Obedience- Chapter 4

I woke up to an annoying knock on my door. I tried my best to ignore it, but it just kept going on and on. I finally got up with a groan and rubbed my eyes. Sitting on the bed for a while, I tried to fully gain my consciousness. I guess I had over-slept. But you really couldn’t blame me. I hadn’t had a decent sleep in days. This was the first night I had gone to sleep without that annoying dream popping into my head. 1

I walked over to the door, my feet dragging across the wooden floor. Unlocking the door, I let in an overly excited Aqua, brushing her long hair.2

“Hello!” she spoke in her morning chirpy voice.3

I nodded and walked back to the bed, falling on it face-forward. I did not want to wake up that morning. Just did not! 4

“Come on, get up. We’re going out today” Aqua’s enthusiastic tone annoyed me so much.5

“No, we’re not” I replied, my voice barely audible from under the pillow. 6

I felt Aqua jump onto the bed, making me bounce a little. I let out an exasperated sigh and looked at her, trying to gain some sympathy. 7

“Yes Caleb, I know you’re cute, but get up!” She said forcefully, kicking me off the bed. 8

I got up instantly and glared at her. She smirked at me, not finding me threatening at all. Calmly getting up from the bed she flipped her soft hair in my face, and headed for the door. 9

“I’ll see you downstairs in twenty minutes” She spoke, not looking back “Don’t be late. Remember, today is Saturday, and it’s only because of you that I’m going to that party. I still don’t like that Mark guy.”10

“…whatever! We’re just going there to hang out” I replied lazily, “Besides, I really want to make up for making you wait so long.” 11

She looked back practically crashed into me as she wrapped her arms around my back. I hugged her back. She held tight for a while before finally letting me go. I sat back down on the bed, rubbing my eyes. Aqua left, saying she’d get our breakfast form the cafeteria. 12

I had put my head against the bed, ready to fall asleep again, before my cell vibrated.13

“Ugh! What the hell?” I cried out, “Can’t I get a decent sleep? Who is…oh?” 14

“Hi Caleb, lisn I’ll be passin by ur place on my way 2 wrk. I’ll drp ur notebook along the way ok? Cya.”15

From: Mark from the Park 16

* 17

“Mark’s coming here?” Aqua asked with a little disappointment in her voice, “I don’t know Caleb; that guy still creeps me out.”18

“Yeah, I’m still not over the fact that he looks a lot like…you know” I replied, “But he sure doesn’t act like it. Besides, he’s just dropping by to give my notebook and he’ll be gone.” 19

“Yeah, okay but….Whoa!” Aqua trailed off, getting distracted by something behind me. 20

I looked back and saw Mark walking towards us. He was dressed differently that day. Instead of his normal jeans and t-shirts, he was dressed in a black suit. Inside, was a lilac dress-shirt with a much brighter tie with different shades of purple, arranged in diagonal stripes. His hair was properly combed and not like his usual mass of brown fluff. He looked…good. 21

“Hey Caleb” He gave me a cheerful smile, which I returned with a nod, “What’s up? Here’s your notebook.”22

I took the notebook in my hand and placed it on the table, next to my breakfast. 23

“Mark, this is my friend Aqua. I never got the chance to introduce 24

you two the last time” I replied. 25

“Hi Aqua, nice to meet you” Mark spoke, holding his arm out for a handshake. 26

“Likewise” She replied and I could’ve sworn I saw drool coming out of her mouth as she grabbed his hand, “Won’t you take a seat?” 27

He refused at first, but much to the Aqua’s persuasion, Mark decided to sit down for a few minutes and talk. Aqua and Mark were the ones mainly talking. I just sat there and ate my breakfast. Somehow a strip of bacon, a fried egg and toast seemed more interesting than what they were talking about. It was a good thing actually. I wanted Aqua to find out more about him. Maybe it could change how she felt about him being ‘creepy’. 28

Their conversations slowly shifted towards parents, when Mark asked Aqua what happened to hers. 29

Aqua’s parents had died when she was 6 years old. Her dad died in a general store when some men had tried to rob the place. Her mom had been a heart patient and she got a heart attack when she heard the news. It was the third one and that time, the doctors couldn’t save her. Aqua’s neighbors first took her in, but having three kids already, they decided to drop her off at the orphanage. She was surprisingly cheery, for someone that had been through all that. I envied her. 30

“Hey Caleb…” came Mark’s voice, interrupting my thoughts, “What about you? What happened to your parents?” 31

The smile on his face quickly faded as I looked back down at my breakfast tray, hoping to forget he ever asked me that. An awkward silence ensued. I had had a feeling that Mark would ask me that question. I had known it would cause some awkwardness. I was overly sensitive about that issue. I never wanted to talk about it. But then again, talking to Mark had made me feel better before. 32

“My parents…” I replied, not looking up at him, “My parents dropped me off at the orphanage when I was only a year old. They dropped me off at the doorstep, as we see in movies.” 33

“You never found out who they were? No hospital records, no nothing?” He inquired more, which frustrated me a little. 34

“They were criminals on the run, okay?” I snapped, “They were found dead in a car crash. They had changed identities so many times, that no one bothered to tell me who they really were. Hence, the last name Amethyst. So…yeah”35

“Okay, I’m sorry” he immediately replied, taken aback by my reaction. 36

I sighed and put my head in my hands. Once again, I had freaked him out. I hated doing that people. It made me feel weird, and like a stranger that no one could relate to. 37

“It’s…okay” I replied in a calm voice, “I’ll just see you on tonight. You can go now.” 38

Both of them remained silent for a while. I didn’t bother to look up at them. I looked at my tray and poked the bacon with my fork. I didn’t know what to say, what to do. I just looked down and calmed myself in that awkward silence. 39

“…I suppose I should go” He looked down at his watch and got back, “I need to get my work down early if I want to have lunch with Eric.”40

“Eric?” Aqua asked him suspiciously, “Who’s Eric.” 41

“Eric…is my boy-friend” Mark replied, causing me to look up at him in shock. 42

Mark was gay? Was he bisexual? Whatever he was, it made me uncomfortable. Not that I had a problem with homosexuality. I was perfectly alright with gay people. Lesbians, gays, bisexuals, didn’t bother me. The only thing that bothered me at that particular time was that Mark was gay. 43

Why? I have no clue. Maybe it was because, I had hugged him that night and he had hugged me back. I kind of felt like I may have given him wrong signals. Was that the reason he called me and Aqua and Saturday? But he had a boy-friend. Maybe he’s just lying about Eric. Maybe I was just paranoid. But could you blame me? 44

I watched as he walked towards the door and out the door way. Aqua sat down next to me, a small pout on her lips. 45

“Well that’s a bummer. The dude is gay.” She spoke with disappointment and turned her face towards me, “Caleb? You okay?” 46

“Me? Yeah” I replied instantly, losing my train of thought, “I guess I’m still a bit drowsy. I’ll go take a shower. Seeya.” 47

I grabbed my notebook and headed for the bathroom, wondering if I should go to the party or not. 48

Something just didn’t feel right. 49