Chapter 3: Chapter3
#Chapter3
/"Fuck,/" I whispered, eyes widening as my thumb accidentally swiped against Joel's number. I had been checking it, making sure the numbers I had been reciting had been correct. I cut the phone off as it began to dial, throwing the phone to the bed with a soft yelp, glaring at it for conspiring against me.
Was it perhaps vengeance for dropping it so many times?
/"Stupid phone,/" I accused, still glaring. I didn't want Joel to think that I was some weirdo that he was going to regret giving his number to.
/"Oh no,/" I whispered as my phone screen lit up and my ringtone, Fireflies by Owl City, blared out. Joel's name was on the caller I.D. /"Vinnie, quick, what do I do?/"
The dinosaur only offered me a droll look. I shoved him under my pillow in punishment for being so very unhelpful. Cautiously, I picked up the phone, biting my lip as I tried to figure out what to say. Did I tell him that it was an accident? Did I lie and pretend that I butt dialled him?
The ringing stopped. I sagged I relief, blowing out a breath that I hadn't realized that I had been holding.
Then it started ringing again.
/"Hello?/" I answered after debating shoving it under the pillow with Vinnie.
/"Asa?/" the deep voice asked on the other end. It was rough and husky, a coarse but almost melodic croak that made Joel Murdock's voice very deep and very distinctive. /"Is everything okay? Are you okay?/"
He had to ask again before I remembered how to answer.
/"Yup, yup./" I nodded. Then, remembering that he couldn't see me, began to explain. /"I called you accidentally./"
/"Wow./" His laugh rumbled through the speaker. It crackled and distorted. I pulled the phone away from my ear with a wince and set it to loudspeaker. /"Here was me thinking that you just wanted to hear my voice./"
/"I do,/" I said, trying to reassure him. Heat filled my cheeks when I realized that he had been teasing me again. /"I mean, it was a nice accident. I didn't mean to call you but I'm glad I did cuz I like talking with you cuz you talk about dino's with me./"
/"Do you ever take a breath?/"
/"I would die if I didn't, Joel./" I frowned. Unless I had been lied to my whole life about needing to breathe. I considered seeing how long I could stop for just to test that theory.
/"I... I meant... never mind./"
/"Sorry I wasted your time,/" I apologized, feeling slightly bad. We knew each other from work and Glenn had told me that a lot of work friends only wanted to be friends whilst at work; they didn't want to mix their personal lives.
/"Consider my time yours to waste,/" Joel said. I could just imagine the look on his face as he spoke. His face matched his voice, handsome, but in a rugged sort of way. In a rough around the edges kind of way that usually had the girls swooning. Tanned skin and a radiant smile, he had charm by the plenty. /"It's my day off and all I'm doing is watching the great British bake-off. I could use the distraction./"
/"Can I waste your time anyway I want?/" I asked. It wasn't until my bed started creaking that I realized that I had been bouncing up and down on my butt, excitement taking over.
/"Sure./"
/"Even if it's about the man in the moon?/"
Silence met my question. For a moment, the sound of the rain hammering against the window was the only sound. Worried stabbed at my chest. For a second, I feared that perhaps I made him regret phoning back.
/"The man in the moon?/" he asked at last. /"What about him?/"
/"I wanted to knows if he ate cheese./"
Another bout of silence that was followed by a slight laugh. I heard ruffling. /"Why would he eat cheese?/"
/"Cuz the moon is made of cheese and if he lives there then maybe there wouldn't be anything else to eat./"
He replied. I didn't expect him to but he did. We ended up talking for ages. He let me ask him all the questions that bugged me, like did cereal count as soup, or where a thought went when it was forgotten. We spoke about superheroes and what powers we would have if we could and what our theme tune would have been.
I was a little sad when I had to say goodbye to him; a knock at the door and my sister's voice told me that dinner was ready.
/"Who were you talking to?/" Nicky asked when I took my place at the dinner table. Glenn hadn't arrived home from work yet and I knew that there would be a plate made up in the microwave for when he got home.
/"My friend,/" I answered, shooting a dark look at my nephew when I realized that he had little sausage pieces and beans on his plate and I had veg and mashed potato on mine. There was chicken too but I would have much rather have had what Duncan had.
The toddler gurgled from his high chair, his fat fists-clutching a plastic fork-bashing against the tray violently. He stole hearts with his chubby cheeks and his chocolate curls; his bashful smile won over even the crankiest of people.
It didn't win me over. I glared at him, eyeing his food, wondering if I could have gotten away with swapping. He even had a better plate than me. His was Bob the Builder. Mine was plain white.
/"Quinn?/" Nicky asked, pouring herself a glass of water from the jug that sat in the centre of the table. She poured me one, too. She had never quite trusted me to do it after the time I had ended up spilling it all over our food. In my defence, the handle had been damp and slippery.
/"Nuh-huh./" I shook my head, jabbing at my mash with my fork. Gravy seeped between the prongs. /"His name is Joel. He's from work./"
/"Oh./" Nicky's face lit up. Her eyes seemed to glow with interest. /"Is he the one you were telling me about? The one who was showing you how to make all the different drinks?/"
/"No./" I shook my head and spooned a forkful of carrots onto Duncan's plate. /"That's Kyle. Joel is the one who drived me home. He's the assistant manager./"
/"Oh,/" Nicky said with a tiny frown, reaching over to smack my hand when I tried to deposit some more of my veg onto her son's plate. It sent peas and carrots scattering over the table.
/"Now look what you've done,/" I criticized. /"I can't eat that now. Nope, s'all yucky now./"
I finished dinner quickly. I had spent most of the day in my room and while it was nice to have a break from there, playing with Duncan on the living room floor for a while before heading back in, I loved the comfort my own room offered.
I sat on my bed, stomach full and eyes all the more droopy for it, and reached over for the pacifier on the nightstand. Even Nicky didn't know about this; she understood and put up with a lot from me but I wasn't sure if this would have been crossing the line. I put it in my mouth, teeth sinking into the squishy latex.
I pulled Vinnie from out beneath the pillow, holding him in my palm as I considered forgiving him. I did in the end, if only because the rest of my dinosaurs were on the window, still watching the rain, and I was too lazy to get up and go and get them.
Joel had texted while I had been eating. One word.
Asaceratops.
I couldn't help but grin. My last question to him had been what would my name be if I had been born a dinosaur?
I text him back. He ended up calling again. We spent a lot of the night talking nonsense.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone