Eden

CHAPTER 3

 It was late. Late at night I woke from my nap.

I stared out the window, noticing the frost on the window. It wasn't snowing, though.

Winter is coming. I'm sorry I had to. I jumped down from my bed, picked my phone off the table, and opened Instagram. It was the same old posts from before, it seemed none of my friends had any new updates. Even the group chat was dead. I checked the time.

8:17 pm

It wasn't that late, so why was the house so quiet? I put on my flip-flops, moving toward the door so I could get my coat. I pulled and stepped into the somewhat noisy house, a muffled noise coming from downstairs.

"I guess they're watching something downstairs." I said to myself. They couldn't even ask if I wanted to join them. I trudged down the stairs and opened the parlor door, spotting my family and... Colt? They were sitting on the big couch, some of my siblings laying on the floor, some half asleep on the couch. I made my presence known with a cough. Colt's head turned in my direction, I gave him the nod. My mom looked at me and smiled, finding the crust in my eyes very funny.

"Nni gi nu na kitchen, ga wereya." She had told me to get my food in the kitchen in our native language. I nodded and turned, speed walking toward the kitchen. I wonder what she made. I opened the kitchen door and turned on the lights, spotting a plate of beans and plantains.

I almost couldn't stop the drool

I grabbed a spoon and dug in, shoveling the food down my throat.

"Geez bro, it's all yours." I froze, embarrassment keeping me in place. I felt Colt get behind me and look over my shoulder, and then the fight for my plate ensued. The thing is, Colt barely ever had any good food back at home. He was always ordering things because his parents were never around. So, whenever he came over, my mom would pack a week's worth of food for him in plates and he wouldn't stop thanking her. He loved my mom's cooking, or he loved the food, I wasn't sure which, and I, quite frankly, did not care. All I cared about was that he got to eat actual food from time to time. I won the plate, being a whole three inches taller, I had the upper hand. He was pouting and grumbling. I smiled fondly and got a plate from the rack, using my spoon to share the food in two – make no mistake about it, I was more than capable to finish the food on my own, but something about his playful attitude told me he was actually hungry. Colt had a habit of hiding his true feelings, but I never questioned it.

I gave him a spoon and his face lit up. We ate in silence after that. Colt stealing glances at me. I wasn't bothered at first, but it was starting to get annoying. "What?" I asked annoyed. His eyes widened, surprised that I had caught onto his looks. Idiot.

"So uh, you and Camila, huh?" I choked on my beans, coughing and spluttering.

"What?" I asked, genuinely confused at his outrageous assumption.

"No, no, no. I didn't mean it like that. I just saw the two of you the other day and you guys were like really close. I just wanted to know if you guys were, you know, dating?" it came out as more a question than a statement.

"So you did mean it that way." He was sweating upwards, obviously hating the situation.

"Look, just forget about it. I just wanted to know if my friends were dating if whatever. You can forget it." He looked away with a pout, his skin growing red. And then it hit me like a ton of bricks.

I started laughing.

I laughed in his face, hitting my forehead with his. I was dying.

"Oh my God, you like her!" Why couldn't I see this before, it was literally staring me in the face this whole time. Colt liked Camila, and it was fucking hilarious. "Why didn't you say anything before? I could have given you some advice bro." Colt looked at me oddly, his cheeks still flaming red.