Last Summer Part 8

**Got this one out quick, huh?? Thanks for all of the comments guys, I love them!! I hope you enjoy this part!**

Eventually, I had to go across the street to Caleb’s grandparents’ house. It was around ten-thirty when I found myself knocking on the door, praying that Caleb wasn’t the one who would open the door.

I let out a big sigh of relief when I saw his grandmother’s smiling face behind the glass of the front door. She wasn’t in her pajamas and that kind of let me down a little bit. I had been hoping that by some miracle they were all about to go to bed and I wouldn’t have to face Caleb. But obviously, they were just like my grandparents; late sleepers.

She pulled me into a hug once the door was open and told me, "I’m so glad you’re sleeping over. It’ll be just like last summer. Well, except for the fact that Caleb isn’t even here tonight."

My heartbeat picked up in excitement; "Caleb isn’t here?" I exclaimed as we pulled apart. I tried not to sound too happy about the fact that he wouldn’t be here, but even I could detect the cheer in my voice.

Edna frowned and then nodded. She motioned for me to enter their house and I wasn’t even nervous this time. She informed me, "He’s out with those kids again. But he should be home in about an hour. He asked me to ask you if you would wait up for him."

I nodded at her to be polite, but I knew deep down that I wouldn’t even consider waiting up for him. Why would he want me to anyway? Was he just trying to mess with my head and make me go crazy? Either way, he wasn’t getting on my good side. I had a feeling that boy would never be on my good side again.

She walked into their living room and I noticed that Billy wasn’t in there. He must’ve been asleep. Her husband was snoring softly in one of the recliners, a beer can hanging out of one of his hands. She motioned for me to sit next to her on the couch and so I did. I didn’t want to seem rude or anything.

She looked at me with her face dripping of concern. Something was wrong. She asked me, "Do you feel well? Caleb told me about the incident this afternoon. Almost drowning in the middle of a storm is a pretty big deal."

I blushed and then envied Caleb for not being here. I wished I wasn’t here. But the fact that he discussed me with his grandmother almost scared me. I mean; what else had he said about me? I reassured her, "I’m fine, I promise. It was just a little scary."
She told me, "Caleb had seemed pretty shaken up." She looked up at me with what looked to be expectant in her eyes. Did she actually expect me to care that Caleb had cared? I was just about certain he had only told her so if someone else told her about it, he wouldn’t have looked bad for not caring.

"Oh, okay," I said dimly, staring at the coffee table in front of me. There was an almost empty bowl on the wooden surface which had a few popcorn kernels in it. They had had a movie marathon like they did almost every night. Billy loved movies. Caleb did too, but he probably didn’t even hang around with his family anymore. Now that he was with Ava and everything, he was too good to hang out with his grandparents and Billy.

She told me, "I don’t like those friends of his."
"Why not?"
"You know us old people," she said smiling, "We gossip. Talk around town is that those three kids he’s been hanging out with get into all sorts of trouble. The girl with the black hair has been pregnant before, but she ended up getting an abortion. If that isn’t bad enough, there’s been talk that the other guy is involved with drugs. Drugs!" she exclaimed, looking at me intently. It was as if she was telling me this just so I could save him or something. But what she didn’t know was that I wasn’t getting involved with him. Never again was I making that mistake.

She continued, "He’s so different this summer. He had such a hard year, but still. I don’t like it one bit. How come you two aren’t together anymore? You two were so good together."
It was almost as if a big spotlight had just been shown on my forehead. Did she seriously just ask me that? I stammered, "It’s…it’s a long story." Yeah, that sounded good. It was something that I couldn’t elaborate anymore.

She looked around us as if expecting someone else to walk into the living room. She told me, "The only time I’ve seen him act like himself is this afternoon after you had almost drowned. He had looked so scared."
Okay, that was enough. I stood up and clutched my backpack in both hands. I told her, "I’m pretty tired, so I’m going to head on up to bed."
She stood up also and then asked me, "Are you going to wait up for Caleb?"
I lied straight through my teeth as I told her, "I’ll try."
She smiled widely at me and then told me, "You remember where the guest room is, right?"
I nodded and then hurried out of that room.

Once I got to the guest bedroom, I hurriedly shut the door and then crashed onto the bed. I felt myself going back to all of those times where Caleb and I had snuck in here or I had snuck out of here to go into his room. But I didn’t miss any of it; none of it. I wasn’t going to miss someone who was apparently hanging out with people who dealt drugs and got pregnant.
I quickly changed into my pajamas and then after I brushed my teeth, I grabbed a book out of my backpack. Thanks to that nap earlier, I wasn’t exactly tired.

Two hours and a hundred pages later, I heard footsteps on the stairs. Even though they were only footsteps, I knew exactly who they belonged to. I had spent plenty of time waiting and listening for those exact footsteps last summer.
I quickly threw the book onto the floor and turned off the lamp next to me which plunged the room into darkness. After I realized I wouldn’t have time to get underneath the covers, I turned onto my side and then closed my eyes.
According to Edna, Caleb was going to come in here and try to talk to me. Well, that wasn’t going to happen. There was no way in hell that I was going to talk to Caleb after what he did to me.

Within mere seconds, the door to the guestroom slowly and quietly opened, allowing just a faint white light into the bedroom. Just the fact that Caleb was in the room made my heart start to pound against my chest. I heard his soft footsteps pad around the bed until I knew he was looking at my face. Why was he looking at me?
I heard him sigh to himself and my fingers balled into fists. I wanted to punch him in the face like a madwoman, but by some miracle I restrained myself. His fingers brushed along my arm and I felt myself start to shiver at his touch. What was he doing? Why was he watching me sleep?

After a second or two, his footsteps disappeared into the hall, but the door was left wide open. He was going to come back. He knew that I hated having any light on in the room when trying to sleep and he would always make sure no light was in the room. So he had to have been coming back. But why? What was he doing?
I heard the linen closet door in the hallway open with a quiet creak. The sound of rustling sheets and blankets echoed throughout the hallway. He must’ve been getting something out of that closet. But what?

Then his footsteps entered the room again. He made his way around the bed yet again and I felt him draping the blanket around me. My entire body was then covered by the quilt that we had used once when I had stayed the night here. I felt myself warm up and tingles enter my system. That’s why he had touched me; to see if I had been cold. And apparently I had been because he had covered me with a blanket.

He stood still by my bed for a second and then I heard his jeans rub against each other. The familiar lips of his lightly touched my forehead and then pulled back. I felt my lips turn into a smile, but I instantly stopped them. No way was he going to see me smile about him kissing me. Plus, I shouldn’t even be smiling about him caring that I was cold or caring that he had kissed me.
Eventually, the door to the guestroom closed and the room was once again pitch black; exactly how I liked it. But of course, Caleb had confused me even more so sleeping at all was impossible. Why did he have to be so damn confusing?