Till We Meet Again

Chapter Five

"I ordered a pizza," Kimberly said, flopping down on my bed.  

"You are such a fatty," I teased, turning on my TV.  

"So where was your other half today?" she asked, flipping the channel to TBS.  

"He was not feeling well. My mom took him some chicken noodle soup."  

"You are so lucky," she sighed.

"Your parents love your boyfriend."

"It gets a little weird sometimes," I admitted.

"But Collin's mom is always out-of-town, and his dad skipped out on him, so my parents just kind of adopted him."  

"How's his therapy going?"  

"He hates it."  

She laughed.

"Sounds like Collin." She sat up on my bed.

"As long as he is good to go for Friday, everyone knows that's their rival game day."  

"Pizza just got delivered," my mom said, opening my bedroom door.

"I can only guess that Kimberly's over."  

"Thanks Momma White," Kimberly said, taking the pizza box from her.

She popped it open and immediately devoured a piece.  

"How's Collin?" I asked, taking a piece of pizza for myself before Kimberly ate it all.  

"He was sleeping when I went over there. His mom said that he'd been sleeping pretty much all day."

"His mom's home?"

"She flew in this morning."

Her phone went off.

"Alright, well I will stop hovering. Just holler if you need me."  

"Isn't his car still here?" Kimberly asked, turning up the volume on my TV.  

"Yeah, he'll get it eventually." I turned down the TV a little.

"So, how're you and Luca?"

"He drives me crazy, but I love him."

"How does he drive you crazy?"  

"He gets so jealous," she complained.

"I mean, if I am talking to another guy, he flips his shit."  

"Trust is important in a relationship."  

"Says the girl in the perfect relationship."  

I laughed.

"Collin and I aren't perfect."

"You guys are called the Golden Couple for a reason."

"We are not called the Golden Couple."  

"You guys are in the yearbook for being the Golden Couple!"

I laughed.

"We've only been together for two years. He is adorable, I will give him that, but we definitely aren't perfect."  

My phone started blaring Diamond by Rihanna, Collin's ringtone.  

"Speaking of your other half," Kimberly teased.  

"Morning sleepy head," I said, answering my phone.  

"Hey," he answered, groggily.

"Is my car still there?"  

"Sure is."  

"I am just going to get it tomorrow, okay?"  

"Not a problem. How're you feeling?"

"Exhausted," he answered.

"I've literally been sleeping all day."  

"How long has it been since you slept?" I asked.  

"A good week and a half probably."  

"Well one good thing about being under the weather is it makes your body tired."

"Oh yeah," Collin said, sarcastically, "let's become addicted to getting sick."  

"I do not think that's possible."  

He paused for a moment, and I could hear him yawn.

"I am going back to bed. I will bring you breakfast tomorrow. Love you."  

"Love you too."  

"Bye."

The line clicked dead.  

"See?" I asked, throwing my phone back down on my desk.

"Not perfect."  

"What do you mean? He is bringing you breakfast!"  

"Didn't you hear his sarcasm?"  

"About getting addicted to being sick?"  

"I didn't even mean it that way."

"He is cranky."  

"I will say."  

She turned up the TV again, and we finished off the pizza, laughing and gossiping.  

"Are you staying for dinner dear?" mom asked Kimberly, coming into my room.  

"No, that's alright," Kimberly said, standing up.

"I should really head home."

"Well, you are welcome over for dinner any time," mom promised. 

I followed Kimberly downstairs, waving goodbye as she left.  

"Why are there five plates?" I asked, taking my seat at the table.  

"Collin and his mom are coming over for dinner," mom said, cheerfully.

"Isn't that exciting?"  

"You think everything is exciting."

I grabbed a diet coke out of the refrigerator.

"When did Collin's mom get back into town?"  

"This morning," she answered.

"She was worried about him."  

Yeah, so worried that she left less than 24 hours after Catherine called her, asking her to come home to check on him.  

"Does Collin feel up to coming over?" I asked, switching subjects.  

"Well he is coming, so I'd guess so."  

As if on cue, the doorbell rang.  Mom went to answer the door, and I took my seat at the table, unsure of what mood to expect from Collin.  I felt a kiss on my cheek, and Collin plopped down next to me.

