"What happens from here, because I think I love you."
Rhiannon's heart couldn't help but to slip out of her ribs and sink. This wasn't supposed to happen. Why was this happening to her, putting her into a place she didn't want to be in.
Before this sentence was muttered through the line, this was a 2 hour harmless call with Garrett. Filled entirely with inside jokes, random topics, and other kids from school. He seemed to have forgotten about yesterday's ordeal, because it wasn't brought up once during the phone. Yet again they were talking of nothing that was too big of a deal, that was, nothing until now.
Being put into situations like this caused Rhiannon to overstress- being taken that she was entirely too nice to turn down an offer with good intentions from anyone. This wasn't a casual way of bringing up that you like someone- this was jumping way too far to conclusions. She wanted to feel like she'd been given an opportunity that she didn't have to agree to. Now that he had said he thought he loved her, she would shatter his spirits into sharp broken shards if she said she didn't feel the same.
"I-" she stopped and gave out a long sigh that delivered through the phone into Garrett's ear.
"I think you're moving way too fast. You don't love me- you don't know me. I mean I guess a date would be progress. How does that sound?"
She felt horrible. She was ruining things with Austin, but she didn't even know if he had felt the same way. The feelings were indescribable. That didn't mean she wanted them to end.
"Uh, yeah, I mean, yes. That'd be so great!"
The introvert in Rhiannon was no longer hiding. She wanted to hang up on him so fast and regret the words she had said. Regret answering his number. Regret meeting him altogether.
"My dad needs to borrow my phone. Gotta go."
She hung up instantly and threw it across the room. It slammed against her wall and dropped to the floor. Her body lugged up to go get it. Her thumb ran over the fresh new cracks on the right upper side of the screen.
"Fuck." She breathed, dropping it again and running her spidery fingers through her hair.
Her body slowly climbed to the bed, easing it's way into the covers. The duvet was completely covering her, making her feel like she was on the clear. She let a few stressful tears slip down her face. Why couldn't she just say no??
-
"Austin, get up bunny."
Austin's mother hovered over his body. He was completely passed out, drool slipping from the corner of his mouth. His body was tossed over with his arms flung above his head. He seemed oddly happy, even though his mind was being taken into a different stage of sleep.
Walmart's schedule hadn't welcomed him for about a week now. He used up all of his vacation days for absolutely no reason. You could imagine his mother was sort of pissed at him when they called her asking if he could trade shifts with a co-worker because he had used them. Ilene was her name, and she wore thick clear glasses that were too big for her face and a matching pair of dangly earrings to go with her scrub shirts under her Walmart vest.
Working as a clerk near Austin's counter, she would never shut up. I mean never. She was a talkative old bat, going on about her grandchildren and a peach tree that sat dying in her backyard because her husband never cared for it. Austin could admit, she was very sweet and considerate, asking him a fair share about his life and how he feels. She annoyed the living daylights out of him most of the time.
His mother knew Ilene because she was a regular at the salon she worked at. Mom would cut and perm her white thin pixie cut locks. Ilene would talk just as much, but the only difference being that Mom actually listened.
"Austin," she shook him hard, speaking a little more stern now.
"You're working in an hour. I swear to god if your ass isn't up in the next 20 minutes I am going to throw your keys into the ocean."
His low raspy voice moaned in disgust. He was up now. He heard her.
With that, she gave up and walked out of his room, switching on the light on her way out. He practically hissed, shielding his eyes from the painful rays emitting from the ceiling.
"Clean up all of that shit on your walls."
Her voice was an alarm on snooze, going off in a loud annoying tone every 2 minutes.
She hated Austin's room. The walls were stocked with weird posters and drawings of his interest. Complimented by string lights and practically a sea of trash covering his floor, this wasn't a normal guys bedroom. Then again, Austin wasn't exactly normal.
Within 10 minutes Austin was putting on his ugly walmart vest and fastening his name tag onto it. The needle punctured the tip of his finger.
"Fuck." He whistled, secretly wanting to cry because of the pain. He couldn't handle pain too well.
He grabbed his keys and ran out the house. All he was wanting to do was get his shift over with so he could talk to Rhiannon.
-
Garrett was plotting to call Austin for quite some time now. The only subject matter being the plan. It sounded like a murder plot, the way it rolled off of his tongue. He had been wondering if the notes from "Sketch" should just come to a halt already. He had already gotten what he wanted. She's going to go on a date with him.
He tapped on Austin's contact and patiently waited for him to pick up the other end.
After 4 rings he finally picked up.
"What? I'm busy driving to work."
Austin was hectic and easily set off today, especially with Garrett.
"Guess what just happened."
Their conversations were privately played out like a couple of school girls. Minus the shrieks, but the excitement was there.
Without giving him a chance to answer, Garrett couldn't help but blurt it out so he could save himself the hyperventilation.
"I'm going to start going out with Rhiannon. As in seeing her... as in what we've been wanting for me for a long time."
A piercing sigh ran through the cordless phone like blood through veins. He wasn't an idiot- he knew Austin didn't like the sound of that. The elephant in the room was obvious, neither just bothered to bring it up.
"Good for you. So you want me to keep feeding her bullshit on what is supposedly 'your' thoughts or can I stop? I forget that originality is so thin in the world today." Austin said mercilessly.
Nothing but a hitch in his throat could Garrett catch.
"Well, it's not like selflessness runs thick either. You think someone could be happy for me."
Austin's car swerved onto the side of the road and parked.
"You get EVERYTHING," He spat.
"You get everything and I get nothing. The only person who I've actually bonded with in the past year is her."
His button nose drew in a deep quivering breath. He withdrew from the fight in anger. Who would even bother to hear his side. Not like it would change much- or anything at all.
"Fucking forget it."
Austin hung up quickly and gripped his hands on the steering wheel.
Walmart didn't sound exciting at all now. Not like it was to begin with.
