Torn

by A. M. Wallace

  He woke up this morning.

  I got in my car and started it up. I had just put the car in drive when my phone went off. I kept my foot on the brake to check it.

  That’s great! I’ll see you tonight.

  I smiled and tossed my phone in the passenger seat as I pulled out of my parking spot to head home. I needed a distraction from all things Marcus. Justin would give me that.

  the last few days had been a little crazy. I couldn’t believe I’d been in the hospital for almost a week from a car accident. It just seemed so surreal. Amy finally got to tell me exactly what happened the night we went for ice cream. It was all still blank for me.

  We were on our way home when a truck pulled out of an alley and struck us on the driver’s side. I got the worst of it. Amy had some cuts and bruises and a dislocated shoulder, but she was released the night we came in, thank God. She had to wear a sling for a couple of days to keep her from moving her arm in a way that would hurt her again after having her shoulder popped back into place, but now you’d never know she had been in the accident. Her shoulder was still a little sore, but she was okay. For that, I was very grateful.

  I was told I would get released either today or tomorrow; it depended on what the doctor said when he saw me today. I really hoped it would be today. I may not remember the first few days, but the days I remembered had been enough for me.

  A couple broken ribs were nothing I couldn’t handle. I hated how I had to wear a boot on my left foot for six weeks though. Six weeks of limited activity because of that stupid thing. There was a plus side to that, though.

  Amy agreed to stay with me while I recovered. Of course, Hannah and Chad, and even Erica, said they would help out, too, but Amy would be staying the entire time. I had to admit, I was excited about that.

  Speaking of Amy.

  “Hey.” She smiled as she walked into the room with a take-out container. “I brought you some lunch.” I could smell the hot wings I’d been craving.

  “You’re amazing, you know that?” I pressed the button on the remote for the bed to raise my head so I could eat and she pulled my bedside table over to me.

  “You’re only saying that because I brought you food.” She playfully glared at me as she set my container down and opened the lid for me. “Fork?”

  “No fork.” I smiled and wiggled my fingers at her before grabbing a wing.

  “Caveman.” She sat down with a grin as I dug into my food.

  “Want some?” I asked and she shook her head. “Thank you, by the way.”

  “You don’t have to thank me, Marcus.”

  We sat in a comfortable silence while I ate my wings. Amy had brought a book to pass the time. I kept stealing glances at her as I ate, and every once in a while, she’d catch me staring. She’d just give me a shy smile and go back to her book.

  “Woman,” she blinked and looked up, a small smile playing on her lips as she waited for me to continue, “I am finished. Clean up.” I held up my hand that was covered in buffalo sauce and then pointed to my empty container.

  She looked down at her book and reached over on the table for some napkins and threw them at me, never taking her eyes off the book. I laughed and cleaned my hands.

  “Okay, I’m sorry,” I said as I put my dirty napkins into the container and closed it up. She looked up at me and grinned.

  “A preview of the next few weeks, hm?”

  “Maybe a little.” I smirked at her. “Think you’re still up for it?”

  “I can handle you.” She smirked right back.

  Man, I loved this woman. I hadn’t told her that yet though. She may have said it when she thought I was unconscious, but she hadn’t said it since I’d been awake. I hadn’t said it to her because I didn’t want her to think I only said it because of my near death experience. Hell, I wanted to be sure I didn’t say it because of that, too. I was pretty sure it wasn’t just because of that, though.

  “Your parents went home just a little while ago. You’ll have to go and visit more. Your mom was pretty shaken up over all of this.” She put her book away in her bag and came to sit on the edge of my bed.

  “Yeah, I know. I didn’t go down there enough before.” I rested my arm on her lap and scooted to make more room for her on the bed.

  “Chad is gonna help us get home, but everyone else already left.” She played with my fingers in her lap as she talked. Home. She just called my house home. Again.

  I could definitely get used to that.

  “Hannah, too?” I didn’t have to ask; I already knew the answer.

