Annabelle

The following evening I'm sitting on my bed with my phone tightly clutched in my hand. It is a few minutes before 10 pm and I feel silly. That might make me sound lame, but this is usually around my bedtime. I was thinking about just lying down in bed and talking to Tyler, but then I wasn't sure if that would be weird and somewhat intimate.

Now I sound like a total weirdo.

At least I've finally decided to change into my pajamas. A few minutes ago, I was still sitting here in my regular clothes. I guess I'm somehow expecting him to be able to see me when we talk, so I'm overthinking everything, even the way I look. Makes absolutely no sense. Like I said, weirdo.

The phone vibrates and I clear my throat this time before answering. "Hello, Tyler."

"Hey Anna, how are you?" He sounds a little out of breath and maybe even a little tired and I'm already starting to wonder why.

Damn you curiosity.

I give in and ask. "What have you been up to? You sound exhausted."

"You could hear that in the few words I've said so far?" He chuckles quietly.

"I'm very observant." A small smile forms on my face automatically at the sound of his laughter.

"I just got off work, to be honest." He pauses for a moment, and I'm not sure if he's going to say more or not.

"This late?" If I'm not completely wrong he doesn't sound much older than me. "How old are you?"

"Already so many questions, Anna?" He sounds happy about that. "I like it."

There's some commotion going on on his side of the line, and I wait patiently for it to stop or at least to quiet down so I can hear him again.

"Sorry about that. I just had to make some room, so I can lie down on my bed." He's lying down. On his freaking bed. Of course, he is. He probably didn't analyze it for fifteen minutes like I did. I groan inwardly.

"No problem. I hope you're comfortable." I hope there isn't any sarcasm in my voice when I say it because that would just be very pitiful on my part.

"I am, thanks. Alright, let's get started with the inquisition. First off, I just turned 19 a little while ago and yes, I have a job that goes into the night sometimes, depends on what the program looks like. 1:00 am actually isn't that late for me."

"What do you mean? 1 am?" I'm checking the clock that's sitting on my bedside table and sure enough, it says 10:09 pm. "Where are you?"

"I'm in New York right now. My trip to the Oregon coast was only a little detour for me."

Somehow I feel a little bit disappointed at the fact that he is on the other side of the country, thousands of miles away from me. Obviously, that's completely ridiculous. Why on earth would it matter where he lives?

"Well how lucky that I just had to be at the same spot that you went to on your little detour. All just so that I could hit your car." I'm not completely sure right now if I'm mocking him or not to be honest. Maybe a little bit of both?

He laughs loudly this time. "I'm glad it happened, Anna. Not the fact that my car had to take a hit, but I already really enjoy talking to you. What are the chances, right? Must be fate."

Despite myself, I have to laugh too. But before I can give him a reply, I can hear something on his end that sounds like a knock.

"Anna, could you hold on for just one second, please? There's someone at my door."

I can hear muffled voices but can't make out any words. Who on earth would knock on someone else's door this late? I don't think I would even consider opening the door.

The voices stop and I can hear Tyler again. "Sorry about that. Bill didn't know that I'm on the phone. He's my, uh," He stops talking for a second and I'm not exactly sure why. Is he distracted by something or doesn't know what to say? "He's my boss's manager and he needs me quick for something." He continues. "I'm sorry I have to cut our conversation short for tonight. We'll make up for it tomorrow. Ok?"

"What? Oh yeah sure." He has to go? Right now? We just got started. My mind is confused and that little spot of disappointment flares up again. I feel like barely any of my questions have been answered. Instead, I got a ton of new ones. But like he said, it'll just have to wait until tomorrow then. "Well...I guess have fun then." I say, unsure of what else to say to him.

"Hardly, but thanks. You have a good night, Anna. I'm looking forward to talking to you again tomorrow. And no more interruptions. I promise."

"Ok. Night." The line goes dead, and I stare at my phone for a moment, before finally climbing under my covers. I turn out the light and start analyzing the few things that I've learned about Tyler tonight.

*****

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