Catch Me If I Fall

by Daniele Lanzarotta

“We are staying. He was supposed to come home tomorrow, but now he was just saying that he might not.”

  Dad glances at me. He has relaxed a lot since he heard that Alec and I aren’t together anymore.

  “We are going out of town this weekend, but Skylar isn’t feeling well. We were wondering if maybe she could stay over. It’s probably something she ate so she will be out of your hair by tomorrow. If you could just keep an eye on her—”

  “Of course. The house is so empty now. We’d love to have her.”

  As soon as dad is gone, I text Alec, ‘I’m staying. See you tomorrow?’

  ‘Can’t wait!’

  Mom and dad walk me over next door to thank Alec’s mom. After they leave, she asks if I want to watch a movie with her and we end up watching Sweet Home Alabama. It's nice to just sit and watch a movie without any awkward conversations, although that part comes soon enough.

  “Well, it is getting late.” She hesitates. “Are you okay sleeping in Alec’s room? If that is not okay I can setup the air mattress here so that you are comfortable.” She yawns.

  “I’m okay,” I assure her.

  I follow her upstairs and into his room. She turns the light on and I look around his room. It’s empty since he moved. Other than the bed, a dresser, and some movies and games, he took everything to their apartment. I glance at the window and I can see my room across from his.

  “I will be down the hallway if you need anything. Are you feeling okay?”

  “Yes. Much better,” I assure her.

  “Okay. Well, if Alec comes home tomorrow, he can take the couch, or maybe he can sleep at Kyle’s if that is too weird.”

  “I will be okay.”

  She nods. “Okay. Sorry. I just remember breakups being horrible as a teen,” she pauses. “I’m sorry. I just—I babble a lot when I’m tired.”

  I smile. “I’m fine.”

  I suddenly feel horrible that they all really think that we broke up. It's one thing to avoid the topic, but when people remind you constantly that you are actually lying about it…

  “Well, goodnight. Just let me know if you need anything.”

  “Goodnight.”

  She leaves and closes the door behind her. I get ready for bed and lay down, snuggling under his blanket. He hasn’t been home in weeks, but his scent is still there.

  I grab my phone. ‘I can’t wait to see you tomorrow,’ I text.

  ‘Time is not going by fast enough,’ he replies and I smile at my phone before I put it away and close my eyes.

  ALEC

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to drive?” I ask Kyle.

  “Why?” asks Kyle while singing to some country song over and over again.

  “So I can pick the radio station. That is why. How many times can you listen to the same song?”

  “A lot. And I’m a better driver. Just chill.”

  A text comes in from Sky saying she can’t wait until tomorrow and I can’t either. It’s been way too long.

  Kyle glances at me and grins.

  “What?” I ask.

  “She's got you wrapped around her finger.”

  I laugh. “Is that a problem?”

  He stares toward the street again. “Not at all. Actually, I’m kind of jealous.”

  “You? Jealous?”

  “Yeah.”

  He turns up the radio and starts to sing, so we leave it at that.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to go to my house?” he asks as we get closer.

  “Yeah. I know you want to sleep in and I want to see her first thing in the morning. Trust me, I'm fighting the urge not to wake her up now.”

  Kyle pulls up in the driveway.

  “Thanks, man. Do you want to hang out with us tomorrow?” I ask.

  “Dude. We live together. I see you every single day. Don’t you want to enjoy a day alone with your girl?”

  I laugh. “I was just trying to be nice.”

  “By inviting me to be the third wheel? Yeah. How nice of you,” he jokes. “I’m good, man. I have some things to do.”

  I tell him that I will see him later and get out of the car.

  I go in quietly, trying not to wake anyone up.

  I go up to my room, open the door and the hallway light shines on my bed. I just stop right where I am. I see her on my bed, sleeping so peacefully. She takes my breath away. I go in and close the door behind me. I walk over to the bed and kneel down on the floor.

