Chasing Mr. Carlton ( The story of a Shrew's Son)

Part 44

Bobby looked at her phone. She'd managed to tuck herself into bed pretty early and was now trying to focus on a book. It was hard. It was really hard.

Every night, she stood and stared at her door for several minutes, telling herself to put the chain on. He wasn't going to show up after she'd gone to bed, she wasn't going to wake up to him kissing her and she wasn't going to find herself in his arms. Still, she couldn't bring herself to do it, she just couldn't bring herself to put the chain on.

Now she sat in bed, reading the same line over and over gain, unable to focus. Without really thinking, she reached out and grabbed the phone.

"No." she said, putting it back down. "No, I can't. I have to give them a chance."

She unplugged the phone and stood, placing it on the table in the other room, then she walked back to her bed. With a mental nod that she was doing the right thing, she settled back into the bed and picked up the book, reading the same lines over.

Then the phone rang.

Bobby put the book down and turned in the direction of the kitchen, listening to the first, ring, then the second... Then, she jumped up out of  the bed, tripping over the covers as the phone continued to ring. She stood and rushed again, this time sliding and crashing into a chair in the next room.

"Fuck...." She said loudly, pushing the chair aside and running into the living room, scrambling for the table at the end of the room where her phone now sat ringing.

She stared at it for a second, catching her breath and then she walked over to it. It continued to ring, the name displayed clearly on the screen.

"Matt." She whispered. "No. I won't. I won't."

But she did.

"Bobby."

His voice was low and she took a deep breath.

"Matt." She said softly, feeling relieved at hearing his voice.

"I need you." He said.

"Matt, we talked about this." She said, her voice trembling.

"I know. I'm stuck..." He said and Bobby frowned.

"You're fucking kidding me, right? I know you're not asking me to go pick you up, right?" She asked, realizing he was drunk. "This is just great."

"I'm not sure where I am... I think I see a cab." He said, his voice slurred. "I need you to save me, Bobby."

"You see a cab? Great, get it and go home." She said, hanging up the call. Bobby stared down at her phone for a second, unbelieving of what had just happened and then her eyes widened as it began to ring again.

"No, nope." She said, putting it on silent and rejecting the call. She put the phone back down and turned on her heel towards the door. "No." Then she slid the chain and walked back into her room.

Bobby tossed and turned for over an hour after that, unable to erase the image of Matt sitting somewhere, drunk and alone from her mind.

---

Bobby sat up looked around, the room pitch black around her.  She'd been having the same dream, the one where she woke up to Matt kissing her and everything was fine. She was covered in a thin layer of sweat and she looked up to the thermostat. Why had she set it so warm?

She stood, adjusting it and then she looked around the room. It was only half past 2. With a sigh and a shake of her head, Bobby made her way into the kitchen and decided to boil water. Maybe she'd be able to sleep better after a cup of tea. She wasn't usually a tea drink but then again, she wasn't usually the kind of person to have trouble sleeping through the night.