Stabs At The Heart || ONGOING || Dnf

{Chapter 18} Morning

I woke up to an alarm on the other side of the bed. As I adjusted my eyes I saw Clay turning it off.

"My bad, that's my alarm for school days. I forgot to turn it off," he said.

"It's fine," I said as I burried my face in the pillow.

It was a pretty dreary morning. Dark clouds were forming in the sky so I assumed it was gonna rain like the other day. I rolled over to find Clay zoning out, staring at the ceiling, like he did last night on the couch.

"You good?" I asked.

"Yeah I'm fine," he said gently as he looked over at me. "Let's get some breakfast."

He then stood up and tossed me a change of clothes. Once I was done changing I joined him downstairs. Clay was waiting for me in the kitchen at a giant island.

"You want waffles or eggs and ham?" he asked as I approached him.

"Waffles please," I said.

He then continued to grab two plates from a cabinet and pulled out a box of frozen waffles from the freezer. He popped them into the toaster and got the utensils from a drawer. I decided to be helpful by pouring us both a glass of water.

It was Sunday which meant mom would be back tomorrow night. I hated the thought of being a burden to Clay and staying another night but he might be my only option. Then again that's if he actually lets me stay.

There was a lot to take in from all of this. I knew questions wouldn't be answered if I stayed quiet about it. I was with Clay after all so I decided to ask him what's been on my mind. We were sitting at the counter eating our breakfast in silence.

"Clay what are we? Friends? Acquaintances?" I asked. He stopped eating and was silent for a while.

"I'm not sure," he replied while looking over at me.

Great, just the answer I was looking for. But just because he answered this way didn't mean I was giving up.

"What did you mean that one time you said you wanted me to like you or something?" I asked.

He slightly chuckled, "Didn't we clear that up already? I told you I wasn't in the right mind."

"I mean I guess, but it still bothers me. What were you thinking when you weren't in the right mind?"

"Do you expect me to remember these things George!? Whatever I was thinking, it was a waste of my time which means I had a good reasons to have forgotten it," he said raising his voice at me.

It was stupid of me but I had to keep on nagging him about it. I didn't have all my answers.

"It's just you've been acting really two-faced with me for a while now. What's happening now is a good example. You beat me up the other day and probably broke my ribs, but now you offered to let me stay with you and you've been acting all nice? You're really fucking confusing me. AND you didn't say why I couldn't stay at that abandoned house I came across."

Clay was obviously frustrated with me. I admit I was scared out of my mind for rasing my voice back at him. But instead he took a couple deep breaths and calmed down.

"The stuff about the abandoned house is personal. And I'm sorry but I don't have any answers on my recent behavior. I know I've been acting outrageous, I'm really trying to figure shit out," he said as he looked up at me.

At first I scoffed at his answer, but then took his words under consideration. I don't know what he's going through and us yelling at each other isn't gonna solve anything. I pitied him for some reason.

"I'm sorry for yelling and overwhelming you with questions. You were kind enough to offer me your hospitality and I really shouldn't be treating you the way that I am."

I looked up to see Clay smiling at me. It made me nervous like I said something stupid. "What?" I said.

He simply laughed, "Okay, quit it with the formal talk."

His laugh made me comfortable. Though I've heard it several times, it felt different. He wasn't laughing from seeing me in pain or the jokes he made with his friends while beating me up. But he laughed with joy.

"Clay can I stay one more night, please?"

"Of course George," he said with a soft smile.