Page 5 of If We Say Goodbye
Halfway down, the back of my robe snags on a nail, jerking me off balance. The only thing that saves me from a fall is the death grip I have on the handrail. My hair covers my face, and I let out an irritated huff, blowing the strands out of my mouth.
The crashing noise increases, and I’m moving again. I slip my feet into Dad’s shoes, which are obviously way too big. They make me look like a clown, but I don’t care. I rip the door open, stomping toward the sound. It’s unmistakably coming from next door.
My cheeks burn red from all the rage building up in my body. My hands clench so tight my nails leave red marks on my skin.
I screech to a stop in front of the Park’s open garage. A drum set is dead center. Caleb’s arms fly through the air and his head bobs with every beat. His eyes are squeezed shut.
“Hey!” I yell. My heels bury themselves into the concrete.
It doesn’t do any good. His head keeps bobbing.
My jaw slams shut, hard. If I was a cartoon character, smoke would be coming out of my ears.
“Hey!” I shout. I move closer and wave my hands in the air.
The rhythm breaks, and he clutches the cymbal in his hand to steady it. His deep brown eyes dart over to mine as a pink hue flushes his cheeks. “What are you doing over here?”
What am I doing over here?Isn’t it obvious?
My nonexistent patience is crumbling by the second. I march up to him, crossing my arms. “Some people are trying to focus and actually be productive, which is pretty much impossible to do while you’re out here making all this racket.”
Turning to me, he smiles. His eyebrows meet in the middle, one slightly higher than the other. “Racket? What, are you ninety years old? And this,” he gestures toward the drum set, “is music.”
“Well, I’m trying to do my homework, so stop playing yourmusic.” The word is thick on my tongue because it’s the farthest thing from music I’ve ever heard.
Caleb tilts his head and pauses for a second before he smirks. “No.”
Excuse me?
He turns away, and a soft rhythm starts up again.
My eyes shoot lasers into his hands. “I told you to stop.”
The sound is pounding against my brain, and while old Becca would ignore it and walk away, new Becca is going to explode.
“Make me.”
My jaw drops. Before I can talk myself out of it, I lunge forward, wrapping my hands around his to stop the movement.
He leaps out of his seat, eyes widening with a grin, as if he didn’t think I’d actually do anything.
I rip the drumstick out of his hand and reach for the other. “Give that to me.”
He holds it high above his head, moving every time I get close to grasping it.
I want to smack the smile off of his face, but instead, I just stand up taller, reaching for it as if there isn’t a mountain of height difference between us. “Give it to me.”
He staggers back, raising it higher with every step. “Come get it.”
My heart is racing from the fire building in my chest as I jump up.
Again, he moves it out of reach, doubling back.
I grab onto his sweatshirt to give myself leverage for my next jump, but it throws us off balance. My feet slip when they meet the ground, sending all my momentum his way.
I shriek.
One second I’m colliding into Caleb as he tries to catch me, and the next, I’m falling to the ground on top of him. I crash face first into his toned chest.