Hoax in One

| 26 |

I woke up before my alarm Tuesday morning. I kept tossing, anxious about starting my portfolio. I'd woken up to check my email twice in the middle of the night because my brain wouldn't fully turn off.

I stretched out in Tate's bed. He'd left hours ago to go to the gym. I watched the shadows from the clouds outside move slowly across Tate's ceiling until my phone alarm rang loudly.

I propped myself up on my elbows to press stop, and laying across my phone was a piece of small white paper that wasn't there when I went to sleep.

I picked it up and lay back against the pillows. Pressed underneath a piece of wide tape was a four leaf clover. Next to it Tate had written Sunday's date along with Today was a good day. I flipped it over and he'd written For you. Third hole, SFU Golf Course.

For me.

I dissolved into the bed. I didn't think I'd have the strength to stand on two legs if I tried. I couldn't wait to get to my room to find a home for it, somewhere I could see it everyday and feel like I felt in this moment whenever I looked at it.

When my wave of emotions was finished, I ventured downstairs in search of food. Nothing was as good as Tate cooking for me, but the cereal I found in the pantry would have to do.
Seth was standing in the kitchen next to the refrigerator when I turned around.

"God," I said, jumping. "You scared me. I didn't think anyone was here."

He chuckled and rubbed sleep from his eyes with his palms. "Sorry, my first class was canceled, so I decided to sleep in."

I pulled uncomfortably at the bottom of Tate's shirt. I didn't have pants on, but Seth didn't seem to notice. He pulled two bowls down and grabbed the milk from the fridge.

He made each of us a bowl as I sat on the bar stool and slid one toward me. "I'm glad actually I'm here. I've been wanting to apologize."

"Oh?" I said with a mouth full of something that was way too healthy with zero sugar. "Bleh. What is this?"

"Tate's cardboard," Seth laughed. "But seriously, I'm sorry for the way I've treated you the last few years and for everything I said the other week. That was pretty uncalled for, and I shouldn't have let my thoughts out like that. I felt pretty ashamed when I told Tate."

I raised my eyebrows. "You told him all of that?"

"Tate laid into me when he came home afterward. Like bad. I shouldn't have been surprised though. He was right, and he'll protect you at all costs. I want you to know that it came from a place of love for Tate, more than a place of hate for you."

"I think I knew that," I smiled softly. "Eventually."

I swear Seth's dark greens eyes seemed to get a little lighter.

"I know Tate holds a lot to his chest. Even things I don't think anyone knows about. But he can't hide everything living with me, and I figured out all of that on my own. He hurts a lot, but even when a lot of his saddest moments came from you, so did most of his happy moments, and it was really selfish of me to go off on you like that. I could have said it differently. So I am sorry, and I hope you can forgive me."

"Wow," I trilled. "That was an apology. I totally forgive you."

"Well, I am an English major. I like to think I have a way with words."

"I never knew that."

"Yeah, we probably should've talked more," Seth laughed.

I smiled wide. "We can start now." I took another bite of the disgusting oat thing in my bowl and almost gagged. "But first let's stop eating this and make real food. I don't even know why I took another bite of that. What is wrong with Tate?"