Shout

Chapter Twenty Eight - Staring In His General Direction

Avery and I were scrounging around for last minute objects to throw into our suitcases like mad women. Nathan and Alexander would be getting here any minute to help us make the move to our new apartment. I felt giddy at the idea of sleeping in my very own apartment this evening. I always felt like I was on my own living in my mother's house but now I could stock the cupboards with whatever brand of coffee I preferred to get non-brand named products that I actually enjoyed. The idea of no longer having a dairy free, fat free cheese in my fridge was tantalizing.

Avery groaned, putting her hands over her face in frustration, "I can't believe we're still packing. This isn't going to work, Olivia! We need to cancel the move for today."

"Can you relax? Just sit on the bed," I moved Avery over to the now sheet-less bed and worked on getting her stuff packed first. I knew how much she hated clutter. I placed everything in gently and well folded, just how she liked.

Tommy peeked his head through the door, "I heard some type A-Avery panicking."

"Are you snooping again?" Avery asked, glaring at her brother.

"Your panics can be felt in the air, Avery. How are you doing?" He walked into the room and sat on the bed next to her as I continued to pack.

"I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. And I'm going to miss you." She looked at him sheepishly.

He turned away from her before muttering, "Me too."

"What was that?" Avery questioned playfully.

"I said I'd miss you too." Tommy muttered an octave higher.

"Ha! I knew you loved me!" Avery grinned widely, reaching over to wrap her arms around her younger brother.

"You're a psychopath!" Tommy exclaimed, slapping her arms off of him, "I'm turning your room into a gym as soon as you leave."

"You wouldn't dare," Avery leaned back, narrowing her eyes challengingly.

"Why don't you wait a couple days to find out?" Tommy crossed his arms.

"Let's let mom settle this then." She jumped up from the bed and out the door with Tommy trailing after her, "Mom!" They both called at the same time.

I took a moment to look at the empty room around me, packing small knickknacks into my suitcases when I came across a snow globe of the Eiffel Tower that I'd stuffed behind some books on the bookshelf. I picked it up and shook it as tiny multicolored lights lit up inside. My mom had gotten it made for me when I was in high school. She had specifically asked that our likeness be made into two figurines sitting at the foot of the Eiffel Tower together. She was obsessed with Paris. The only reason she hadn't moved there permanently was because I was attached to our town.

A part of me missed her, but a bigger part of me missed what we could have had. She had these small moments where she was kind and vulnerable, where she would finally put her guards down and actually sit with me and hear me. These were the kinds of moments that I clung onto in the hope that we could have a healthy relationship. The majority of the other moments we had together were riddled with elitism and greed. I hated those above all else.

Avery and Nathan barged in as I wrapped the globe with a scarf and gently placed it in my suitcase.

"The cavalry has come!" Avery announced as Nathan flexed in front of her before picking up a box.

"Damn, Avery. What's in here?" Nathan grunted.

She shushed him before shoving him out the door quickly and following after.

I picked up a box and followed them outside.

"Where's the truck?" I asked scanning the street.

"Alexander and Bryan are bringing it in," Nathan replied placing the box on the floor with an "oomph" before squinting down the street.

We all heard the quick beeps of a truck backing up as the rental slowly reversed its way towards us.

"What the hell... why are they reversing up the street?" Avery questioned using her hand to shield her eyes from the sun as she stared at the truck in confusion.

Alexander and Bryan finally crawled their way onto the driveway as Bryan shoved the door open. "There's no way I'm driving this thing. It doesn't work properly." He seemed exasperated as he kicked the tire angrily.

Alexander strolled around from the passenger side and grabbed the keys from him, laughing, "I told you you couldn't drive a truck, much less a stick."

"This thing doesn't go out of of reverse!" Bryan exclaimed defensively.

"Uh huh," Alexander replied as he climbed into the rental and turned the key into the ignition. He quickly drove it straight ahead before reversing and backing it onto Avery's driveway. He climbed out confidently while Bryan sulked.

"My bike is faster than yours," he said bitterly.

Alexander laughed, "In your dreams. I think I should hold onto these," he tucked the keys into his back pocket.

Nathan picked up the box he had carried outside to the truck as Bryan opened the trunk for him. Alexander walked over to me as I stared at him awkwardly. After our evening a couple nights ago, I couldn't look him straight in the eye out of sheer embarrassment, so I stared in his general direction.

He reached forward and grabbed my hand, playing with my fingers. "Hey." He greeted simply.

"Hi," I said quietly, looking at our hands together. They molded extraordinarily well.

He used our intertwined hands to brush the side of my face gently, "How are you?"

I looked at him for a moment and felt my heart melt at the warm expression on his face, "Good," I smiled at him, "You?"

"Good," he returned the smile. "Help me grab some boxes." He tugged my hand forward and walked inside.

"Oh, are you Aiden?" Tommy asked looking Alexander up and down in disdain.

"Hey, I'm Alexander. You must be Tommy?" Alexander nodded in his direction.

"Oh, so you've heard about me? Olivia's sort of a close family friend here."

"I thought we said close family?" I pouted in response.

Tommy held up his hand to me, "We've established very close family friend, Olivia. How do you feel about that, Aidan?"

"Alexander," I interrupted.

"I think it's great she has you to look out for her. You're looking buff. Are you working out?" Alexander questioned.

"Yeah! I am!" Tommy responded clearly appreciating the fact that someone was finally noticing. "You know, no one else notices that around here? What are you benching now? What's your workout routine like? Maybe we could workout together sometime!"

Alexander laughed as I led him upstairs to the bedroom, Tommy trailing behind him, talking a mile a minute.

"I'd love to workout with you," Alexander replied giving him a friendly pat on the back.

"It's going to be great to have another guy around here. Nathan's great but he doesn't get the workout thing like we do." Tommy explained.

"Hey! Tommy, are you talking shit about me? I thought you said I was like your brother!" Nathan yelled from the front door.

"Sorry, Nathan!" Tommy jumped at the accusation, running back down the stairs but not before whispering to Alexander, "Let's talk more later!"

"He's cute." Alexander said as he surveyed the boxes surrounding the room. He walked over to an open box of books and examined the titles, running his fingers over them.

"Are you judging my book collection?" I asked him raising an eyebrow.

He lifted a copy of E. E. Cummings' poetry and flipped a page before reading aloud, "love is the voice under all silences, the hope which has no opposite in fear; the strength so strong mere force is feebleness: the truth more first than sun more last than star." He shut the book before adding, "You have good taste."

He read so beautifully I silently wondered if there was anything he couldn't do. I was starting to find myself mesmerized by his accomplishments. He really was special.