Walking down the hall, Kiley pushed the door open to see her mother and father standing in the middle of the living room, voices raised, both of them with angry expressions on their faces. Oblivious to her presence they continued their argument, making Kiley spin round and run up the stairs two at a time. At the age of twenty two, she never expected her parent’s fighting to hit her so hard. So far her vacation to Birmingham had been a disaster, catching her parents in the middle of huge rows was a daily routine, shouts could be heard from her room, and it was upsetting. Her family had always seemed to solid, as if nothing would ever shake them. Obviously not any more.
Reaching for her old teddy bear which still lived in her room from when she was a child she held him close to her and rocked gently from side to side. “Why oh why did I have to return to this?” she said out loud, hoping Old Bear would be able to give her a reply. No such luck. “This sucks” she said, placing Old Bear back on his perch and reaching for the phone instead, and dialled Brian’s number. It wasn’t until Brian picked up the phone that she realised who she’d called.
“ Hello?” she heard the familiar voice ask.
“Brian?”
“Yeah. Kiley, is that you?” he asked, sounding hopeful.
“Uh-huh” she muttered, surprised she’d actually called him.
“Hi! You all right?”
“Uh-huh”
“Is that all you can say, uh-huh?” he teased
“Uh-huh” she replied, managing a smile.
Brian laughed. “I bet you’re smiling”
“Uh-huh” she said again, a grin still on her face.
Brian smiled back, imagining her sitting somewhere up in Alabama, smiling down the phone at him.
“How do you always manage to cheer me up Brian?” she asked, her thoughts returning to the activities going on downstairs.
“What do you mean?”
“Before I rang you I was depressed. I hear your voice and I smile.”
“Dunno. Guess just the image of me on the other end of the phone just cheers you up!” he paused “Kiley, why were you depressed?”
Kiley sighed. “Long story, don’t think you really want to know.”
“I do if it’ll make you feel better” his voice sounded so sweet and gentle and full of concern for her, it made her realise once again how much she missed him.
“No, it’s all right, but thanks.” she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Ok, if you’re sure” Brian answered just as quietly. They sat there in silence for a while longer, neither of them speaking, not needing too.
Finally, Brian was the first person to break the silence. “Kiley?”
“Yeah?”
“When are you coming home?”
“Um... the day after tomorrow.”
Brian smiled again, he couldn’t wait till she got home. “Tell me what time, I’ll pick you up from the airport”
Hearing footsteps coming up the stairs, she decided she better go.
“I will. I’ve gotta go. Oh, and Brian, thank you.”
“Hey, haven’t even done anything!” she heard him laugh.
“No Brian, you have. Believe me, you have” she said slowly and quietly, having almost completely forgetting about what she’d rang him for in the first place. Just knowing he was there for her on the other end of the phone made her feel loads better.
“Oh, ok. Well, you’ll ring me then?”
“Yeah.” she hung up just in time to see her mother pop her head round the door, Kiley noticing a completely different expression form the one she had witnessed a few minutes earlier downstairs.