My jaw dropped.
I looked back at him, this time he rubbed the back of his neck.
"So, this must be why I'm not allowed to come in," I eyed the messy living room.
Bottles of empty alcohol were on the table, some rolled on the floor. There were clothes draped on the couch. And from where I stood I could see the empty dirty plates stacked high on the kitchen sink.
"Okay let's do this," I brought my hands to tie my hair up into a bun.
"Do what?"
"Clean up," he seemed taken back for a while as if the fact that I wanted to help him shocked him.
"Well, um, thank you," he brought his hands back to the back of his neck and cast his eyes sideways making sure not to meet my eyes but I was sure his cheeks showed a tint of red which automatically made me smiled.
"You can actually thank me by telling me your name,"
Just before he could react I added, "Yes. And you don't know my name."
His eyes widen just slightly and even with his constantly guarded masked face, I was able to see he was genuinely surprised.
"Adam."
"I'm Adam," he repeated.
In my mind, I tasted how his name rolled out. Adam. I liked it.
"I'm Summer," he chuckled. Amusement clear in his eyes.
"What?" I questioned him. Hands on my hips.
"It fits you," he said still looking amused.
I decided to let it slide. Even if there was still glint of sadness I knew lingered inside him, this was the closest happiest him I had ever interact with. Though he was never hostile, he had always been quite closed off. Sad. And sad. Yes. And bitter.
"Ookay, nice to meet you," I smiled and gave him my hand.
He shook my hand which made me smile wider. For a split second though, my eyes flickered to the scars on his wrist. I was still smiling. Yet I felt part of me died out, as if my heart tasted the bitterness and all the suffocation I knew he felt. -And this time I knew my smile didn't quite reach my eyes.
YOU ARE READING
All the Broken Parts
Cerita Pendek❝For he was the puzzle she wanted to solve. ❞ But maybe learning his broken parts meant looking into the deepest scars of her own
