The Royal Love Triangle

4: Worries and Phone Calls

Tessa’s POV

Before I knew what I was doing, I had Callie stuck between me and the wall. I had my hands flat on the wall, one on each side of her. I could see her face turn 20 different shades of red. She liked this! Just then, her phone rang. Since she had her head down, I couldn’t see her face to gauge her reaction. I froze, I didn’t want to ruin this moment if I didn’t have to. When her phone stopped ringing, I gave a small sigh of relief. Callie looked up at me and our eyes locked for a short moment. Her phone started ringing again and again. I never thought it would stop. Callie looked up at me and smiled nervously.

“I should really get that. I don’t know who it is. But I swear, if it’s a telemarketer, they’re going to get an earful, I swear!”

Her voice was harsh. I could tell that she was frustrated. I don’t blame her at all. Whoever was calling seriously ruined the moment. I walked slowly to the bedroom and leaned against the door frame. I watched Cal closely, hoping that she would give me some kind of clue as to who it was. She looked at me quickly and I gave her a questioning look. She ignored me.

“Hello?... I’m sorry who is this?... Yes… This is her… What do you mean?... That can’t… Wait… What...”

Shock, fear and pain painted her face. She walked over to the bed and sat down. In a second of anger, she threw her phone against the wall. The case she had on it shattered and the screen cracked.

“Cal, who what that? What’s going on? What did they…” I felt as my words fell. I could feel the anger rising in my stomach. She wasn’t looking at me. She wasn’t giving me any sense of what was going on. She was ignoring me. “Callie! I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s going on!” I said a little harsher than I wanted to. I could see her flinch and tense up. She closed her eyes and took a breath. I tried to make eye contact with her, but she wouldn’t look at me. “I’m sorry…” I quickly apologized and ran to her. I knelt so that I was between her knees. I gently touched her cheeks to wipe away some stray tears. I couldn’t tell if she blushed or if her cheeks were just flushed from crying.

She took in a deep breath and held it for a moment. “Tessie, I just need to process this before I talk about it. I don’t know how to feel or what is going to happen next.”

I watched her, wide eyed. She still wouldn’t meet my gaze. What was going on? Cal never kept anything from me. Well, besides the crush she had on me, which I kind of figured out. I got up and sat on the bed next to her. I went to put my arm around her to try and comfort her, but she stood up before I could.

“Tess, I just need some space to think. I’m going to go out for a little. I don’t know when I’ll be back, so please do wait up for me.”

She didn’t say anything else before she grabbed her phone and headphones. She looked back at me and tried to smile. I gave her the most understanding and reassuring smile that I could. I knew she needed her space. I glanced at the clock and it was about 2 pm. Whatever this person had said, really shook her.

It’s been a few hours since Callie left. I haven’t heard from her at all. I was worried. I didn’t even know where she was going. How was I supposed to know if she was okay? What if something happened to her? I shook my head. I couldn’t think like that. I just shot her a quick text, telling her that I’m here for her no matter what. I didn’t want to overwhelm her, so to distract myself I decided that I was going to take a hot bubble bath. I walk into the bedroom to grab my towels and pick out my clothes. I looked over to the bed and had a flash back of earlier today:

"Tess.... It's you. It's always been you. I'm in love with you..." Callie’s voice was so sweet, so sincere. I couldn’t get the thought of her smile, the way her eyes lit up and her laugh out of my head. I smiled to myself. My thoughts quickly changed from the happy morning to this crazy and confusing afternoon:

“Hello?... I’m sorry who is this?... Yes… This is her… What do you mean?... That can’t… Wait… What...” I felt my heart break again at the thought of it. Whatever had been said, had her really hurt and confused. I hoped she knew that I would be there for her no matter what.

Just as I was about to head out of the bedroom, I stepped on a broken piece of Callie’s phone case from earlier. I hobbled over to the bed to get the sharp piece of plastic out of my foot. I shook at the thought of the anger I saw in Callie’s eyes. I walked back over and knelt down picking up the remaining pieces of her case. I frowned, this phone case I got her for her birthday last year. It was sparkly and had penguins on it. It was her favorite. I made a mental note to get her a new one.

Once I had finished cleaning up the mess, I went back to get my towels from the closet. I checked my phone and had nothing from Callie. It’s been about 4 hours since she had left. I frowned. I really hoped she was alright. I made my way it the bathroom, only to see my t-shirt and the bath tub full of water. I smile to myself, remembering that Callie was working on that before she got that call. I smiled remembering the sweet little giggle she had when she saw all the bubbles. I smiled to myself and reached down to unclog the tub. The once hot water was now cold, and the bubbles had disappeared.

I was pulled out of my daze when I heard my phone ding. A text! Hopefully it was Callie letting me know she was okay! I jumped up from the edge of the tub and grabbed my phone off the sink. The hopeful look I had on my face faded as I realized that it was just an email. I really needed to remember to change my notification tones. I frowned and set my phone back down. I walked back over to the empty tub and covered the drain again. I turned the hot water on the whole way. I poured a little bit of the bubbles in as the water ran. I let out a sigh and walked back over to my phone. I called Callie. Of course, she didn’t answer so I left her a voice mail:

“Hey sweetie, I’m worried about you. Please call or text me so I know you’re okay. I love you, Cals.”

Once I finished, I put my phone back down, finished undressing and got in the tub. The water was hot and instantly turned my skin pink. I didn’t really care, it was relaxing. I pulled my hair up and laid back. I cleared my mind of everything that happened today. I sighed.

My phone was ringing. I woke up, groggily. My once hot water was cold, and all my bubbles were gone. I must have fallen asleep! Callie! I was instantly reminded of earlier. I was interrupted from my thoughts when my phone started ringing again. I jumped out of the tub, splashing water everywhere. I grabbed my towel from the hook and quickly wrapped myself up. I grabbed my phone and saw Callie’s name pop up on it.

“Callie! I was really worried about you! Where the hell are you? Are you…” I went silent for a moment. I could hear loud music in the background and a lot of people talking. I tried to focus on her voice and what she was saying. Her words were slurring, and she wasn’t making much sense. “Callie? Are you drunk?”