  Hannah had been acting strange, and at first, I thought it was because of the fight we’d had weeks ago. I wasn’t so sure now. Everyone kept assuring me things were fine, but I knew better.

  “Yeah, she had some stuff to catch up with for school. She said she’d see you tomorrow.” I nodded and looked toward the T.V. on the wall.

  It was really starting to bother me why Hannah was acting so weird. But I guess I had to wait until I was home to get to the bottom of it. Maybe by then, things would at least get a little closer to normal.

  the doctor had finally released me and I was in Chad’s car with him. Amy was behind us in her car. I was grumbling about the boot on my foot and Chad was, of course, laughing at me.

  “Hey, I could actually beat you in a race now.”

  “I wouldn’t count on it,” I huffed, glaring over at him. “This really sucks, you know.”

  “I know, man. I’m just giving you a hard time.” He smiled and I sighed.

  I wasn’t really angry at him; I was just annoyed about the whole situation. I had a better attitude about it while I was in the hospital, but now it was more of a reality check.

  “At least Amy gets to stay with you,” he pointed out and I grinned at the thought.

  “Yeah, I guess I am pretty excited about that.” He laughed and I looked over at him. “What?”

  “Nothing. It’s just, I mean, who wouldn’t be excited about having a hot girl staying at your house and waiting on you hand and foot.” He gave me a ‘duh’ look and I snorted.

  “She won’t be waiting on me hand and foot.”

  “Pretty damn close. Lucky bastard.” He grumbled a little when he said it, making me laugh pretty hard.

  “Don’t be jealous, Chad.” He laughed with me now.

  The drive didn’t take long, so we were at my house in no time. Chad got out of the driver’s side and came over to where I was struggling to get out of the passenger’s side to help me out. I swallowed my pride and wrapped my arm around his shoulder so he could help hold me up as I slid out. I was finally standing, putting all of my weight on my right leg when Amy came to my side, holding my crutches out for me.

  “Thank you.” I took the crutches from her and leaned down to kiss her lips before placing them under my arms.

  “Just take it easy.” She barely had the last word out of her mouth before I took off toward the door. “Or, yeah, you could just not listen. That’s cool, too.” She sighed, but I could tell she was smiling by the way she’d said it.

  I made it to the door and dug around in my pockets for my keys before I remembered Amy had them. I held my hand out for them, but she just smirked and stepped around me to unlock the door for me.

  “You’re gonna be bossy while you help me, aren’t you?” I asked as she opened the door and stood to the side so I could go in first, still smirking at me.

  “Mmhmm. And you’re gonna listen, aren’t you?” Man, she was feisty. But I liked it. A lot.

  “Yes, dear.” I leaned down to kiss her again before slowly walking into the house.

  My armpits were already starting to hurt and I hadn’t taken twenty steps yet. I walked into the living room and carefully sat down on the couch. My ribs still hurt when I moved certain ways, so I had to kind of take it easy because of that. I was hating this already.

  “I’ll put your stuff in your room,” Chad said as he brought my bags in.

  I hated not
being able to do things for myself. Once I got used to these crutches a little more, I could do more. Not to mention the pain meds they gave me made me so tired; I wouldn’t be trying any time soon.

  “You boys hungry?” Amy asked from the kitchen where she was already looking through the cabinets.

  “I doubt you’ll find much. It’s been a while since I went grocery shopping.” I turned on the couch a little, my back against the arm. I pulled my leg up to elevate it on a pillow before resting my arm on the back of the couch where I could watch Amy.

  “You underestimate me.” She smirked, pulling a couple of things from the cabinet and setting it on the bar.

  “You went grocery shopping?” I raised my brows in surprise. Chad walked by at that time and took a seat at the bar, holding up a box of something.

  “Yeah. You needed groceries and I wanted to take care of it before you got home.”

  She was pretty amazing.

  “I think she’s a keeper, Mark,” Chad said confidently, nodding his head, making Amy laugh.

  “I already offered to make you lunch, Chad. You don’t have to try and flatter me now.”

