Freak

Chapter 11

I finally tore my eyes away from Eddie and Abby, turning to look over at Gareth. He was bent over looking at something with concentration, using one hand to mess with the chain around his neck while the other flipped was through what I now registered as a cook book.
"Whatcha lookin at, Emerson?"
He glanced up at me and grinned sheepishly.
"Just lookin for a good recipe. Some of those veggies are gonna taste better if we eat em right away so I'm trying to find one that uses them. After that I can start cooking."
My eyebrows raised sky high at that comment.
"Hold on...you can cook?"
Gareth shrugged and nodded, turning his attention back to the book.
"Yup. Mom's busy a lot so she lets me be the chef of the house I guess. And I'm a not too shabby one if I say so myself."
A dude that cooks? Sign me UP.
I glanced over at Cherri with what I'm sure was an incredibly shocked and equally impressed look and saw her practically beaming with pride at her son. Abby shrieked in the background and I could hear Eddie laughing as Gareth pumped his fist in the air and went over to show his mom the recipe he found. She leaned over to kiss his cheek and he leaned away from her pretending to hate it. Cherri grabbed him and landed a kiss on his temple, holding him tight with one arm so he couldn't pull away.
"Oh come on Gare Bear, let the love in! Just cuz there's a pretty girl here doesn't mean you get to deny your mother affection," Cherri smirked.
I resisted the urge to laugh as Gareth made a face and struggled against her.
"Mom!"
Cherri ruffled his hair and nudged him lovingly when she noticed Gareth was avoiding eye contact with me.
"Aw don't be embarrassed, honey. She gets it! Right y/n? A mother's love is nothing to be ashamed of."
I lightly punched Gareth in the arm and he finally looked up at me with slightly flushed cheeks.
"Cherri's right, Gare Bear. Nothing to be embarrassed about," I grinned.
He flushed at me calling him by his nickname and quickly turned away to stare intently at the cook book once again.
"You just...shush," he grumbled, clearly very much embarrassed and not at all comforted by me and his mom teasing him. I couldn't get the grin off my face and neither could Cherri. She held up a hand behind Gareth's back to high five me for joining her efforts and I happily obliged, my heart filling with joy.
I don't know if I can handle any more cuteness in one goddamn household right now...lord help me.

Hearing Abby's squeals getting increasingly louder, Gareth smirked and grabbed a carrot off the counter before he ran over to the couch and swung the carrot like a sword at Eddie.
"Get back, foul beast! Unhand my beloved sister...or pay the price!"
He lunged for Eddie with the carrot and Abby laughed as Eddie pretended to be impaled.
"Nooooo. My plans...they've been foiled," Eddie choked, falling dramatically to his knees.
"That's what you get for torturing my sister," Gareth announced dramatically.
"Yeah," Abby added smugly.
Eddie nodded solemnly and flopped onto his back, grabbing the air like he was trying to reach for Abby.
"Must...tickle...child...euugh," Eddie mumbled, going limp and letting his tongue hang out of his mouth.
"Wow," I mused as I watched the scene unfold with Cherri next to me.
"Yep. Sword fights happen at least once a week around here," Cherri said.
"Sounds loud...but kinda fun."
Cherri nodded and laughed.
"Oh it's a lot of fun. Especially when the princess needs more side characters; then I get to participate," she wiggled her eyebrows.
"How kind of her to let you join in," I laughed, "That's really sweet though that you all hang out and everything. I wish my family did stuff like that when I was younger..."
I trailed off before I got into TMI territory and Cherri put a hand in my shoulder comfortingly after a moment of silence fell over the kitchen.
"Well we always try to have fun over here so feel free to drop by whenever you'd like honey. I'm sure Abby would love that. The boys would too I bet," she winked and I felt my face heating up.
Oh lord. Am I that obvious?

Cherri looked over at me suddenly with an unfamiliar expression on her face, staring thoughtfully for a few seconds before speaking.
"Y/n? I uh...I know he's my son and I'm technically obligated as his mother to say nice things about him but," Cherri smiled encouragingly, "Gareth's a real sweetheart. He's smart and he's driven and he's a fantastic cook. Not sure where he gets that one from to be completely honest...but he's a good kid. I mean I really tried to raise him the right way; to be respectful and loving to...well, to everybody."
I gave her a small smile and tried to hide my nervous anticipation.
Good lord Cherri are you trying to kill me right now?
"Point is," she continued, "Gareth's a lover. He hates it when I say that but it's true. Now of course it's not my place to take on the role of Cupid or anything but if you ever find yourself thinking about relationships while you're still in school,"
Cherri glanced over to see the boys settled back on the couch with Abby between them watching cartoons,
"Think about giving him a chance. Only if you like him in that way, of course. Just...you seem like a nice girl. One that wouldn't...well you just seem like a sweet person. One that I'd love to have around here more often."
Finally I mustered up the courage to respond.
"Thank you. If you don't mind me asking though...what is it that you think I wouldn't do?"
Cherri sighed and leaned against the counter. After a moment of thinking she looked me in the eyes with a sad half smile on her face.
"Kids are cruel to one another sometimes y/n. I'm sure you know that. My boy and Eddie...even their little friends that they've taken under their wing...boys like them just don't get on well with folks who don't understand em."
Now I get it: she thinks I'll be good for him because I won't be the kind of person to hurt him.
"I understand Ms...I mean I understand what you're saying Cherri," I corrected myself.
She smiled and squeezed my shoulder before grabbing a pot from the cabinet and filling it with water to boil.
"I figured you would. Call me crazy but I like you already hun. You've got a nice energy about you," Cherri mused.
"Oh. Well thank you! I don't know if I've ever gotten a compliment like that before."
She chuckled and maneuvered around me to set the pot on the stovetop.
"Yeah? Well I'm sorry to say you won't hear much more of stuff like that from me when the boys are around. They think I'm crazy when I talk about spiritual worlds and energetic shifts and all that. But I like those ideas more than going to church and praying to a god that doesn't answer so...here I am."
I nodded in understanding and together we silently watched the water in the pot slowly start to heat up. Tiny bubbles rose to the surface one at a time as the water readied itself to boil and I couldn't fathom how my exterior was so calm when my mind was racing with so many thoughts. The past few hours alone have given me so much to think about.
The fiasco with Chris earlier today feels almost ions away in comparison to what I've witnessed here at Gareth's house and what went on in the car ride on our way over here.
Like a forgotten world I left behind or something. Compared to that this all feels like a fever dream but like...a weirdly comforting one.
Whatever I wanted to call this time at the Emerson house, one thing was for sure:
I think I'm falling for someone after knowing them for only two weeks.
Two someones, actually.