Login with:

Facebook

Twitter

Tumblr

Google

Yahoo

Aol.

Mibba

Your info will not be visible on the site. After logging in for the first time you'll be able to choose your display name.

Old Cassettes and Cigarettes

One

It was an abnormally cool night in the small town of Rowlett, Texas. The air was thick with a dense chill that crept silently across the slick streets of the town. Avery Hayes watched carefully as the main road in front of her buzzed with speeding cars and flashing lights. Everything seemed to blur together in her head as she tried to keep her heavy eyelids open.

Fatigue was weighing down on her tiny frame and taking over her sleepy thoughts until she felt a sudden jolt of energy surge through her body.

A slim beam of light sneaked across the slippery pavement in front of her, catching her attention. The light bounced off her bright green eyes for a fraction of a second until it came to rest a foot beside her.

A pair of heavy footsteps sounded off in the empty parking lot, drowning out the rest of the traffic buzz.

Avery brought her tired eyes up to the tall figure that was making its way over to her. A pool of warm brown made contact with bright green for a second before he nodded, acknowledging her, and broke the gaze. Avery heaved a heavy sigh and closed her eyes as he walked past her and through the automatic sliding doors of the 24 hour convenient store behind her.

She lightly tapped her foot on the pitch black pavement underneath her as the surge of energy started leaving her body. Very slowly, she reached to her side and stuck her hand in the plastic bag sitting on the curb by her leg. She pulled out a brand new pack of cigarettes and smiled as she hastily tore the plastic off the carton, then opened the cardboard container and pulled out a cigarette.

Before she could press her lifesaver to her lips, she felt a light tap on her shoulder and her eyes traveled to her other side where her gaze was met by those copper-brown eyes.

"Can I borrow a buck fifty?"

Avery sighed and shifted her weight so she could rummage in her back pocket for some money. She pushed a five dollar bill into his waiting hand and he thanked her then went back inside the store.

A minute later, she was joined on the curb by the same guy.

Avery was only slightly irritated, but was too tired to be bothered by his presence.

"Do you have a light?"

"Jeez Caleb, do I look like a free-for-all vending machine?"

She took a long drag off of her cigarette before she thrust her lighter into the boy's hands. He smirked at her and lit his own cigarette before he gave her the change from his purchase in the drug store.

"Since when do you smoke?" he asked, exhaling heavily. Smoke flew out of his mouth and hung in the heavy air before it was lightly tossed away by a cool breeze.

"Since I've been extremely stressed out," Avery answered her friend's question.

Avery lightly closed her eyes, thinking about the way her day had went, and nearly dropped her cigarette onto the wet pavement. Caleb smirked slightly but turned his head to the side as he continued to devour his own cigarette.

The two were quiet for a while as the cars buzzed by on the road in front of them, stirring up the cool air. After a while, Avery could feel herself slipping off to sleep in the position she was in. She shifted her weight again so she could stay awake and she dropped her cigarette to the ground, then stamped it out.

Caleb did the same and sighed heavily.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?"

Avery turned and peered at her friend of seven years through the bright blonde hair that hung in front of her face.

"Am I ever ready for any of this shit?"

A small smile made its way onto Caleb's face and he shrugged at her.

"No," he answered quietly. "But I thought I'd ask."

Another quiet moment blanketed the air between the two as they watched the cars passing by on the main road. A light breeze blew around them, playing with Caleb's messy red hair.

Avery watched as he pushed it aside with his fingers, then he sighed again.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Avery asked quietly. She pinched the material of the bag beside her between her fingers as she waited for an answer.

Caleb sighed and turned to look at Avery with tired eyes. She smiled slightly at his expression and nodded in understanding.

She knew him all too well.

Caleb had trouble sleeping for as long as Avery could remember. Sometimes, he would call her in the middle of the night and wake her up just to tell her that he couldn't sleep.

"How'd you get here?" Caleb asked after a couple of minutes of silence.

Avery shrugged and gazed toward the exit of the parking lot.

"I walked here," she replied.

Caleb heaved a heavy sigh and slowly got off of the curb. He stood in front of the girl and offered her his hand. She rolled her eyes, grabbed her bag, and took hold of his calloused fingers. The touch of his rough skin sent goosebumps racing up her bare arms and Avery shivered as he pulled her off of the curb and towards his truck.

"Caleb," she said quietly, taking her hand out of his tight grasp. He paused and turned to look into her eyes. "Leslie is pissed at me for leaving her for the summer. We got in a huge fight this morning."

Caleb's lips pouted in a small frown as he leaned against the hood of his car. He knew Leslie, Avery’s roommate, had been giving her a hard time about everything lately. Leslie was never really an easy person to deal with.

"Do you want me to take you home?"

Avery shook her head, sending her bangs flying all over her face. Her bright blonde locks of hair fell in front of her eyes and Caleb sighed. He pushed her hair away from her eyes and stared in awe for a few seconds.

"Where's all of your stuff?" he finally asked.

