Page 54 of Avoidance

“Me? You’re the one ignoring me for days.”

“Are you okay? Tanner stopped texting me last night, and I haven’t heard from him since.”

“He’s asleep in my tub right now. He’s fine.”

“Why is he in your tub?”

“Is that why you called me? To find Tanner?”

It was quiet before he responded. “I wanted to find Tanner because…”

“Because he was keeping tabs on me for you?”

I heard him exhale, and I wondered if he was running his fingers through his hair. “It sounds bad when you put it that way.”

“What way would you put it?”

“I miss seeing your face when you’re annoyed with me.”

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest. “So, you don’t hate me?”

“No, I don’t hate you. I’m sorry I never responded to your texts. I just miss you so much. It’s killing me.”

“So why ignore me if you miss me? How is that going to help anything?”

“I don’t know. I was just trying to get you out of my head.”

“I don’t want to be out of your head. Keep me in there.”

He chuckled. “How are you doing? I heard you had a rough night.”

I closed my eyes. “I did. But only because you weren’t talking to me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Tanner wants to take me boxing today.”

He sounded amused. “You’re going to box?”

“He said his coach helped him a lot with his anger. I figure it’s better than a shrink.”

“I think you’re going to be glad you did this. Maybe not right away, but in the long run.”

“I’d like to tell you about it afterwards… if you’ll actually answer.”

“Of course you can call me after.”

“I never heard from my mom for eight years. You can be mad at me all you want, but please don’t ignore me like that. It’s too much for me to handle.”

“I promise I won’t do that again. If I don’t respond right away, it will be because I’m in a meeting or recording.”

“How’s that all going?”

“It’s great. I just wish you were here with me. This place is lonely without you.”

“It was lonely when I was there, too.”

“This isn’t how I pictured everything.”