Free This Is Falling by Ginger Scott Page A

the
room.
    “That’s right, you better run!” he yells as I
swing through the door.
    Their door is open, and for some reason that
makes me nervous. I can hear music blaring as I get closer. It’s
not the kind of stuff I’d expect to hear from a girl’s room. I
knock on the door, but I know they can’t hear it, so I step slowly
around the corner. Rowe’s back is to me, but Cass sees me right
away and winks. Rowe is singing “Sex Is On Fire” by the Kings of
Leon, standing on a chair in the middle of her room, her arms
pumping in the air as if she were actually on stage. It’s the
single cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my whole life. I quietly slip
all the way into the room and slide my back along the wall, pulling
my knees up so I can sit and just look at her for a little
longer.
    When the chorus comes around, Cass jumps onto
the bed and sings along with her. They sound terrible, but I’d
watch an entire concert of this just to look at Rowe. She spins
around once, but her eyes are closed, so she doesn’t notice I’m
here, and it gives me such a good idea.
    I put my finger to my mouth, motioning to
Cass while I sneak up behind Rowe; Cass grins and nods. I wait for
a few seconds for them to get to the chorus again, and when Rowe
lifts her arms up, I wrap my arms around her waist and lift her up
from the chair into my arms.
    Rowe has a hell of a right hook. It’s amazing
how fast my nose is bleeding. I’ve been hit in the face by
ninety-mile-per-hour pitches, and I’ve never bled like this.
“Ohhhhh fuck!” I say, embarrassed that my eyes are tearing up as
much as they are.
    “Oh my god! I’m so sorry. Hold on, I have a
towel,” Rowe says, running to her closet and pulling out a giant
bath towel and handing it to me. I hold it to my nose quickly
because the last thing I want to do is bleed all over their
floor.
    “My fault,” I say, raising a hand and sitting
down on the chair Rowe was just dancing on.
    “No…oh god! I’m so sorry. I just…I scare
really easily.”
    “Yeah, I can see that.”
    Cass turns the music down so we can hear
better, and Rowe kneels next to me, putting her hand on mine to
pull the towel away from my face. It’s the smallest gesture in the
world, but for some reason, the way she’s looking at me takes my
breath away. Her eyes are so concerned, and her hand is trembling
against mine. I’m unable to stop myself from reaching up to hold
her hand with my other one. As soon as I do, her gaze jumps to our
hands and she jerks away.
    “I should get you ice,” she says, standing
and hugging herself.
    “No, really. I’ll be fine. I have a brother,
and I’ve been punched… a lot ! It will stop in a minute.”
    Rowe keeps her arms around her stomach and
moves backward until she sits on the edge of her bed. Cass reaches
under her own bed for a duffle bag, pulls it out and goes into the
closet to fill it with laundry. “I’m going to go do a load. Rowe,
you need me to wash anything?” she asks.
    “No, I’m good. Thanks,” Rowe says, her eyes
watching her friend walk out the door, and her breath stops the
second the door closes behind her. Cass may just be my new best
friend, because I know she did this so Rowe and I could be alone.
But for some reason, her leaving has Rowe acting even more nervous
and uncomfortable; she stands and walks over to the small corkboard
by her bed, arranging some photos, and pushing in a few pins.
    “So, you ready for Monday?” I say, pulling
the towel away from my nose to check that the bleeding has
stopped.
    “Yeah, I guess,” she says. Her voice is
distant, and she doesn’t sound sure.
    “Ty says the first week is always easy. Just
syllabus review and expectations…all that,” I say, getting back up
to my feet and walking over to stand behind her. Rowe’s entire body
gets tense as soon as I get close. She’s moving the same picture to
different spots on her board, like she’s not quite sure where this
picture fits or belongs. “May