  I shook my head, just watching them interact. Chad would reach for something in front of Amy and she’d swat at his hand. He would wait for her to turn the other way, and try again, only to get his hand smacked again. He finally gave up and came to join me in the living room.

  “She plays hardball.” He huffed as he sat down. I laughed.

  “That she does.” I smiled proudly.

  I was glad Amy didn’t take any of Chad’s crap. It was all good fun, but sometimes, even Erica and Hannah got annoyed with Chad’s playfulness. Amy seemed to enjoy it. I liked that.

  “I texted Erica and told her you were home. She said she and Hannah would come by later,” Chad said as he grabbed the remote and turned on the T.V.

  “Okay.” I went to reach into my pocket again before remembering I didn’t have any of my things. “Hey, man, can you find my phone for me?”

  “Sure.” He got up and walked back to my bedroom where he’d put my stuff.

  “Hey, do you mind if Hannah and Erica eat with us?” I looked up at Amy as I asked her. She stopped what she was doing so she could look back at me. I saw a little hesitation in her eyes, but she smiled anyway.

  “Of course not.” She quickly went back to what she was doing. Maybe it bothered her that I wanted to invite other people.

  “I don’t have to invite them if you don’t want to make that much. It’s not a big deal.” She looked up at me again with the same smile.

  “No, it’s all right. I don’t mind.”

  I nodded as she went back to work making whatever it was she was making. She hadn’t told me yet and I couldn’t see the items very well from where I was sitting, plus I was too lazy to get up and see. Chad walked back into the living room, tossing me my phone as he sat down.

  “Thanks,” I said, catching it and opening up my messages.

  I opened a new message and put in Hannah’s number. I could have texted Erica, but that wouldn’t help things between Hannah and me. Things were still awkward and I wanted to fix things as soon as possible.

  Amy is making lunch. Chad’s already here. You guys should come.

  I laid my head to the side on the back of the couch, glancing at Amy as I did. I could look at her all day, and I planned to, as long as I was stuck doing little to nothing for the next few days. My phone beeped and I looked down to read the text.

  Erica might. I can’t today. I’ll come see you soon.

  That was all she said. I didn’t send anything back; I wasn’t sure what I would say. Hopefully, we could fix this. If not, I wasn’t sure what I’d do. Hannah had always been in my life. I didn’t know how to handle the possibility of her not being in it anymore.

  “Erica might be here, but Hannah isn’t coming.” I wasn’t talking to anyone in particular and it was Chad who responded.

  “Why not?” I looked up as he spoke and shrugged my shoulders.

  “She didn’t say.”

  “I’m making plenty, in case she changes her mind,” Amy said as she walked over to where I was sitting and patted my arm from where she stood before rubbing it gently. I placed my hand on top of hers.

  She wouldn’t change her mind, though.

  marcus had invited us over for a party they had planned to have for Halloween, just a few days before. He’d only been home less than a week, but he wanted to have a get-together. Since today was Halloween and it fell on a Friday this year, what better time than tonight.

  Erica and I dressed up as Thing 1 and Thing 2. We were wearing our sweatshirts that said Thing 1 and Thing 2, red shorts, red and white stripped leggings, and red Converses. Oh, and we had our hair up in buns that we sprayed with temporary blue hair dye. I had to admit, we looked pretty good for coming up with it in just a few days. I hadn’t planned on dressing up this year, and Justin was busy, so I knew we wouldn’t be hanging out. But here I was.

  There were quite a few people here for a somewhat last minute party. Chad was dressed up as Batman. He was talking to some girl who was dressed up as Flo, the Progressive woman. I assumed that was the girl he’d been talking about from the gym, but I’d never seen her, so I wasn’t sure. She seemed into him, though, so either way, I’d say it was a good thing.

  I looked around, but I didn’t see Marcus or Amy anywhere. There were some people outside by the pool, so they could have been there. I wasn’t exactly eager to find them, so I stayed with Erica, who was heading to the kitchen for some snacks.

  “Do you know any of these people?” Erica asked me as she filled two cups with punch for us.

