Love in the Dark

Chapter 16

Dallas

I made it to Missy's house by the end of the day when the sun just started to fall below the trees. She stood outside her house, waiting for me. I called her when I had cell service, telling her that I needed to crash at her place for the night.

I didn't tell her why, only that Nick and I had a huge fight and I wanted some space. That was close enough to the truth that I didn't feel guilty for lying to her. 

When I took my first step onto the porch of the two-story white house, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me. 

"I don't know what happened," She said into my shoulder, "But I'm sorry. You can stay as long as you need to." 

"Thanks," I responded, feeling my heart warm knowing I had friends who I could go to for help when I needed it. It wasn't normal for me to have even that, and I knew I wouldn't trade it for the world. 

She finally released me, and took a long look at me, assessing for any damage. "He doesn't hit you, right?" 

I laughed. "No, he doesn't. I'm completely fine, it was just a fight." 

"Alright..." I could tell she didn't believe me, more than likely from the way my eyes are red from crying. 

I hate crying. I am such a crybaby, it's insane that I pick the number of fights that I do. I really shouldn't, but it helps me somehow. The fighting, it's therapeutic. A healthy—somewhat healthy, anyway—way to deal with my anger. 

"Are you going to invite me in, or...?" I stood there awkwardly, raising a brow at her. She jumped. 

"Oh, yes. Please, come in!" She stepped back and turned, opening the door and walking through. 

The inside of her house was nice, perfectly furnished. Everything was a color scale of white, gray, and black. The wallpaper was white with black outlined flowers. A staircase led to the second floor just inside the door, where I could see it wound up and went into a landing with a long hallway. Missy kept walking inside, leading me through her dining room and into the kitchen. She opened the fridge. 

"Are you hungry?" She asked. 

My stomach growled in response. I smiled sheepishly. "Famished." 

"Good. We have plenty of leftovers." She grabbed something out of the fridge and placed it on the counter. It was a plate of rice and chicken. "The microwave is over there." 

I turned to where she pointed and took the plate from the counter. After a minute, I pulled out the plate, took a fork from her, and dug in. It was the best leftover I had ever had. It definitely helped that I hadn't eaten anything all day, having left the cabin early this morning. 

Taking a seat at the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room—which had a big TV mounted onto the wall, and an L-shaped couch that was big enough for Missy's family of two—I watch Missy move about her kitchen while I ate. She was warming up a plate of her own food, a different meal. 

While she waited, she turned to me. "My mom makes me plates of food to eat during the day because she's never home. We eat dinner together, and you're welcome to join us. As I said, please stay as long as you need to." 

I nodded. "Thank you, again. I really appreciate you." 

She raises an eyebrow, surveying me carefully. "You really didn't have friends before, did you?" 

I shook my head. "No. Is that a bad thing?" 

"Kind of. People need friends to survive, you know. It's, like, human nature or something." The microwave beeps, and she takes her food out. She walks around the counter and takes the seat opposite me.