"All ye maidens fair and tender, Never trust the hearts of men, They will crush you like a sparrow, Leaving you to never mend
Little sparrow, little sparrow, Oh the sorrow never ends." -- Dolly Parton 'Little Sparrow'
8
She had finally received the check from her insurance company, which was way more than she had expected, of course it didn't come without curiosity from her parents.
"What happened? You didn't wreck didn't you?" They had asked as she talked on the phone with him a few days before. She had rolled her eyes as she answered their interrogations.
She laughed as she climbed in the silly little granny car she had rented until she could afford to buy a new car.
She had already decided on a used Ford Fusion that was still in perfect condition, and today was the day she would finally get to call it hers. She was ecstatic to get rid of the ridiculous tank of a car she had been driving.
"A little excited about getting rid of the tank, huh?" Jason Street had said as she entered Garrity Motors.
"You have no idea," she laughed as she handed the keys to him. "I swear, I feel like I'm about to go to war in that thing."
"Well, here's the keys. We did the paperwork the other day, so you're good to go," he smiled at her. "Thanks and come again!"
They both laughed at his cheesiness. "Thanks."
"Hey, how's Tim doing?" He asked just as she started to leave.
"Oh, he's good. Still in California, so I guess something is going right for him for once." They both nodded in a agreement.
"Well, its was good to see you. I gotta go grab this customer before Janice does," he said as he wheeled himself out the door.
Her phone began to ring as she climbed into her new vehicle. It was Teddy. She debated not answering it, but instead, she had a plan.
"Hey Ted."
"Hey you," he said cheerfully into the phone. "What's up?"
She shook her head to no one. "Just bought a new car. Well, used technically, but new to me."
"What was wrong with your Jeep?"
"Oh, someone stole it while we were at your wedding and ripped the stereo out. They smashed it up pretty good too. Deployed the airbags and everything." She said bitterly into the phone. She had had a suspicion that it wasn't just "some punk" who had done this to her.
"Whoa, calm down. I didn't do it." He laughed. "I was getting married in California, therefore making it physically impossible. Unless you believe in out of body experiences, and in that case, I can't help you. So what did you get?"
"A red Ford Fusion."
"Cool cool." She knew he was probably making a weird face and nodding his head. "Hey babe." She heard him greet Camilla.
"Who are you talking to?" She heard her ask.
"Just this friend," he said, then came back to the phone. "Hey, I'll have to call you back, ok?"
She didn't say anything for a moment, and spoke quietly when she did. "Yeah, I won't wait for it." She hadn't meant to be so mean, but if he was supposed to be her best friend, he wasn't supposed to say she was "just some friend".
She hung up on him before he had any chance to say anything else and drove home.
- - - -
She had spent most of the next day inside, thankful that it was turning out to be a rainy October weekend. She thought about painting another room in her house, but changed her mind when she decided she wasn't in the mood. She had brought her guitar back with her, and since she was getting a little bored, she decided to pull it out and play.
Of course, the only thing she could think of the whole time was Teddy, and how things had happened between the two of them. She was sure he hadn't planned on "stringing her along", she just assumed he was a little too shy to admit it. Or maybe he was afraid of rejection, which was something she never would've done at the time.
She spent the rest of that day enjoying herself and the music, something she had never really done. But it gave her a greater love and passion for music.
And after a while, she forgot about Teddy, and started thinking about Austen, and how great of a friend he had become. He was like Teddy in the fact that he had also "forced his friendship on her". He also played guitar, but there was something quite different about him. He expressed his feelings differently, he wore his heart more on his sleeve than Ted ever had, and she assumed that was why he hadn't kissed her the night in California. He wasn't afraid of just rejection, there was more to it than that.
After a few good hours of playing her instrument, she realized it was nearing one in the morning, and if she wanted to be in class on time, she should get to bed. She flicked out the light and crawled under the covers for the most restful night she had experienced in a while.
- - - -
"You look mighty refreshed," he commented as she joined he and Laynie in their Monday class.
"I slept very well last night," she said cheerfully as she sat down, tucking her long brown hair behind her ear as she did so.
"I didn't." Laynie commented. "That storm totally kept me up."
"It put me to sleep," Austen chuckled. "I love storms."
Becca nodded. "Me too."
"So what did you do yesterday?" Laynie asked. "I didn't hear from you."
"I sat around, pretty much. But I dug out the old guitar and played it. I haven't done that in a while. But I spent a good while with it. Oh and I got my car yesterday."
She could see him watching her as she talked to Laynie with curious eyes, like he was memorizing her every move.