  “Some of them are from the gym, I think. The rest must be some of Amy’s friends.” I mentally rolled my eyes.

  They were very much a couple now, weren’t they? Throwing a Halloween Party together, getting both sets of friends together. The fact she was staying with him while he recovered. It all just pissed me off. I was sure it showed too, because Erica elbowed my side.

  “Seriously, Hannah, lighten up. If I knew you were gonna sulk, I’d have left you home.” She walked away as soon as she said it.

  That was starting to piss me off, too. Erica and Chad were my friends first, and suddenly they were both taking her side. I was aware of how childish I was sounding, but I couldn’t care less. This whole situation just made me want to crawl in a hole and never come out. As if it couldn’t get any worse.

  Marcus and Amy came in the sliding glass door, him with his arm around her shoulders for a little extra support. He was walking better than I expected with the boot on his foot. I instantly hated their costumes.

  Amy was dressed in a skimpy black and teal, feathery outfit. What was that movie about the stage dancers that starred Christina Aguilera? Burlesque, that was it. That was what she reminded me of. Her hair was loose over her shoulders and she had a feather hat on her head. She actually looked good in it, which made me hate it and her that much more.

  Marcus was shirtless, but had wrist cuffs and the neck cuff of a dress shirt on, with black pants and dress shoes. It made me think of the way male strippers looked in the movies. The only thing that seemed a little out of place for the outfit was his glasses, but they made him who he was, so I knew he wouldn’t have taken them off for this. He looked incredibly sexy; I couldn’t deny that.

  “Don’t they look great together?” I heard someone say from behind me. I didn’t recognize the voice, so I didn’t look around to see who it was. I probably would have smarted off something to them anyway.

  I stayed where I was in the kitchen, people-watching for a few minutes and munching on some of the snacks, trying to keep my attention from them. I couldn’t keep it up for long though, and looked up right as Marcus found me. He grinned and said something to Amy before releasing her and limping—quickly, might I add—to where I was.

  I smiled up at him as he reached me, a real smile. He smiled back and didn’t say a word before grabbing
my shoulders and pulling me into a hug. I could almost cry at how familiar it was. I hugged him back and smiled into his shoulder. I was happy right now. Because for the short time his arms were around me, I could forget about everyone else in the room. I could forget about Amy. Marcus was my best friend again and I was all he needed.

  “I’m so glad you came. I haven’t seen you all week,” he said as he pulled back and smiled at me.

  I smiled back. It was the first time in a good little while I could remember smiling like this at him. I was still in my make-believe little bubble of just me and him.

  “I know, I’m sorry. I’ve been catching up on school stuff and I got a few extra hours at the café. I’ve just been busy.”

  “I know.” He looked down at my outfit and laughed. “So, Thing 1, huh? Where’s Thing 2?”

  “She’s around here somewhere.” I pretended to look for her for a minute before looking back at Marcus. “It’s a party with alcohol. I’m sure she’s found a guy to flirt with.” We both laughed at that.

  “For someone as confident and independent as Erica, it’s still surprising she needs alcohol to flirt with guys,” Marcus said and I had to agree.

  “So…” I motioned with my hand, indicating his outfit. “What are you? A male stripper?”

  “Well, actually…” He laughed and looked down at himself before shaking his head. “Yeah, we’ll go with that. It’s easier to explain.” I laughed with him and tried not to think about how good he looked in it.

  “Well, it works for you. You should maybe think about changing your profession.” I smirked and he laughed some more.

  “Yeah, maybe. I’d make more money this way.” He wiggled his brows then turned his head when someone yelled his name before turning back to me. “I better make my rounds. I’ll talk to you later?”

  “Yeah.” I nodded and he grinned before limping in the opposite direction, toward some people I recognized from the gym.

  I walked carefully around numerous people, looking for Erica. As soon as Marcus had walked off, all that familiarity and comfort I’d felt with him was gone. While we were talking, it was as if nothing had changed, like we were the way we’d always been. But now, I suddenly felt so alone, like I didn’t belong. I needed to find Erica to get some of that familiarity back.