"Over at Kyle's. I figured he wouldn‘t mind lugging it all to the bus."

Caleb nodded and stood up straight. He opened the passenger door for Avery and guided her into the truck, then shut the door behind her once she was settled in her seat.

As soon as he was in the driver's seat, Caleb reached for his cell phone that was sitting on the dashboard.

Avery watched as Caleb's fingers danced across the bright screen. She recognized the number that showed up on the phone just before Caleb pressed it to his ear.

As Caleb talked to their friend Kyle, Avery looked out the foggy car window at the busy street beside them. She was beginning to shiver from the cold night air and the goosebumps on her arms were getting considerably larger.

She shuddered in surprise when the engine of Caleb's truck roared, breaking the silence in the car after his phone call ended. She smiled as Caleb cranked up the heat and pulled out of the deserted parking lot.

"I'm warning you now," Caleb said quietly, his voice a little raspy from being so tired. "My room is a mess."

Avery let out a quiet laugh as she played with the vents on the dashboard in front of her. The warm air flowing out of them was beginning to warm her up and the goosebumps were slowly disappearing.

The short ride to his apartment was quiet. Caleb turned down the stereo that was blaring Avery's favorite Something Corporate CD. She smiled as the sweet sounds of Andrew McMahon's voice quietly flooded through the speakers.

When Caleb pulled up to his apartment complex, Avery sighed and lifted her tired body out of his car as he walked ahead of her to unlock the main entrance door. He followed her up the short flight of stairs and to his apartment door. It took him a while to get it unlocked but once the door was open, he guided Avery inside and turned the living room lights on.

Avery raised her eyebrows at the scene in front of her. There were clothes of every sort littering every surface imaginable and Caleb sighed as he pushed her towards his bedroom.

"You're not done packing yet?" Avery asked as she plopped down on Caleb's bed and kicked off her shoes. They landed on a pile of shirts that were neatly folded and the pile toppled over, littering the floor. Caleb rolled his eyes and kicked off his shoes, then left the room to turn off the lights in the living room.

As he walked back into the bedroom, he walked over to the pile of shirts and tossed them into an empty suitcase that was sitting on an old dresser against the wall.

"No, I'm not done packing."

"Why not?" Avery asked, pulling back the covers on Caleb's bed and crawling underneath them. She sighed inwardly as the heavy comforter warmed up her body and upped the fatigue level wearing her down.

"I couldn't figure out what to pack."

"Caleb," she laughed, lightly closing her eyes. "It's not like it's your first tour. You should know what you need by now."

Caleb turned away from the suitcase and looked at Avery. Her head was resting against his favorite pillow and he narrowed his eyes at her but the expression slowly melted away as she took a deep breath and rolled over onto her side, hugging his blanket closer to her body.

"I know," he said quietly. "But we're on a tour bus this time, not in an old van."

A small smile spread across Avery's pale pink lips and she let out a quiet laugh.

"Don't worry about it," she said between a few yawns. "Just go to bed and finish packing in the morning."

"We leave at twelve, though!" Caleb exclaimed, walking over to the bed. He sat down at Avery's feet and playfully pinched the skin on her leg beneath the covers. She giggled and brought her legs closer to her body as she opened her eyes.

"Then we'll wake up early and I'll help you pack. Just come to bed."

Caleb smiled slightly and crawled into his bed, then got underneath the covers beside Avery.

"No funny business, mister," Avery yawned. "I don't want Danielle to beat the crap out of me."

Caleb snorted quietly and got settled in his bed. His back was resting against Avery's and he could feel her breathing lightly.

"She doesn't have to know that you're over here," he whispered quietly. He quickly clapped his hands together twice and his bedroom light snapped off, dousing the room in a layer of darkness.

"Is she coming with us this time?" Avery asked quietly, leaning backwards a little. Her back was pressed against Caleb's now and he sighed heavily, making Avery roll back forward.

"Nope," was his answer.

Avery couldn't hold back the smile that was spreading across her face. She was thankful that the lights were off and that Caleb couldn't see her, because she knew that he'd be angry for her for having that reaction to that simple answer.

"Stop smiling," he said quietly, nudging her with his foot. Avery let out a quiet giggle and then buried her face into the pillow underneath her head.

"Yes sir," she replied. Caleb rolled his eyes and heaved a heavy sigh as they both fell quiet and slowly drifted off to a peaceful sleep.

Notes

Comments

I just started reading this story and I really like it! Can’t wait to read more.

hopeless1313 hopeless1313
12/6/17
Can you please update this?? Just read it and wowowow.
Barakat's Slut Barakat's Slut
4/25/13
Yes. He better get a move on it. And I can't wait to see it happen!
Newyork_xo Newyork_xo
2/8/13
WHINING.
ivy lines. ivy lines.
1/20/13
Oh my gosh. I've missed this. I'm sort if feeling bad for Caleb though.
Newyork_xo Newyork_xo
1/20/13