Addicted to You(28)

I pulled Landon’s name up on my phone, took a deep breath, then called him.

“Hey.” He sounded the same as usual, nothing weird or awkward in his tone, so maybe I should try to also sound normal.

“Thanks for the flowers!” Okay, way to sound normal. That was overly enthusiastic. “They’re really pretty.”

“You’re welcome. You looked like you could use some cheering up today.”

“Oh, you saw me?”

“Just for a minute, but you were busy and I didn’t want to bother you.”

“You could’ve said hi. And the flowers were so sweet but you didn’t have to do that. Thanks though.”

“I know. Just wanted to.”

There was a pause in the conversation and I wasn’t sure what else to say, mostly because I was still a bit perplexed over the gesture and didn’t really know what to say besides thanks. I wondered how bad I looked today. I mean flowers from Landon who just saw me in passing? I must’ve looked like crap. I glanced at myself in the rearview mirror.

“You gonna come hang out sometime soon?” he asked.

“Sure.”

“Cool.”

The conversation was getting more awkward by the second. “Okay, well, I just got home for dinner with Grandma.”

“No problem. Have a nice night.”

“You too. And thanks again.”

He chuckled. “You’re welcome. Talk to you later, Isla.”

“Okay, bye.” I hung up and stared at my phone for a second.

What exactly had just happened?

—

A couple more days passed without hearing from Colby, and I was starting to suffer from serious withdrawal. On a good note, I was caught up on all my assignments for school, but my social life was sinking into pathetic new lows. I’d gone back and forth on whether to call Taylor, because unlike me, she had a boyfriend and I figured if she wasn’t busy, she’d call me. But I decided to just give it a shot. Maybe she’d want to grab lunch or head to the beach. Anything. Port Lucia was a tiny town without much to do as it was. Add in my lack of friends to hang out with, and my relationship with Netflix was becoming questionable. When it asked if I was still watching, I’d gone from Thanks for caring to Quit judging me! I needed to get out of my apartment.

I shot Taylor a text and asked if she wanted to get lunch. She responded fairly quickly.

Taylor: Sounds good! I’m working today. How about tomorrow?

Taylor: Sucks Colby and Landon have been sick and we haven’t had a chance to hang out.

They’d been sick? So that was why I hadn’t seen or heard from Colby. That made me feel better, but also bad, because why didn’t I already know that? This was my Colby after all. I’m sure Matt told Taylor, but still I should’ve known.

Me: Yeah that sucks. And actually I’m working tomorrow.

Taylor: Oh bummer. Tomorrow is my only weekday off.

Me: No worries. Maybe we can head to the beach this weekend? I’m off Saturday.

Taylor: Me too.

Me: Text me when you have some free time and we’ll figure it out.

I tossed my phone on the bed and lay across it, tucking a pillow under my head. It sucked Taylor couldn’t get together all week, but if Colby and Landon were sick…Another idea crept to mind. One that would allow me to get my Colby fix. Just knowing he wasn’t feeling well made me want to run to him and see what I could do to make it better, but obviously that was pushing the just friends boundary. But if both guys were sick, there’d be no one to take care of them and it would seem like a friendly gesture to help them both out.

I sat upright and grabbed my phone. Should I text first? Or just stop by? Maybe I’d give them a quick heads-up when I was nearby. I slipped on my shoes and tucked my phone in my back pocket.

“Grandma?”

She leaned her head out of her room.

“Is there anymore caldo de res from last night? Colby and Landon aren’t feeling well. I thought I’d take some over.”

“Oh, well, I can make a fresh pot.” She started to step into the hallway but I put my hand out to stop her.

“No, I don’t want to trouble you. If we had leftovers, I was going to take some.” I opened the fridge door and saw a large Tupperware container still filled to the brim with soup. “This is a lot. Probably too much as it is.”

“Well, take it all. I know how those boys like to eat.” She chuckled and joined me in the kitchen, peering into the fridge as well. “Look, we haven’t even opened the orange juice I bought. Take that as well.”

“Oh, that’s okay.”

“Mijita, I can buy more. Just take it.” She reached in and handed it to me. “Do you think they need anything else?” She glanced around the kitchen, like she’d willingly hand over any item in it if it meant helping them to feel better.