It All Started With A Dare

Chapter 12.2

I wasn't so fortunate during the second lesson. Caleb never texted me to tell me we were leaving so Jacqueline had to come over to get me. She informed me that Caleb would meet us there, which is why he didn't text me. When we got to the dance studio though, he wasn't there. We waited fifteen minutes before everyone started calling him. Jacqueline was the first to call, it rang for a long time before it came to his voicemail. Next was Isaac, it rang for a slightly less amount of time before going to voicemail. Danny called and it was immediately declined. It was clear Caleb didn't want to be reached.
I sat on the sidewall and watched as they all practiced. Jacqueline gave me several pitiful and apologetic looks throughout the night. I shrugged and tried not to let it get to me. I couldn't help it though. As horrible as Caleb could be sometimes, I couldn't see him bailing on a family event. He seemed very devoted to his family and it didn't seem like him to miss without a good reason. I was starting to get worried. What if something happened to him? What if he got in an accident? What if he's dead? I rubbed my face and pushed away the thoughts.

"Danny, try calling him again," Jacqueline instructed, noticing my stressed state.

He did as she asked but the results were the same as last time. At least we knew he wasn't dead if he was declining calls. My leg bounced as I leaned my head against the wall. When I couldn't take it anymore, I stood up and attempted the dance, without a partner of course. I mimed having a partner and just went through the motions. I was pretty sure I had the moves down already but I wanted to run through them just in case, plus it was a great distraction.

I excused myself towards the end of the lesson, stating that I would wait for them outside. It was getting late and already starting to get cold out. I tightened my jacket around me, as I exited the building, and pulled out my phone. He probably wouldn't answer me if he didn't answer his family but it was worth a shot. I unlocked my phone and scrolled through my contacts until I found 'My Knight In Shining Armor' and dialed his number.
The phone only rang twice before the call was connected. He didn't say anything but I knew he was on the other end because I could hear him breathing. "Are you okay?" I questioned.

I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt and not assume he just completely blew everyone off. "Yes," he replied bluntly.

"Okay. Did some huge emergency or something come up?"

"No."

I sighed. It was clear he wasn't going to say much. I paused, giving him time to elaborate. He never did. Anger boiled up inside me, "That's it?" I tried to keep my voice calm.

"Yeah,"

"So you just didn't answer anyone's calls, why?"

He paused, "I answered your call,"

My volume raised slightly, "But you didn't answer your mom, or your dad, or your brother,"

He scoffed, "Look, I answered your call, okay? You shouldn't be mad that I didn't answer theirs. It had nothing to do with you,"

I shook my head and gritted my teeth, "You know what, fine, whatever, be that way. You know, you're such a pompous jerk, Caleb Hunter. You don't care about anyone other than yourself and I'm sick of it. Maybe if you took a second to think about someone else, you wouldn't be such a douchebag," tears stung my eyes again.
I hated how easily I cried about things. I used to never cry but now it seems anything could make me cry.

I hung up before Caleb could reply, though I wasn't even sure if he would. My hands shook as I tried to run them through my hair. I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall.

"You're pretty mad at him, aren't you?" Danny's voice startled me.

I opened my eyes and stood up straight, "How much did you hear?" Great, now his brother is gonna hate me.