11:26AM
January 4th, Monday
2021
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Unusually, Landon awoke early. Even more groggily now. He hardly had the energy to check his phone, not that it mattered. All the buzzing to get his attention was the same people he’d known—friends, his girlfriend, his roommate, but yet a new contact had appeared that he had forgotten about. Rodger. Fatigued from sleep, he lazily grabs his glasses and phone and opens his messages.
Bri💞: Thanks for the confirmation yesterday… Are you coming or…
Swipe
Carlos: Dude. I fucked up the ham again lol. I need lunch for tomorrow.
Seriously? Swipe.
Rodger: im not used to texting , but i was thinking about the place you took me to
…
He begins typing a response.
→ No yeah, totally dude. If you wanna hang out again, I got this party thing. If you want, you could tag along and meet my friends and my girl
He awkwardly awaits a response, rubbing his eyes and yawning.
…
[im not used to parties , but i’ll try to attend]
Rodger’s response only furthered Landon’s curiosity. In only a few minutes of reading his response, he continued the conversation accordingly; what was your schooling like? Hobbies, interests, occupations… It felt like he was redoing an icebreaker to get to know his classmates again, except this time he was enjoying it.
Suddenly, amidst his conversation, he’d realized something crucial. He hadn’t been responding nor contacting his girlfriend at all. Shit.
→ Hey babe, super sorry. I got distracted yesterday, you know me. I’ll be there at the party, bringing Carlos n a new friend. How about we talk today at yours? I haven’t seen you lately.
[I’m surprised you’re up this early at all, actually. Usually I only get to you in the afternoon. But sure, that’s totally fine, I’m just out getting stuff for the party so I can prep tmr. Maybe you can help since you’re becoming an early riser now.
See you, love you.]
→ Love you
Texting her felt like walking on hot coals; it was nearly impossible for him to determine how she’d been feeling, ever. As much as he tried to understand, it seemed like they both drifted farther apart the more they spoke. Brielle wasn’t a cruel girl, far from it. She’d always been an outgoing, thoughtful and honest girl, though, sometimes her thoughts and honesty would work as weapons on a sharp tongue. Yet, that’s what made her such a pleasure to hang out with, at least, to Landon. Being with someone who spoke her mind and was honest to him was what he wanted.
Just as he had yesterday, he freshens up and leaves, this time for Brielle’s home.
1:09PM
Rodger sits on the edge of his bed and fidgets with one of his blankets. He stares blankly at his phone, although it’s off. Partying… he’d never been invited to a party thrown by anyone outside of his family before. Only in the movies did he ever get a glimpse of them, and they seemed loud, crowded. Not something that interested him. But Landon—Landon piqued his interest. Someone outgoing talking to him, being nice to him, it felt like a fever dream. He comes back to reality hearing someone knock at his doorframe, turning to look at them.
“Hey, you okay?” A woman asks. Her hair is somewhat dyed at the tips and she wore a vibrant band-tee, catching Rodger’s focus, but not his mind’s attention.
“wh—What?”
“You were zoning out again.” She steps inside and sits next to him.
“Oh.” He responds, avoiding eye contact and setting his phone down beside him.
She glances at him, then down at her socks. “What’s got you all worked up, hm?”
Rodger doesn’t respond, continuing to mess with his blanket. After a momentary silence, she playfully smacks his back lightly, causing him to jolt and straighten his posture.
“..Val—”
She giggles and gets up, “I’m just messing with you. I’m gonna run out and get something to eat, anything you want?”
“… No.”
“Okay, well, when the dishwasher’s done, empty it for me, yeah?”
“Okay.”
‘Val’ leaves the room, and Rodger turns his phone on to check the clock. Only 10 minutes have passed. He faces it down and looks outside. Truthfully, a part of him did want to be honest with his sister. The other part of him didn’t quite know what he wanted to say, or what he needed to be honest about. Spending time with a new friend at a party felt foreign to him, but he was intrigued by the offer, and it’s not like Landon had an ill-intent behind it. Still dazed and lost in his own world, Rodger gets up and makes his way to the kitchen to empty the dishwasher.
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