⁴ FLEETING DECISIONS ─ the adelaide woods

13 | gwyneth - doing well.

track #03 in gwyneth thalia anderson

itzy // nobody like you

I PACE back and forth in the corridor a few minutes after Kunboss forcefully leaves the household, worrying about Aiden and Tristan's safety, and even Kun himself. Why did he put himself in danger by leaving the house?

I begin carrying out daily tasks as usual, vacuuming the floor and letting the loud whirring sound relieve myself of the stress that has been bottled up inside me. As every piece of dirt and hair is sucked up by the hose of the vacuum, I feel like one myself.

A vacuum cleaner.

People doing the chores supposedly have it easy – because a vacuum is easy to control and use – but in science, we once studied the anatomy of a vacuum cleaner.

The hard cover is just a shell of itself – the electric motor and filters in the middle are the ones actually doing the work.

People give me the responsibilities and assume I can handle everything on my own; because you can't tell how complicated a vacuum cleaner is from how effortless it looks.

Inside me now, the filters are falling off, getting tangled, but the cleaner is still forced to do what it usually does without any fixing, lastly being thrown to the side because it's not 'useful' anymore. But how many people actually know what's wrong with the vacuum and try to fix it?

Just like toxic people who pretend to be all-knowing, those people who throw the vacuum away without even trying to understand what's going through don't deserve its service – the ones who do are the ones who make an effort to at least try. I used to think Kunboss was like my twin brother, like the one who actually understood me more than anyone else or even myself – but it turned out to be false. He was the one who never understood me from day one.

I knew I shouldn't be wasting my energy on him – but I couldn't. The pure friendship we shared overruled everything else.

Just as I let out a sigh and set the cleaner aside – along with the stress and worry that comes with – after finishing my chores, heading to the sink to wash my hands, the door cracks open, revealing a happy Tristan and Aiden in the foyer. A gush of relief runs through me, and I smile just a tiny bit. I can't explain the feeling – I feel relieved that they're back, but also mad at them for not replying to any of our messages.

I look at them expectantly, as if to ask them where they were, and Aiden explains giddily, "We went to the fair since we wanted a day off. We went for rides, played minigames, and had a lot of fun!"

Once Aiden finishes his sentencee, he says he wants to go to the bathroom and takes off at full speed to his room and its en-suite, and I turn to Tristan, asking a million questions with my eyes just staring into his.

"Don't ask-," he starts, but I've already started spewing everything that's been bottled up inside of me.

"I could tell that was an excuse, Tristan. Where have you been, and why have you guys not been replying to our messages? We were worried sick!" I exclaim, exasperated, running a hand through my medium-length brown hair.

"Did I not say don't ask?" he says sarcastically. "Do you not think I would have come back at six yesterday evening or happily replied to your messages? I did it for the sake of Aiden."

I raise my right eyebrow, waiting for further explanation. "I'll only tell you since Aiden isn't here," he says in a hushed voice. "Know his girlfriend? Anson Ambers? She... Well, she passed away last night. She was shot by a person under James. I knew Aiden had to put everything down even if it was just for one day, so I spent the day with him. At the fair."