Arabella

~ 6 ~

Can we just appreciate this fine man 😍

So bringing me to this small little town was a good and a bad idea. Good because it is absolutely amazing and I love all the shops. Bad because I spent way more money than intended. I bought six dream catchers, three large and three small. Plus I bought two bird houses. Then we went to a candy shop and I bought way too much.

When we get back to the house I drop all of my stuff by the door so none of it is forgotten. We spent hours walking around town and it was amazing. I can't believe I didn't know it was there! I'll definitely be going back.

"Thank you for helping me carry everything. I couldn't have done it by myself" I laugh. Xander just shrugs at me.

"Anytime. Are you hungry?" He asks as he walks towards the kitchen. Once he asks my stomach grumbles. Loudly. My face turns bright red. That was embarrassing. "I guess so." He chuckles.

"Yeah I haven't eaten today." I say nonchalantly as I pull a stool at the island to sit on. He stops what he's doing and turns to me. I don't like the look he's giving me. "What?" I ask shyly.

"Why haven't you eaten? If you would have told me we would have gotten lunch earlier." He says sadly. I don't know why he's sad. I shrug at him. But he doesn't look away. He's looking at me like he's waiting for me to tell him. I won't, I can't.

"I made breakfast this morning but I was too upset." I say instead.

"Why?" He asks as he closes the fridge and comes around the island. He's standing in front of me now looking at me expectantly.

"It's the anniversary of my moms death." I whisper because I didn't want to talk about it. He looks shocked for a second. And stays quiet for too long.

"I don't sleep when it's around my dads death day." He states sadly. I then remember the way he looked the other day and it makes sense. I understand why he fell asleep in the class when he showed up. I look down at my hands and chew on my lip.

Xander apparently didn't like that though. He puts his hand under my chin and lifts my head so we're looking eye to eye. He smiles at me and I don't see pity in them like I do everyone else when I bring up my mom.

"Would you like chicken or salmon?" He asks which makes me smile.

"Salmon definitely." He nods and goes back to the other side and gets to work.

I can't help the smile on my face. Every time I bring up my mom or I bring up my mom or I'm upset everyone wants to talk about it. I hate talking about it. There's nothing to say anymore. She's gone and I miss her but she's not coming back. No matter how much I want her to she's not.

Xander knew that. He understood it. Instead of assuming I want to talk about it he understands I don't. I think we're going to be really good friends.

"What are you making?" I ask. As I lean onto the counter. He moves swiftly through the kitchen like he cooks all the time. Maybe he does, I wonder if he cooks for his mom so she can come home and relax.

"I'm going to bake the salmon and make some steamed asparagus. I'll also make some cubed and fried onion potatoes. Nothing fancy." He says as he pulls everything out.

"Nothing fancy? Haha yeah that is fancy compared to my ramen noodle or spaghetti dinners I eat."

"Your dad doesn't cook for you?" He asks.

"No he's not a cooker." I laugh thinking about all the burnt meals we've suffered through. He nods to show he heard me. I go into a big story about how dad almost burnt down our house trying to bake a cake. Leave it to my dad to do something crazy like that.