Table For Two

28 - Harvey

Ryan is so fucking lucky I was not there. What a slimy piece of shit. I'm not usually one for swearing but there are only so many ways I curse the name someone was born with without doing it. I would have tried breaking him in half for trying that with Ali. Even though he is clearly capable and does not need my help in any way, I can't help but want to defend him. I... really like him. I want to hug him and just make everything as okay as I can.

We get back to his house and Athena meets us as we get through the door. I freeze up a little bit as I remember how much of a beast she is but she clearly remembers me as she walks up, sniffs my hand and licks me. She really is a sweet girl but... it's gonna take a while for me to get used to being around any dog, let alone a big one. Ali heads upstairs to get changed and Athena goes with him so I just head into his living room. It's painted in this muted cappuccino colour with cream carpets and a huge corner sofa that faces a tv on a stand, with a coffee table in the middle. There are throw blankets folded and resting on the back of the sofa. Some throw pillows were propped in each corner. I sat in the middle and put my bag next to me and waited for Ali to come down.

He eventually does, with Athena trotting at his heels. He's wearing grey sweatpants, a red hoodie and he looks exhausted. He gives me a defeated smile as he comes and sits next to me and immediately rests his head on my shoulder. Athena jumps up onto the sofa next to him and drops her head in his lap. On autopilot, he starts scritching behind her ears.

"Today has been shit" he sighs and kind of just deflates as he does. I gently lean us back and pull an arm around his shoulders. I hate seeing Ali like this. Because this is not the Ali I am used to seeing. Ali is usually so bright and laughing and sarcastically witty and always hungry for hash browns. This Ali is suffering and sad but he is still my Ali. I can still see the same glimmer in his eyes and the same dimpled smile. He wriggles around to get comfy and just kind of presses into me a little more and grabs one of the throws to pull around himself. I squeeze his shoulders gently.

"Did you want to watch something?" I ask, kind of uncomfortable with the abject silence. I feel him shrug against me.

"Honestly, I probably won't pay much attention to whatever we watch so the choice is entirely yours." he admits as he hooks the tv remote with his foot and flicks it up to his hand, causing Athena to huff and shift so she is now curled up in the corner nearby. Neat little trick though. He hands it off to me and settles back into position.

"Well... when I get like this I only know of one thing that'll make me feel better" I say as I find and load up netflix, searching for a specific series of films. Ali twists slightly on my shoulder and I feel him chuckle as he looks at the screen.

"Lord of the Rings? Really?" he says in almost disbelief but something about his smile says he isn't disappointed with the choice. I smile back when I reply.

"Yep. My comfort trilogy. Always makes me feel better. Before we start, did you want food or a drink or anything?"

"Mmm... I should grab some snacks" he says, going to get up.

"I can get it"

"No, you're still a guest. I'll get 'em."

"Okay"

Ali gets up, still wrapped in the blanket and slinks off to the kitchen. Athena gets up and goes with him. I slip my vans off and pull my legs up on the sofa, moving into the corner and getting more comfy. Ali comes back with the biggest bag of wine gums I have ever seen, a biscuit tin and two glasses - one filled with orange juice and the other, I'm guessing, is Pepsi. He places everything down on the coffee table and sits back on the sofa. I kinda wave my arms at him.