Pursuit of the Whole

XVIII. Nah

Julia's POV:

"Where do you want this box?" Marcelo asks.

I open the box to see a bunch of comic books, "Throw it away."

"You want me to throw these away?"

"Ye-" I pause and look at Kai, who was wiping the windows. It's amazing how I always see these windows on the side of my house but never question which room it's from. My parents must have never thought the same thing because none of this stuff is ours. "Kai."

He puts down the rag and walks towards me, "Yes?"

I squat down, "Do you like comic books?"

He nods, "I do! I do! I have this comic book that I found at the playground. It's awesome!"

I learn to stop questioning what Kai says. "Do you want to read lots of new, used ones?"

He nods furiously.

I look at Marcelo, "Put the books on the cabinets over there."

After Marcelo helped us with the heavy stuff, he went back to fixing the car. Finally, at 2 am with Kai deep asleep on my bed, we finished most of the attic. I stood up, and my back cracked, "Holy cow."

There wasn't much left in the attic, and most of the items were at the junkyard. I had Marcelo drive all the junk there since we can't keep it all in the trash cans. With the extra money he got, we used it for more cleaning supplies. The attic looks much emptier but cleaner.

Of course, I know letting Kai live in my attic is not a long-term answer, but for now, it works.

After two more hours of reorganizing, cleaning, and decorating, I was finished. I pack up all the cleaning supplies, put them back in the rightful position, and clean up. When I finished showering, I went to the garage to see Marcelo packing up everything.

"Wow," I said. The car looks better than before. I hope my parents won't get suspicious since the vehicle is in better condition.

"Glad it fits your expectation," Marcelo says.

Again, he's shirtless.

He wipes his forehead and body with the rag. Then, the back of his neck. The neck that is connected to the broad, muscular shoulders. I wonder how many pull-ups he can do.

If he can do push-ups while I sit on his back.

With those muscles?

He definitely could.

But maybe, he could do sit-ups instead.

Sit up while I sit on him.

"It's nice to have your attention, but do you mind not staring at me so intensely?" He grabs his toolbox and walks past me.

"I think I was staring at a moderate amount," I said.

He glances back and snorts lightly, "Sure." Marcelo grabs his glasses and puts them back on before he heads out the garage and towards the front door. I watch as he walks in and out of the house with all the tools.

I pull the sweater closer to my body. "You're not going to stay for the night?"

He smirks, "Disappointed?"

I held back the eye roll, "You didn't tell me what you want. You know, for helping me out."

"I think I got enough."

"What did you get?" He better not have stolen anything in my house.

"More than I can hope for."

That sounds more creepy than mysterious. If he's going for the mysterious persona, I hope he would drop it. "Since you got more than you hoped for, mind doing me another favor?"