He flashed me a tired smile.

"How's the headache?" I asked, rubbing my fingers over his temples.  

"It's gone," he said, accepting a coke from his mom.  

"Maybe they were just from lack of sleep."  

"Maybe."

He smiled at me.

"How was school?"

"I had at least seven basketball jocks ask me where you were."

"Why do you call them basketball jocks?"

"Because they're big headed and annoying."  

"Ouch, those are my friends."  

"Oops, my bad."

He laughed, accepting a plate of food from my mom.

"I get it babe. You do not have to like my friends."  

"And so," Ms. Langford was saying, "I came home and found him on his bedroom floor with a blanket over him."

"Was that your doing Aubrey?" mom asked, laughing.  

"He wouldn't get up off the floor," I said, nudging Collin.

"So, I just put a blanket over him to make him a little more comfortable."  

Collin laughed, taking a bite of my mom's lasagna.

"I woke up so confused."  

"You are welcome," I teased, taking a bite of my mom's lasagna as well. 

Dad passed around the garlic bread, and I could not help but notice Collin didn't take one.  

"Well thank you guys for taking care of him while I was gone," Ms. Langford said, with a smile.  

"Any time," my mom answered.

"He is a joy to have around."  

I connected eyes with Collin and we both burst into laughter.  

"Did Collin tell you his sister is flying in next weekend?" Ms. Langford asked.  

"No!" I said, giving him a glare.

"Hey Aubrey," Collin said, with a smile, "my sister is flying in next weekend."

"No way!"

"How long is she staying?" mom asked.  

"Just through the weekend," Collin informed her.

"She wants my mom's advice on stuff for the wedding."  

"That's coming up soon isn't it?" mom mused.

"We'll have to find you a dress soon Aubrey."

"I only want to go to one place while we are in New York," I informed Collin, finishing off my lasagna.

"Where's that?"  

"The Central Park Zoo!"  

He rolled his eyes.

"Only you."  

We all finished up, and my dad offered to take Collin and I's plates to the kitchen. Collin's food was almost untouched.  

"We brought dessert," Ms. Langford announced.

"Red velvet cupcakes."  

"Yum!" I said, kissing Collin on the cheek.  

"I knew you'd like them," he said, standing up.

"Want to come with me out to the car to get them?"  

I nodded, following him outside. As we reached his mom's car, hand-in-hand, he turned around and surprise kissed me, long and hard. I felt my knees go weak.

"I really do love you," he said, pulling away.  

"I really do love you too," I said, a bit confused.

"I know I've been a piece of work these past few days," he said, taking a box of red velvet cupcakes out of the backseat of his mom's car.

"I am sorry."  

"It's not your fault," I said, as he took my hand again.

"You've had really bad headaches."  

"Well, they're over now," he said, confidently.

"I am pretty sure I slept enough today to last me an entire lifetime."  

I gave him a quick kiss on the lips as we reached my front door.

"I am sure that's the last of them. Now come on, I am dying for a red velvet cupcake."

 "What about this dress?" Kimberly asked me, flashing me a white and light blue dress.  

"That's cute. Add it to the pile."  

"So do you have a part in the wedding?" Kimberly asked me.  

"No," I answered, leafing through a new rack of dresses.

"I am just an observer."

"And Collin?"  

"He is one of the groomsmen," I said, with a smile.

"His tux is adorable."  

"When's the wedding?"

"Two months."  

"This is so exciting! You get to fly out to New York and everything."  

"I know," I sang, with a smile.

"My parents were thrilled when Collin invited me."

 "My parents would die," Kimberly complained.

"They'd never let me go."

 "They love Collin. It baffles me."

"So, are you going to the game Friday night?"  

"Of course," I answered, with a smile.

"It's Collin, the shooting guard. And it's against their biggest rival."  

I found a dress in the back of the rack. It was a t-shirt dress. It was blue and came with a brown belt. It had gold buttons down the front.  

"You can't wear that to a wedding," Kimberly argued, as I threw it into the pile.  

"I just want to try it on," I defended.

"No harm in that."

"So, Collin looked better today," Kimberly commented, as we took my pile of dresses into the fitting rooms.  

"What do you mean?"  

"He has been looking awfully tired and miserable lately."  

