Evie - [wlw]

fourteen

evie
-

I walked downstairs towards the kitchen feeling groggy and like my face was plastered with layers of makeup. No matter how many times I washed it before getting ready, and using an extra toner. I felt gross and sticky.

Monday's were normally my favorite day of the week. It meant I could get a fresh start and have a new outlook on what was to come.

But today I wanted nothing more than to stay buried underneath my cream linen sheets. Avoiding the notifications from my phone and sleeping for the remainder of this monday.

"Hey." Nai said. Her eyes stayed on me as I entered the kitchen and searched for my insulated cup in the cabinets. We had not spoken since our previous encounter here in this exact kitchen. At school she would only interact with me if she had to. Otherwise if we ran into each other at home it was like I didn't exist.

"Hey." I replied back to her in a bitter tone. Originally all I did was set a boundary and clear the air between us to prevent any feelings getting hurt in the future. But Nayelli took that as a chance to pick and choose when she talked to me.

I didn't like that. We weren't immature kids in high school.

I heard her sigh and I could feel the woman's round slanted eyes burning into my back while I made my morning coffee before I left for work.

"Can we please talk? I don't want this whole avoiding each other thing to continue while we still live together." Nai explained. I turned around crossing my arms in defense and leaned against the counters behind me.

"I tried talking to you Nai. But you avoided me every single time or told me you were busy. So don't act like I didn't already try to do that." I replied in a huff.

Nayelli's face went crimson knowing that I spoke the truth. "Okay. Well can we talk so I can give you the apology you deserve?" She asked in a quieter voice. The sound of coffee dripping in the background filled my silence as I examined her body language.

It was tense and not at all relaxed. But I wasn't going to continue her game of picking and choosing. "Fine. But I have to leave in five minutes because I need to get gas before I go into work."

Nayelli nodded and moved around the kitchen island to stand closer to me. The lighting was dim inside the home. I took a quick glance out the sliding patio door and saw small droplets of rain hitting its pane. So much for curling my hair.

"I want to start off by just saying that I'm sorry Evie. I'm sorry if I was acting controlling or crazy towards you about being around other women." Nai said, taking my attention away from the thought about my hair frizzing from the rain.

"I guess I got jealous because I started to feel something towards you that I didn't even think would end up happening." She admitted with a hint of embarrassment. Nai looked away from me when she said this. Turning her visual focus towards the patio door too.

I turned my back to her while still listening and resumed making my coffee.

"So it was easy to get angry when it was clear that you didn't feel the same way I did about you. But I was also mad for letting myself fall so easily for someone that quickly. It's never happened to me before." Nai continued.

When I finished making my coffee I turned back around to find her looking at me with her brows knitted together in concern for her own heart. "I'm not normally the type of person to fall that quickly for a person Evie. But with you, you made it so easy." She scoffed adjusting her posture that was lacking confidence.

"What do you mean?" I asked while shaking my head. I wanted to get everything out of the way so we could get back to being somewhat normal. I hated feeling like I lived in a house with a total stranger.