Old Cassettes and Cigarettes

"Kyle, please open up."

Avery Hayes brought her clenched fist to the closed door in front of her, and weakly pounded on it a few times. Droplets of water rolled down from her tangled hair and got in her bright green eyes, clouding her vision for a few seconds. She blinked hard and glanced over her shoulder before she sighed heavily and pounded on the door again.

"Kyle," she whined, knocking harder this time. He was probably sleeping. Avery chewed on her bottom lip as she mulled over the thoughts of waking him up. Kyle was always cranky whenever anyone woke him up and Avery began bracing herself for what was going to greet her on the other side of the door.

More droplets of water splashed onto the back of her neck, sending chills running up and down her spine. The rain had slowed down a bit, but she was soaked to the bone and shivering from the cool air. She could hear the water in the gutter drain a few feet away, gurgling as the rain came spilling out of it and into the grass to her right.

A drop of water splashed onto her nose and she looked upwards as another one splashed onto her cheek. Avery groaned as more water dripped from the leaky overhang onto her face. She took a step closer to the door and pounded on it a few more times before she gave up and decided to pull out her cell phone.

The screen was smeared with the water that soaked through her jean pockets. She hastily wiped it away and dialed her best friend's familiar phone number. She had dialed the same number since she and Kyle were fourteen and he got his first cell phone.

It rang three times before he picked up and groaned into the mouthpiece.

"Hello?" fatigue laced his raspy voice and Avery instantly felt guilty for waking him up.

"Kyle, can you please open the door?" she asked quietly, trying not to sound too irritated with him for leaving it locked. He knew that it was a habit for either of them to walk into each other's houses unannounced.

"Huh?" he replied, sighing heavily.

"Open the door," she said firmly. She was beginning to lose her patience. Her hands and knees were trembling from her low body temperature and her teeth chattered against each other violently. The leaky overhang was still dripping, but on the back of her neck now. The heaviness of her soaked clothes was beginning to weigh her down and Avery hunched forward, leaning her forehead against Kyle's front door.

"What?" he asked, much louder this time.

"Ky-le," she whined, pounding her left hand on the door.

"Avery, what the fuck are you doing?" Kyle asked, clearly annoyed. She bit her lip and closed her eyes. She heard his feet thud against his bedroom floor and he stomped out into the hallway before he hung up.

Avery stood up straight and clutched her phone in her right hand, bracing herself. The droplet of water that rolled down her face this time was a tear and she wiped it away with the back of her trembling hand just as the door in front of her whipped open.

Her best friend stood in his doorway, arms folded across his chest and a scowl on his face. The bright blonde mop of hair on his head stuck out in all directions and there were red imprints on his cheek from his pillow.

"I saw you like...three hours ago. What could you possibly want?" he asked, roughly rubbing his eyes with the tips of his fingers.

Avery sniffed quietly and wiped another tear off of her cheek.

"Can I please come in? I need to talk to you," she said in a loud whisper. It was the best she could do while trying to keep her teeth from chattering again.

The irritated look on Kyle's face melted into one of concern and he nodded slowly as he opened the door wider for her.

Avery slowly made her way inside Kyle's messy one-bedroom apartment and let more tears fall from her eyes as Kyle snapped on the living room light.

He didn't say anything as he shut the door behind her and grabbed her cold hand. He dragged her down the hallway to his bedroom and she waited by the door as he grabbed some dry clothes from his unpacked suitcases. They lined the far wall of his bedroom, taking up most of the extra floor space.

Kyle walked back over to her and placed the pajama pants, t-shirt, and hoodie into her arms as sighed. Avery slowly turned around and shuffled to the bathroom to change.

Once she was in her favorite pair of Kyle's pajama pants and one of his many hoodies, she walked into the living room to find him anxiously sitting on the edge of the couch. Avery plopped herself down on the cushion next to him as he looked at her, concern etched in his expression.

"What‘s wrong?" he asked quietly as she continued to wipe tears from her eyes.

Avery smiled bitterly and hugged her knees to her chest. She took a deep breath to calm herself down and Kyle just waited for her to speak first. He knew she didn't like to be prodded for information when she was upset.

"I think I messed things up pretty bad this time."

"Alex?"

"Sort of," Avery whispered, resting her chin on her knees.

"Alex and Caleb?"

Avery bit the inside of her cheek and tried her best to nod her head. When Kyle mentioned both of their names, her stomach dropped and she felt as if she were going to start bawling again.

"Will you explain everything that happened? I mean, I know what happened with Caleb because he told me when everything went down, but I don't know your side of the story..."

Avery let out a loud sigh and snuggled further into the couch cushions as Kyle brought his knees to his chest and turned to face her.

"Promise you won't hate me after you know everything?"

"I promise," Kyle whispered, honestly answering Avery's question. "Just start from the beginning for me."

Notes