"You noticed?"  

I stepped into a fitting room, taking the first dress to try on.  

"I think everyone noticed."  

As I was trying on my third dress, my phone went off, Collin's ringtone.  

"Answer it!" I called to Kimberly from the fitting room.

"Tell him I am trying on dresses for the wedding?"

"Hello?" Kimberly answered my phone, cheerfully.

"No, this is Kimberly. Aubrey's trying on dresses for the wedding."

 I spun around in the t-shirt dress, instantly in love. It came down to my mid-thigh. It was not see-through and had just the perfect amount of coverage.  

"I think you are going to want to talk to him," Kimberly called out to me. 

I stepped out of the fitting room, and Kimberly's jaw dropped.  

"Hello?" I asked, as I spun around in the full-length mirror.  

"Hey Aubrey," Dennis's voice said, a friend of Collin's.  

"What's up?" I asked, flashing a thumbs-up and then a thumbs-down at Kimberly.  She gave me two thumbs-up in return, a giant smile on her face.

 "I've got Collin practically passed out in my backseat."  

"What's wrong?" I asked, my smile dropping.  

"He was complaining of a bad headache and blurry vision during practice, so he left early. I found him out by his car throwing up."  

"How is he now?" I asked, stepping back into the fitting room to change.  

"He is not talking much, just kind of lying across my backseat."  

"I will be there as soon as I can, no more than ten minutes," I promised, shimmying out of my dress with one hand.

"Well, I can just drive him to your place."  

"That sounds good. I will meet you there."

"What do we do with his car?"  

"Just leave it. It'll get locked in tonight."  

"Alright, see you in a few."

I hung up, changing back into the clothes I'd came in.  

"Going home?" Kimberly asked.  

"Want to come over for dinner?"  

"Tempting, but I am going out with Luca."  

"Ooh, date night," I teased, leaving the pile of dresses in the fitting room.  

"Buy the t-shirt dress," she ordered.

"It was adorbs on you."  

"I do not have time."  

"I will stay and pay."  

"I'd love you forever!"  

She laughed as I handed her the cash to pay for the dress.  

"I will drop it by your house later."  

"Thanks. Love you!"  

"Get home."  I hurried out to my car, heading straight home.

Dennis was just pulling in as I got there.  

"I tried giving him some Advil," Dennis said, meeting me in my driveway.

"But he won't take it."  

"He won't take any pain medications."  

"It's not addictive."  

"He likes to play it safe."

I opened the backseat door, and Dennis hoisted Collin out of his car.  

"Thanks man," Collin muttered.  

"Call me later and let me know you got home okay," Dennis said. 

Collin nodded, his fingers pressed to his temples, and Dennis left.  I guided Collin inside and up to my room, avoiding my parents. I flipped off my lights and slid Collin's sunglasses off for him.  

"Another headache?" I asked, as he curled up on the floor.

"You can lie in my bed babe."  

"I do not understand," he groaned.

"I slept all day yesterday."  

"Are you craving right now?"  

"No."

I put a blanket over him and a pillow under his head.

"Let's talk about this later." I left him in my room, heading downstairs.  

"Did you find a dress?" mom asked.

"Yeah, Kimberly's dropping it by a little later."  

"Collin's mom called, said he was supposed to be home a little while ago. Any idea where he could be?"

"He is upstairs."

"Now Aubrey, you know we like to know when you have boys in the house."

"We just got here a few minutes ago. Collin was not feeling well so I let him lay down in my room."  

"He is still not feeling well?"

I shook my head.

"His therapist says it's withdrawal symptoms, but he is not even craving. And he has been ten months sober."  

"I do not know honey," mom said.

"Maybe he'd like to stay for dinner?"  

"I do not think so."  

"Well, your father's picking up Chinese." She held up her hand before I could ask.

"And yes, I got you those Asian noodles that you love oh so much."  

"Thanks mom."  She nodded.

"On a side note, did you like my lasagna last night?"

 I nodded.

"It tasted great, as usual."  

"Collin didn't seem to like it much."

I thought about telling her about how I'd noticed he hadn't been eating lately but decided against it.

"He probably just was not feeling well."  

"Poor baby. I will call Melissa and let her know he is here, so she doesn't worry."