Then There Was You

Chapter 12: How We Melt The Ice

Theo

   A loud persistent honk outside jolted me awake. Sitting up in a daze, I blinked to clear the sleep from my eyes. I'm not sure how long I slept. The light outlining the black-out curtains had dimmed considerably. I picked up my phone and cursed as 5:17 glared brightly at me. With a groan, I got out of bed and went to the bathroom to wash my face.

   The cool water was refreshing, washing away the dry tear stains that tightened skin. My mind felt clearer although memories of the reason for my sorrow threatened to undo the therapeutic release provided by that nap. I wouldn't let it happen, I'd sulked enough.

   I then went into the kitchen and fetched two slices of leftover pizza from the fridge. As I waited for it to heat up, I pulled out my phone and got on Netflix, resuming the episode of Psycho-Pass I was watching this morning.

   About five minutes later, the oven dinged, announcing the readiness of my meal. Heat rose off from the cheesy goodness, making my stomach growl in approval. As I waited for them to cool off, I received notifications from Instagram.

yourluckyClover_m4 is going live

   Ignored it and picked up a slice, biting into the still-warm doe. Watching that live would only cause me inflicted torture. There was only one thing right now that everyone would be posting about. So instead, I immersed myself in the work of anime.

The episode ended just as I shoved the last bite of crust into my mouth. Just then, a message popped up at the top of the screen.

Delilah: At your house in five. I'm taking you out for ice cream.

   The message read. Intrigued, I smirked and went to put my plate away before heading to my room for a quick change of shirts. With a quick look in the mirror, I ran wet hands to tame the strands and sprayed on some cologne.

"No pressure, Theo," I whispered to my reflection before heading out of the bathroom.

I reached the door just as Delilah's beetle appeared in the driveway.

I went to join her, her bright smile already lifting my spirit.

"Where are we off to?" I asked her as I slid into the front seat.

"IHOP," she said.

I gathered my wheelchair and flung it in the back seat.

With a shrug of approval, I put on my belt, "I like IHOP," I said, earning another one of those sweet smiles.

   We arrived at the restaurant about thirty minutes later. Quickly we found a booth and placed our orders. Delilah got a strawberry ice cream sundae with chocolate fudge. I opted for the same but with vanilla ice cream. As we ate, we chatted, catching up as if we hadn't seen each other all day. When she brought up the rally, I braced myself for the wave of sadness that threatened to overwhelm me.

"Honestly, I missed you at the rally," she said after a minute of silence.

I looked up at her as I took my last bit and found her watching me anxiously.

Hesitantly, she continued, "You always brought great energy to any event. No amount of planning will ever top your natural charisma," she said.

I waved her off, shaking my head dismissively.

"I'm not that guy anymore. Just look at me. I'm like the poster boy for emo kids now," I said, pointing out my outfit which consisted of a black and white flannel under an army green jacket, ripped black jeans, and the same Nikes I wore this morning. Which meant, one of the laces was missing.