The Choice (a Painful Past)

192

My day went about as it usually did, except for one thing. I couldn't stop thinking about Colby and what he was up to. I kept sneaking glances at my phone, hoping to see some kind of notification from him, but I never did. 

It took me a few hours to finish up all of my errands and I always left the grocery store for last. When I was finally through with it all, I sat in my car in the parking lot, staring at my phone. Should I call him? Or maybe that was too much. Maybe I should just text him. Or should I wait for him to text me?

Jesus, I was acting like a stupid, lovesick kid over someone who was supposed to be my best friend! He had been for years! So, why was I behaving this way? Why was I so fucking nervous to just call him? We talked all of the time now, so it wouldn't be something out of the blue. 

"Fuck it," I murmured, as I pressed my finger to his contact. I listened to the ringing sound, counting them, as my anxiety continued to grow. "One...two...three...four," I whispered along with it. Just as I was about to give up and disconnect, Colby's sleepy voice came through the speaker. "Hello," he croaked quietly. "Um, hey," I murmured. "Did I wake you?" I checked the time, thinking that maybe it was still early. The digital clock on my dash read almost 2 pm. He was still asleep?! Wow, they must've really went hard last night. 

"Callie?" he asked, with his voice getting a little clearer. "Yeah," I answered. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. I thought you would be up by now." I laughed a little, imagining him rubbing his tired eyes, as he sat up in bed. "No, you didn't," he replied, clearing his throat. "Yeah, right," I laughed. "Okay, maybe you did," he chuckled. The sound caused a stirring in my my lower belly and my cheeks flushed, like he could see my reaction through the phone. 

"It's okay, though. I didn't realize it was so late. My alarm didn't wake me, I guess. We had a late night," he sighed. "So, I'm guessing you guys found that party atmosphere after all, huh?" I joked. "Nah, nothing like that. We actually went exploring," he replied.

"Do you remember that old farmhouse, out in the middle of the field?" 

"No, you didn't!" I exclaimed, knowing exactly what house he was talking about. "Without me? Rude." He laughed again, causing that stirring in my belly to kick it up a notch. Damn it, I must really miss sex. Too bad I was too fucked up to satiate that need, without attachment. 

"How about we make another trip there, before Sam and I leave? It was amazing, Cal. I wish you could've seen it. I still can't believe that it took us so long to actually explore it. Oh, the cops came by the way. Why didn't you tell me that Logan was a cop now? I thought we were going to jail again, for sure," he continued.

"Again?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. I hadn't seen anything about them going to jail. "When was this? What did you do?" "Oh, um, yeah, so I have three felony charges," he laughed, nervously. "Colby," I sighed, as I leaned back in my seat. "What the fuck did you do? Do I need to beat your ass?" 

"It wasn't anything serious! Not really," he insisted, making me laugh. "We got busted exploring a place that was government property. "That doesn't give you three felony charges!" I exclaimed. "What else did you do?" 

"You're not gonna let this go, are you?" he asked. "Nope," I replied. "Not a chance. Spill." 

"Alright, fine," he groaned. "They found three fake IDs in my wallet, when they arrested us. Three IDs, three felonies." "When did this happen?" I asked, scrunching my face in confusion. He was 23, so why did he need fake IDs? "I mean, it's been a while since you were younger than 21, so you should have this taken care of by now, right? Obviously, you're not in prison." 

"Um, yeah, so, it happened not that long ago, actually. I'm still on probation," he replied, with embarrassment coating his tone." "WHAT? COLBY, WHY DID YOU HAVE FAKE IDS?! My God, what are you involved in?" I exclaimed.