When I am Done with You

Chapter 4

I stayed in Tina's room, not wanting to face Asher. Sophia arrived at three in the evening and Tina went downstairs to meet her as her mom called her. I could hear the loud noises and laughter from downstairs. Time creeped slowly; I kept scrolling on my phone until I fell asleep.

'Emy, time for dinner! Come downstairs' Tina's voice from downstairs woke me up. Everyone was seated at the dining table, when I got there, and I took a seat beside Tina.

'Aren't you feeling well, Emy?' asked Mrs Dawn, scanning the sleep lines across my cheek.

I flushed with embarrassment. 'I am okay,' I said.

Asher and Sophia were seated across from us. I kept silent the entire meal, other than answering in abrupt short sentences to Tina and her parents. Sophia was the one who talked the most, appreciating Mrs Dawn for the homemade cheesy ravioli Lasagna.

'Wow! So tasty! I like that you made it extra cheesy,' she said, putting a forkful layer of lasagna in her mouth. She closed her eyes and swayed her head with every bite as if she was enjoying the essence of it. 'Unbelievable. Asher is very lucky. He can eat tasty food all the time. I am jealous,' she said, admiring Mrs. Dawn's cooking.

I avoided looking at Sophia and Asher, but I could feel his eyes on me throughout the dinner. Is he in love with me? I wondered. Perhaps Tina was right! 'Why did he keep my photo under his pillow, not Sophia's?'

The cake cutting was after the dinner. Everyone gave a piece of cake in Tina's mouth and a hug. Asher was hesitant to give her a hug, but his dad stared at him with a frown, and he immediately hugged her and wished her a happy birthday. Asher and Sophia sat next to each other on the sofa in the living room with a piece of cake. Tina's dad was helping mom with emptying the plates and loading the dishwasher. Tina was sitting in the dining room and opening her presents, chatting excitedly. I sat beside her, trying my best to fake enthusiasm. However, the muffled conversation from the other side of the room was disruptive and hard to avoid. I eavesdropped, trying to catch a few words to know what they were talking about, but with no luck. After a few minutes, Asher and Sophia came to the kitchen with empty plates.

'I am leaving now,' announced Sophia, putting the plate in the dishwasher. 'Thank you for having me for dinner. I had a great time,' she smiled, 'the food was delicious. The best lasagna I ever had. Thank you, mom,' she said, tightly hugging Mrs. Dawn. As soon as she called her mom and appreciated her cooking, Mrs. Dawn's face shone like the sun. Surely, she was impressed.

'Bye Tina and Emily. See you at school,' said Sophia while leaving with Asher. I peered through the open blinds and watched them standing on the pavement in front of the house facing each other. They were talking and from their body language it seemed more like an argument than a friendly goodbye. I wondered what it was all about.

'I told her about the photo that mom found under his pillow. She must be angry,' whispered Tina in my ears, reading my mind.

'Why?' I shouted.

'Shhh!' she kept her finger across her mouth. 'She was sitting on his lap and laughing as if I didn't exist. She deserved a nice treatment.'

'That wasn't very nice,' I said, annoyed.

Sophia left on her bicycle not very long after. Asher did not accompany her. He came inside shortly afterwards and sat in a chair across from us, scrolling his phone. At one point I raised my head and looked at him, and sure enough he was looking at me. He didn't avert his gaze, instead kept staring at me and I felt uncomfortable.

'Well, I should go now,' I said, rising from my seat.

'Why so soon?' asked Mr. Dawn, surprisingly. I didn't know what to say. All those weekends when I visited Tina, Mr Dawn had to come to Tina's room and ask me to leave, before my mom gave that frantic call, asking him to send me home. And I never left the first time, he had to keep reminding me the time and my mom's phone calls in the past.

'She is having a headache,' lied Tina, understanding my dilemma. She knew how much I hated to stay around Asher since he started seeing Sophia and how much I wanted to go home.

'It is getting dark. Asher, my boy, walk her home,' said Mr Dawn.

Asher didn't reply. 'No, I am okay,' I said.

'No, he will leave you home,' insisted Mr Dawn.

'It is not too dark,' Tina came to rescue me.

'I will come. No problem,' said Asher, getting up from his chair.

'I think I am okay,' I said, stonily. He didn't say anything, but headed ahead of me and walked outside.

We walked in silence, keeping some distance between us.

'Why you hate me?' he asked all of a sudden when we were almost near my home.

'Hate you! I don't hate you,' I said.

'Don't lie. I know what you two are talking about me all the time,' he said. I didn't reply.

We walked the remaining way, silence wrapping us. The air was crispy and a gentle wind blew, patting us. It ruffled his hair and he fixed them using both his palms. It was dark, but we could see each other well under the gleam of moonlight and street light.

Unlike other houses on the street, my house stood in complete darkness. 'Why no light?' he asked as we stood at the driveway, looking at the modest bungalow. 'Nobody home?'

'I don't know. Mom and dad may have gone for a walk. They will be here soon,' I said.

'I will wait until they come,' he said

'That is not necessary.'

He didn't say anything. I pushed on the door to determine if it would open. It was locked. I sat on the stairs, and said to him, 'they will be here soon. If they were gone for long, they would have called me and told me. I am okay. You please go.'

'I am not going to leave you alone in the dark,' he said, determined. He then came forward and sat beside me, his thighs squeezing against mine and I froze. I was afraid he would hear my racing heart.