  “Sky?” I whisper.

  She slowly opens her eyes and sits up.

  “Alec?”

  I grin from ear to ear. “What are you doing here?”

  “I—I” she moves toward me, pulls me against her and kisses me.

  When she comes up for air, I ask if she minds if I stay with her.

  I get up and lock the door, even though we are not going to do anything, my mom would kick my ass if she caught us.

  I take my shoes off and lay down on the bed with my jeans and shirt on. I get under the blanket with Sky and put my arm around her. She turns so she is facing me.

  “I missed you like crazy,” she says.

  I smile at her and pull her against me.

  “Can you do something for me?” I ask.

  She nods.

  “I miss falling asleep to the sound of you singing.”

  She laughs. “Did you do that a lot?”

  “That's why summer is my favorite season. Your window was always open and so was mine so I could always hear you.”

  She starts to sing a song called Little Do You Know.

  I close my eyes wishing that I could always fall asleep like this.

  SKYLAR

  He falls asleep by the time I finish the song. I get even closer to him, burying my face against his chest and he wakes up.

  “I can’t wait until we can fall asleep like this every night,” he says, sleepily.

  I smile and I close my eyes. I feel stupid asking this, but, “Alec?” I say.

  “Yeah.”

  I pause.

  “What is it?” he asks.

  I laugh. “I feel stupid asking.”

  “Asking what?”

  I sigh. “Can you take your shirt off?”

  He tenses.

  “I told you it was stupid.”

  “I just don’t think it is a good idea, Sky.”

  “What? You don’t think I can resist you without your shirt on?” I laugh.

  He sits up. “If you think you can.” He laughs as he pulls his shirt over his head, and then lies back down.

  I lay back against his chest. He feels so warm, but I can tell he is uncomfortable and holding his breath in.

  “Relax. I’m not going to take advantage of you,” I giggle and look up at him. There is a look of amusement on his face.

  “I just don’t want to screw things up.”

  I pull away and freeze.

  “I didn’t mean it in a bad way, Sky.”

  “No, I get it.” I start to get up, “I’m just the high school girl with zero experience. My first kiss was only a few months ago, and—”

  “Sky, stop. I want to. Trust me! You have no idea how much I do, but I’m not putting what we have at risk. What if your parents found out? We’d be…”

  “I don’t want to make you wait,” I say nervously.

  “I will wait for you for as long as I need to. This shouldn’t be about me, Sky. This is about us and we should both be ready.”

  I swallow the lump that was in my throat.

  “I don’t want to fight, Sky. We don’t get enough time together as it is.”

  I get closer and lay down against his chest again. He puts his arm over me as we lay together in silence. His heart beats faster as I move and my tank top rises up, just enough to where his hand grazes against my skin.

  I look up and kiss him.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  In the morning, there is a knock on the door. I quickly sit up and whisper in his ear, “Alec. You need to hide!” He opens his e
yes and stumbles over to the closet, but surprisingly doesn’t make a lot of noise. He opens the closet door and gets in, and I walk over to unlock the door.

  His mom stands at the door.

  “Sorry. Force of habit with the locked door,” I say.

  She smiles. “Are you feeling better?”

  I nod.

  “Good. I’m going to make us some breakfast. Do you like pancakes?”

  “Of course,” I smile back at her and yawn. I try to sound calm, but I doubt it's working.

  “If you’d like to sleep in some more, I can hold off on breakfast for a little while.”

  “Are you sure? You don’t have to,” I say.

  “It’s perfectly fine. I’m just used to waking up early. How about I come wake you up in an hour or so?”

  “Thank you,” I smile at her and once she leaves, I close and lock the door again. Then I rush toward the closet. I stare at Alec standing in front of me with messy hair and no shirt on.

  “What?” he asks sleepily.

  “How did I get so lucky?”

  He smiles. “I ask myself that every day.”

  “What do you want to do today?” I ask.

