Sticks and Stones

Four: Birthdays, Bandages, and Busy-Bees

Tatum had two thoughts when she first woke up.

1: Going out on Thursdays would be a thing of the past.

2: Who the hell was calling her this early?

She fumbled blindly for her phone as the shrill ringing filled the air, eyes fighting to stay shut. Reluctantly, she peeled her eyes open. It wasn't even close to when she had to be up for the day. Her thumb went to hit decline before seeing who it was. Maybe this could be fun. She tapped the button to answer the call, and put it to her ear as she fought a laugh for what she had planned. Kinsley was probably calling to apologize for last night, but Tatum wanted to have some fun with this first.

"Shh," Tatum said softly into the phone as if with someone.

"Oh my god, oh my god," Kinsley began to ramble, instantly believing Tatum had slept with Julian.

Tatum rolled her eyes, shifting in her bed slightly as she sat up. "Hold on, I don't want him to hear. He's sleeping. I'm gonna leave his room for a second."

"Oh my god, okay," Kinsley whispered back, her voice filled with anticipation.

"Shh," Tatum repeated gently as she leaned against her bed frame, pausing for a moment. She ruffled the sheets slightly to make it seem like she was leaving someone's bed. After a beat of silence, she knew her friend was clutching the phone to her ear to get every detail. Finally, her voice boomed through the phone as she shouted, "Are you fucking kidding me? What the hell were you thinking?"

Kinsley yelped into the phone and Tatum was sure she could hear her drop it to the floor. "Wait! Wait, did you not—"

"Of course, I didn't! Are you joking?" Tatum stressed in a furious voice. "Why the hell did you tell him I was single?"

"I wanted you to have fun! You always said he was the best guy you ever slept with!" Kinsley rambled worriedly, guilt leaking into her voice. "You said a few weeks back that you'd get with him again!"

Tatum groaned in exasperation. "Yeah, well, you'll never believe who stopped the conversation."

Kinsley snorted. "Isaac?"

"Your brother."

Kinsley went silent on the line for a second, and Tatum thought for a moment that she shouldn't have said anything. She said it as something she thought Kinsley would find wild, not make her go silent. Tatum opened her mouth to change the conversation, but before she could, Kinsley softly asked, "Oh, did he?"

"Yeah." Tatum cleared her throat, trying to think of what to say. "It was weird. We've never actually spoken before."

"You're not missing much," her friend said tartly.

"Right," Tatum said, her eyes shutting as she prepared herself for what she was going to bring up next. She couldn't not tell Kinsley. She would probably just find out on her own if she barged in during Tatum's shifts. "Is this a bad time to mention that I've been assigned to his PT plan?"

More silence.

"You're gonna fix his knee?"

Tatum thought that was a slightly odd way of asking. Especially with the tone she asked it. She almost sounded... stressed. Like there was something Tatum didn't know. "Yeah, I guess he's ran off everyone who's tried. Probably scared of it happening again if word gets around that he's healed."

A pause. "Yeah, probably."

"I don't— I don't want to," Tatum told her firmly, but winced at the slight lie. If she was being honest, part of her was curious to see if she could manage what the others couldn't. Not to mention that she didn't want the guy to be in pain.