House of Goths

Chapter 18

Days went by before Becky could even look her housemates in the eye, let alone speak to them. In her mind, she figured they already knew everything anyway. She did feel a bit sorry for Dorian. He hadn't really been a part of all this. Yet she couldn't help but wonder what was going through his head.

She felt humiliated and hurt by what had happened. While nobody brought up his name, she was pretty sure Crispin had talked to Jax. Guys stuck together in these situations, didn't they? They'd probably even had a good laugh at her expense.

After a few days of keeping to herself, Becky couldn't stand it anymore. Refusing to let the unfortunate event get in the way of her life, Becky made a point to join them in the kitchen Saturday morning. She was done hiding up in her room. Besides, the smell of freshly brewed coffee and pastries made it impossible to resist.

When she arrived in the kitchen, still in her pyjamas as was her habit, she suddenly paused at the entrance, studying them through her lashes. Seeing them there, all dressed up for the day, sitting around the table, flipping through flyers, she couldn't help but feel uncharacteristically self-conscious about her state of undress. Funny how before this whole thing with Jax, she'd thought nothing of walking around in her jammies.

"Coffee, Becky?" Dorian stood up with a welcoming smile, glad to have her join them. He had missed her. They all had. They might not admit it out loud, but Becky had come to mean a lot to each of them. In her girlie little way, she had made the house feel more like a home. She certainly improved the view as far as he was concerned.

"Yes, please," she said in that all too familiar husky voice that just about melted the insides out of Kell. God, he'd missed the sound of his name on her voice. She hadn't spoken to him or even looked at him in days.

"Sit here, love," Kell said, eagerly pulling out a chair for her. When she reluctantly came forward and sat down, he had to fight the urge to drag her chair closer to him so that he might take in her irresistible, bed warmed scent.

"Thanks..." she said, putting aside her worries about her pjs and sitting down beside him. She could feel his dark eyes lingering on her, and if she wasn't mistaken, she was sure that he was leaning in a little closer than necessary. She heard him take a deep breath as though he were breathing her in.

Refusing to acknowledge him, she purposely ignored him, reaching out for a croissant from the plate in the centre of the table instead.

Right away, Crispin, the loathsome Goth, pushed the plate closer to her. When she met his gaze, he stared apologetically at her in a silent appeal for forgiveness. She paused before taking one, glaring at him before she begrudgingly helped herself. Dorian placed her mug in front of her and sat down in his chair.

"So, what's on sale?" she asked, engaging Dorian, the only neutral party she had left in the house.

Dorian cleared his throat and smiled, relieved that she was talking to him, at least. "Um... quite a few things. Here, why don't you take a look." He passed her a favourite flyer of hers. "There's a cute little Hello Kitty bed-in-a-bag set you might like."

Becky took the flyer and frowned. "It's very nice, but it's a bit childish, don't you think?"

The three Goths immediately stopped what they were doing and looked around uncomfortably. Something had happened! Something had taken a slice out of their Becky's innocence, and they couldn't help but mourn the loss of it.

"But you love Hello Kitty," Dorian said with dismay, taking the flyer back.

"Not anymore," she said with a tiny shrug of her shoulders. "I think I'll just get that black set. That should make you all happy. Right, Crispin?"