  “Waterfall, maybe?”

  “Are you telling your mom you are in town?” I ask.

  “I don’t know.

  “You could stay at my house, and sneak in again at night,” I suggest.

  “You really are determined to tempt me this weekend, aren’t you?” he laughs.

  I roll my eyes. “Or you could sleep on the couch. All alone…”

  He grins. “Should I go hide at your house now?”

  I give him the key.

  He takes a step toward me, closing the space between us and picks me up. I have to put my hand over my mouth to keep myself from screaming. He puts me down on the bed and lies down next to me.

  “How did you sleep?” he asks.

  “Better than ever before.”

  He reaches over to his desk and grabs a pen, then reaches for my hand and brings it close to him.

  “What are you doing?” I ask.

  He shrugs. “I just want to see something.”

  He tells me not to look and starts drawing something on my left ring finger.

  “It’s looks pretty good,” he says.

  I laugh. “Can I look now?”

  “Yeah.”

  I look and he drew a ring on my finger.

  “You really weren’t kidding about that item on the list, huh?”

  He shakes his head. “Not at all.” He leans on top of me, and brushes his lips against mine, teasing a kiss that is inevitable.

  I go downstairs before the hour is up and eat breakfast with his mom while he takes the opportunity to sneak out of the house. While we eat, she mentions that she still hasn’t heard from Alec.

  She glances at my left hand and just stares at the pretend ring that is now on my finger. I quickly cover it with my other hand. “I was bored during class yesterday,” I say.

  “Oh.”

  She quickly changes topics by talking about the movie we watched last night.

  I insist on cleaning up after breakfast, and say that I’m going to go to my house for a little while.

  I go home and upstairs to my room where I find Alec sitting on the bed, with his head down and I see a piece of paper in his hands.

  “What's wrong?”

  “How long have you been talking to him, Sky?”

  Mike’s letter…

  “He sends letters, but I never write back,” I say. “Sometimes I want to because I’m still trying to understand why he did what he did. But I just can’t make myself write it.”

  “Promise me you won’t go see him, Sky.”

  “I don’t know if I can promise you that, Alec.”

  He takes a deep breath, stands up, and starts to walk away.

  “Where are you going?” I ask.

  “I need some air.”

  “Alec!”

  He turns around. “He hurt you, Sky. He shot all those people. He tried to shoot me and you got hurt in the process. Whatever this is… he is just playing games with you.”

  “We were friends for a long time before that day.”

  “You can’t be serious right now. Sky, he is not the person you knew before. You can’t seriously believe that.”

  I break into tears and he walks back toward me.

  He puts his hands in mine. “Look at me, Sky.”

  I look up at him. “I’m not trying to upset you or hurt you by saying these things, but—”

  I take a deep breath. “I know. You’re right.”

  “So you won’t see him or write him?”

  I can’t promise him that. The words just won’t come out. Somewhere in me, I still hold out hope to at least find out why he did what he did. No, it won’t bring anyone back, but a part of me wonders if knowing what was going through his head would give me some kind of closure.

  He sighs. “If you do, at least tell me. Please,” he begs and I agree.

  “Come on,” he says.

  “Where to?”

  “Watch a movie.”

  “Scary movie?”

  “Of course!” he says and I smile at him.

  We go down the stairs, sit on the couch and watch a movie, then he makes me lunch. The rain keeps us from going to the waterfall, so I call Kyle and invite him over to watch movies.

  “You two really can’t get enough of me, can you?” he laughs. “What kind of movies?”

  “You know what kind.”

  Kyle ends up coming over even though he hates scary movies. It is just so much fun watching it with him. He jumps at every single little noise. Alec and I snuggle up on the couch and laugh at Kyle. When the movie gets to be too creepy for Kyle, he starts to make up conversation.

  “You know what I was thinking?”

  “Ugh. What Kyle?” asks Alec.

  “That Skylar and I haven’t played the guitar or sang anything in forever!”

