Conversations From Afar

51 / fam

this is a DIFFERENT Ryder bc in the world there are people with the SAME NAME (so weird oml i know ;)

casuallycreative_ thx for telling me the first draft was horrible
*****

"Thanks for dinner," I tell their mother as she and Isaiah clear the dishes. The boys are back in front of the television and Viv is still finishing her pie with one hand and snapchatting with the other. She smiles at me and touches my shoulder as she passes.

"It's nothing. Just nice to have you two back. I love you, sweetheart" She bends to kiss Cam's hair, and he rolls his eyes and pats her hand on his shoulder.

"Love you, too, Mom."

Gabriel comes breezing down the hallway from the bedrooms. "I am going go meet Abby at the theatre, thanks for dinner, fam."

She turns away from Cam and catches her second eldest in a hug. He towers over her, joyous as usual and stooping so she can kiss his cheek.

He pauses at the top of the stairs. He points to Cam, "Text you, dude."

Cam flashes a surfer hand gesture, and Gabriel laughs before jogging trippingly down to the front door.

We watch Lilo & Stitch with the boys, and Cam teases his sister mercilessly about the boy she's talking to.

"Well his name is bae with a bunch of love emojis," he argues, but she doesn't move from her place leaning into his side.

"They aren't necessarily love emojis." She replies, and he grins at me over her head before turning his attention back to the of her intricately braided head.

"Are you trying to tell me the hearts don't mean love?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Well, what do they mean then?" He's fiddling with the end of one of her braids and it's endlessly adorable.

"I don't know," she laughs. She opens the front-facing camera and makes a duck face. He bites his lip and pulls on the braid, lightly. "I guess I like him a little bit."

"So what's his name?"

"Ryder. He's super pale with this really bright red hair."

"What's he like?'

"A lot of girls like him."

"And?"

"Hmm...well we walked to and from gym class together on Friday. I think he might like me but there are so many other prettier girls."

He pouts. "Nah."

"Yes, the girls in my class are curling their hair now but you know what?'

"What?"

"Mine doesn't curl. Ever. It's only straight."

"You're beautiful the way you are, Vivi."

She rolls her eyes. "Whatever. I'm trying to get mom to take me to the salon to get it done, but she said no."

He blanches, looking at me over the top of her head. I shrug, and Alec taps my knee excessively because this is his favourite part.

"Oh, my friend Kathy says you're hot." She announces. "She's my new friend, she moved her this year."

"Is that right." He replies through a yawn, stretching both arms high above his head.

"Mm. Hey, let's take another." He covers his face and she laughs, poking at his ribs. "Cammm."

"I think," he yawns again, widely, "I'm going to go have a nap. Okay here, Katherine?"

I nod, and he kisses my forehead as he passes around the coffee table.

"I hope I get presidency." Milo says, propping his elbow on the arm of the couch and resting his hand on it. His posters are in a stack by the window, and he keeps looking at them.

"Of course you'll get it," Akari replies. "You're smarter than all of the other ninth graders."

"Well, yeah but..." I laugh and he shoots a smile in my direction. "Still."

"You have my vote." Vivienne tells him, back at her phone. "Hey Kat, do you wanna selfie with me?"

"I think I'm going to go find your brother. Don't kill each other until your parents come back." She smiles angelically and I slip into the hallway.

Cam's door is ajar, and I find him sprawled across the bed on his stomach, one arm around his head the other at his side.

"Hey," I murmur, slipping my shoes off and crawling onto the bed on the wall-side. He makes a sleepy sound and looks up at me. I lightly touch the thin, bruised-looking skin beneath his eye. "How much sleep did you have last night?'

"Um..." he closes his eyes and sighs. "Five hours, maybe."

"And you're going to drive in two hours?"

"He can do the first half." He replies, reaching for my hand and linking our fingers. "I'm just going to sleep for a little while."

I recline beside him, our heads sharing the same pillow and so much nostalgia hits me it's painful. It's just like before.

He rolls to his side and draws me close to his chest. "Thanks for today, I think it made my mom happy."

I slip my arm around his back and rest my cheek against his chest. "It made me happy too...and yes, I realize how cheesy that sounded."

He laughs, softly, just a quick exhalation of breath. "Cheesy is fine, baby."

"Do you have an alarm set or anything?"

"Yeah..." he replies in another yawn.

"Okay...well, goodnight." I push a hand through his hair, it's almost as long as he used to wear it.

"Mm..."

"Thanks for coming, even though I was weird..."

His breathing evens out, and he doesn't reply.