Freak

Chapter 9

"Well...we're here," Gareth said, breaking the silence.
I ducked my head and wiped the singular tear that had fallen while I processed everything that Chris had done today and felt another squeeze. I looked up and saw Eddie staring at me like he didn't know what to do with me but knew he should do something.
"Maybe we can do movie night tonight? Show's not til next week so we don't have to practice tonight," Gareth suggested.
Eddie nodded enthusiastically and traced my face with his eyes.
"Sounds good to me. You up for a movie night,  y/n?"
I smiled softly and nodded.
Finally some guys that aren't gonna make me feel shitty.
"Well let's go then! We've got popcorn and stuff here," Gareth grinned, stepping out of the car as he continued raving about the snacks his parents stocked the kitchen with. I climbed out last and followed the boys shyly into the house, very conscious of the fact that my top might be considered a bit low-cut to a protective mother.

We all stepped inside and slid our shoes off before Gareth led us down the hall towards his living room. As we approached we could hear loud cartoons on the TV and walked up to find a little girl sitting in front of the screen, chewing on one of her braids as she watched Wiley Coyote chase the Road Runner into a canyon.
"Abby," Gareth said, "Can you watch your show in Mom's room? I brought some friends and we kinda wanna watch something in here cuz there's more room."
The little girl peeled her eyes away from the cartoons to inspect the three of us.
"Why can't you guys watch in Mom's room?"
Eddie smiled and shook his head.
"No can do, Abs. The big kids need the big space. Make sense?"
Abby nodded slowly and stood up, still chewing on her braid. Gareth patted her head and took the braid out of her mouth.
"Thanks a bunch Abs. And don't chew on this," he lightly tapped her nose with the braid.
She wrinkled her nose at the wet hair touching her face and swatted Gareth away.
"Gross!"
The boys laughed and I cracked a smile watching them interact with kids for the first time.
Why does it make them seem even sweeter?
"Gross is right. Keep your hair out of your mouth, kid," Eddie called good-naturedly after her as she trotted down the hallway towards what I'm sure was their parents' room.
Gareth turned to me and smirked.
"Well that was surprisingly easy. Usually I have to bribe her."
"This is true. I've witnessed it with my own eyes many a time," Eddie agreed.
"No shit? I wonder what made this time different?," I asked as we settled in on the couch.
"I'll bet it was you," Eddie smirked.
"Me? Why me?"
"Well she's never seen you before," Eddie pressed, "and maybe she was afraid to be a brat with new guests present."
Gareth laughed as he toggled through the channels looking for one that might be playing a decent movie.
"Nah she'll be a brat in front of whoever if she feels like it."

"I'm not a brat!"
We all turned to see Abby standing in the hallway clutching a stuffed bunny whose ear she was now chewing on in place of her hair. The boys looked at me and then at Abby curiously.
"Uh...right. Yeah no I mean of course not. You're just very...stubborn sometimes," Eddie backtracked.
"Not always," Abby reasoned.
Gareth smiled and shrugged.
"'Sometimes' still counts though. Do you need something?"
Abby shook her head and stared at us with her head tilted, chewing furiously on the bunny's ear. Finally she stepped out of the hallway and sat on the leather chair in the corner of the room closest to the wall.
Dad's chair probably.
"What are you guys watching?"
We all looked at each other and finally Gareth shrugged.
"Not sure yet. Got any ideas?"
Abby sat there thoughtfully for a moment before speaking.
"Looney Tunes?"
We all laughed including Abby after a slight delay to figure out what exactly was so funny. Her hopeful tone was what got me personally, though I'm sure the boys had many memories with her and Looney Tunes that made things even funnier.
"Guess not then,"Abby said.
"Not exactly what we had in mind. You have good taste in shows though, kid," Eddie said.
"Yeah. We were thinking more like a movie Abs. What about those?"

Abby turned her attention to me and ignored Gareth's question.
"Why don't you talk?"
Surprised by the question I opened my mouth but couldn't think of anything to say. After a few seconds Abby tried again.
"Do you just not like to talk? Cuz sometimes I don't either and Gareth says it's fine whenever I don't feel like it. Mom and Dad like it better when I talk though," Abby rambled.
I watched Eddie and Gareth both wince at the mention of parents and I couldn't figure out exactly why.
Divorce maybe?
"Well...that's nice that your brother understands when you need a...talking break. I can talk fine though," I finally managed to reply, "I just didn't wanna interrupt you all."
Abby looked surprised that I had responded to her at all, especially the fact that I had acknowledged her 'I don't like talking' ramble. She scooted to the edge of the chair and leaned over the arm to get a better look at me.
"...Yeah. He is nice," she pointed at Gareth and then at Eddie, "Him too. But he still calls me kid even though I'm this many now."
She held up a hand and showed me 4 fingers.
"Wow. You're four?"
"Mhm."
"That's a fun age. How tall are you Abby?"
She stood up and positioned herself next to the TV.
"Mom calls this a 20" inch and I think I'm about 3 of those," she held her hands against the TV and showed me the length.
"Ohh gotcha. Well ya know what Abby," I said, walking over to crouch down next to her, "I think you'll be tall enough to ride some rollercoasters pretty soon."
Abby nodded enthusiastically and grabbed my hand.
"We might go to a fun park soon. You should come with us and sit next to me."
I looked over at Gareth and he shook his head slightly to indicate that they did not have any theme park plans lined up anytime soon and she was just being optimistic.
"Well we'll see about that. Either way it sounds like a lot of fun. I hope when you guys do go you'll be super tall so you can go on all the rides."
Abby nodded happily and pulled me over to the leather chair with her.
"Me too. Wanna sit with me?"
Gareth smirked and stood up, intercepting Abby before she could plop into the armchair and trap me underneath her.
"Alllright that's enough Abs. Go watch Looney Tunes in Mom's room like you were going to, remember? Thank you for saying hi to y/n but we're gonna watch a scary movie now and we don't want you to get nightmares."
Abby's eyes widened at the mention of scary movies and she let go of my hand.
"I don't like those. They're gross. Bye y/n!"
Without another word she stuck the bunny ear back in her mouth and skipped down the hallway, off to watch Looney Tunes and probably think about all the rollercoasters she was gonna ride when she got big enough.