  Alec pauses the movie and looks at Kyle.

  “True. You know what we should do?”

  “What?” says Kyle.

  “Well, Thanksgiving is coming up and a lot of people from school will be in town, AND Grayson’s grandpa is all alone now so maybe we could all get together and have a bonfire at the farm. I bet he would love that.”

  “We should,” says Kyle. “I will have mom talk to him.” He then turns to me, “So, have you been playing without me, Skylar?”

  “Not that much,” I say.

  Alec tilts his head to the side. “How come? I know you love to play.”

  I laugh. “I guess I’ve been playing here and there, but I’ve really been writing a lot of songs lately.”

  “You have?” they ask at the same time. “Let us see them!” says Kyle.

  “No way. Not yet,” I say. “Besides, you need to quit trying to come up with excuses to distract us from watching the movie.”

  Kyle rolls his eyes and Alec just laughs.

  “Okay. Fine. With Thanksgiving coming up I will be home Tuesday after class. We are going to play, and you are gonna show me those songs.”

  “Fine,” I say. It sucks that Alec can’t come home until Wednesday night, but it’s better than nothing.

  We get back to the movie and laughing at Kyle.

  In the evening, there is a knock on the door.

  I peak outside. “It’s your mom,” I whisper.

  Alec quickly gets up and goes upstairs and I open the door.

  “Hey, hun. Still feeling okay? Oh. Hey Kyle,” she says, looking past me.

  “I’m assuming Alec didn’t come with you?” she asks.

  His eyes widen as if he doesn’t know what he should say. He just shakes his head.

  “It’s getting dark out, and your parents really don’t want you home alone. Also, dinner is ready!” She pauses. “You are welcome to join us, Kyle.”

  “Okay. I will just grab my things,” I say, and Kyle says he has to get going.

/>   “Okay.” She smiles. “See you soon, Skylar. Bye, Kyle. Don’t be a stranger.”

  As soon as she leaves, Alec comes out with a grin on his face.

  “What?”

  “I kind of like the idea of you sleeping in my room.”

  I roll my eyes at him. “Do you still want to stay here?” I ask.

  “Do you want me to stay here?”

  I blush.

  “I like that I still have that effect on you,” he says.

  I roll my eyes again.

  “UGH. I’m so out of here,” says Kyle. “See you kids later,” he says as he starts to walk toward the door.

  “I could sleep in my room with you again, if you are okay with it and if you promise that you can resist me,” says Alec.

  Kyle stops at the door, turns around, and watches us.

  “What?” Alec and I ask him at the same time.

  “Just intrigued on where this is going,” says Kyle and I blush even more.

  “Go away, man,” says Alec.

  “I want details,” Kyle says before he leaves.

  “You should probably tell your mom you are in town.” I say.

  Alec grins. “Go ahead. I will grab my things and I will meet you there in a few,” he winks.

  I go to his house and his mom drags me to the kitchen for dinner.

  Minutes later, Alec opens the door. “Hey mom!”

  “Alec?” she says. She looks over at me and mouths an apology. I feel even worse for lying about us being broken up.

  “It’s okay,” I say.

  “Alec, I didn’t know you were coming. How did you even get here?” she hugs him.

  “Last minute decision. James gave me a ride. Hey Sky,” he says and I can tell he is trying not to grin.

  “What is going on?” he asks.

  “Well, Skylar is staying with us for the weekend. Are you okay sleeping on the couch?”

  He shrugs. “Sure.”

  It is so hard pretending, especially with him in the same room.

  I finish my dinner. Then I say that I’m tired and excuse myself. On my way up, I hear his mom say she will pick a movie for them to watch.

  I end up falling asleep after a while, but it’s okay. I love being woken up by him. He comes to the room in the middle of the night and asks if he can lay down next to me. I make room and after he lays down, I rest my head on his chest. “I could get used to this…” I say.