chimes again. With one hand on the rear, I unlock my screen, expecting an angry message from Lucy. Instead, I'm met with a warning.

[Weather Alert] Now: Strong storm heading across the region around 12 pm at midnight. Strong winds, lightning, and heavy downpour. Advised to stay indoors.

Great. Friday can't become more perfect than this.