"Awesome! I didn't get a new car, but I got a new job," she commented. "At this bar. Its kind of out of the way, but its usually got great entertainment, especially on the weekends. Plus, if there's one thing my family knows a lot about, its the alcohol. My dad was a bartender, like, his whole life."
Becca always forgot that she was the youngest of their group, about to turn twenty, while the rest of them were twenty-two. "I always forget that you're older than me," she laughed. "But thats good that you got a new job.
"You guys should come see it sometime. Maybe you could play."
"I only do cover songs. I'm not that into it to write my own stuff," Becca laughed. "Plus, I'm not so great with words and arrangements, I guess. But I could do killer backup."
They all laughed as the teacher rushed in, fifteen minutes late and immediately dove in to the lecture.
- - - - -
"Are we getting lunch today?" Laynie asked as the three of them exited the building.
"I can't. I finally figured out what I want my major to be, so I've got to head over to enrollement and get all that worked out and I don't know how long it will take." Becca explained.
"I've got to get to work," Austen said. "If I don't leave now I'll be late."
"Ok, I'll see you there later," Becca waved as he rushed to his car. "I'll call you later tonight, Layne."
She nodded and waved goodbye as well as the two of them parted ways.
- - - - -
"You ok?" She asked him as she walked into the break room to put her things up. He looked tired.
"Huh? Oh yeah. I'm fine."
"I thought you said you slept good last night," she recalled their earlier conversation with Laynie.
He shrugged. "I guess I lied... a little. What do you say you and me go check out that bar tonight?" He seemed a little nervous.
"I'm not even twenty yet." She reminded him.
"I already talked to Laynie, she said she could get us in. You just can't drink anything but water or soda."
She nodded her reply. "Are you sure you're ok?"
He gave her a weak smile. "Yeah I'm fine." She knew he wasn't, but she dropped it as the two of them walked to their respective registers.
- - - - -
Teddy had called her while she was at work, which he had been doing a lot lately, and she just wanted it all to stop. He needed to get his priorities straight. So she would stop things on her end by not talking to him. Plus she actually
wanted to get over him, and to do that she needed to not talk to him for a while.
"You ready to go?" he asked as she came out of the women's restroom in the clothes she had worn to school that day.
"Sure. You?" She eyed his ripped jeans, and she had to say that he looked rather appealing in them.
He nodded as he wrapped his arm over her shoulders and walked out to her car with her. "Nice car," he commented.
"Thanks." She told him as they climbed into her car. "So where is this thing?"
"I'll direct you, just drive." He laughed as she pulled out of the parking lot.
- - - - -
The place was packed, and Laynie looked more than a little flustered as she whipped around the bar, filling drinks for tons of men that came in different shapes and sizes, with the occasional biker chick who looked like she could hold her own in a fist fight.
Laynie gave them a quick smile as she saw them take a seat right at the bar. She handed Becca a bottle of water before asking Austen what he wanted. She served it to him quickly before running off to fill her other customer's needs.
"I say we give her a big tip," Becca stated as they watched their friend. He nodded in agreement. "I hope you enjoyed that drink, you got rid of it fast."
He laughed. "Is that a bad thing?"
She shrugged. "As long as its not a foreshadow of you becoming an alcoholic." She laughed. "Not that I think you're an alcoholic or anything, I'm just saying, that would be bad, because too much alcohol... is bad?"
He laughed at her as she continued to ramble. "I mean, I've drank before, but I stopped when I had a bad car wreck. I told myself I wouldn't do it again until I was legal. Or at least smart enough to act like such an idiot."
He laughed again and nodded. "I never get like, wasted or anything. I saw so many people get that far, and I knew I never wanted to look like that big of an idiot. At least not without being sober."
They both laughed as the band that was playing announced they would take a break. Their music was replaced by rock music from a jukebox controlled by a remote that only the bartenders were allowed to touch. Becca thanked the management for that, because she knew they would end up listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd on repeat for hours until someone started a fight. Not that there was anything wrong with Lynyrd Skynyrd, she actually liked them.
"We should probably get home," he stated after they had been there for an hour. "Class tomorrow."
"You can stay at my place." She offered.
"I only had one," he defended himself.
"That's what I said when I had my car wreck." She grabbed him by his shirt as she left a tip for Laynie and waved goodbye to her.
He fell asleep on the way home, and she couldn't help but steal an occasional glance at him as she drove. He was one of those people that looked like they were faking sleep, because he had a slight trace of a smile, like he knew she was looking at him.
"Wake up, we're here," she poked his side and he jumped before looking around like he couldn't remember ever getting into her car.
They made their way to the front door, noticing the items stacked in front of it as they climbed the steps.
"What is that?" he asked.
She scoffed angrily and shook her head. "You've got to be kidding me."
**********
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