Fireflies

Chapter 14: With You

June 10th

Walker Residence

"Rise and Shine!" Lucy yelled. The little firecracker jumped mercilessly on Aryah's bed. I stared at the immobile mound beneath the covers. It began to stir and then there was a groan.

"Luuuuuuccccccccyyyy..." Aryah turned her head to address the little gymnast but quickly retreated once her face hit the sunlight.

After three days, things had finally settled into a routine. My parents, after hearing what happened with Sally, were more then happy to give Aryah a place to stay. From what I was told, she'd wake up just before noon to eat what she called "brunch," and since Lucy was out of school now, spend a majority of the afternoon playing with her while my mother did things around the estate.

As for me, I'd been busy splitting my time between the farm and the bar. I'd get a few hours of shut eye, wake up around 7am and head to the farm where I would sit at Brent's desk and fill out some paper work.

Being in his office, believe it or not, gave me a bit more insight into my brother. (1) He was exceptionally organized and (2) incredibly private. Everything, and I meant everything, had a lock on it -- the desk drawers, the file cabinets, and even the fucking closet. I mean, where was I supposed to put my jacket?

Where was my peculiar brother, you ask? Good question. I had no idea and the only thing my father could muster up was "a short vacation." Since when did Brent take vacations? He only did business trips.

After a few hours there, I'd rush over to house to pick Aryah up and we'd drive on into town. Those rides have been my favorite. Those rides were "our time."

Over the past three days, I'd begun to un-peel the many layers of Aryah. For instance: I learned that the seemingly shy girl before me loved soccer with something fierce inside her. She was also a natural born story teller. She'd often break off into these wild and imaginative tangents, bringing small moments to life with her descriptive and colorful words. So it made sense that she was incredibly observant. She never took anything before her for granted. I'd watch as her eyes greedily gobble up a sight before her as if she were trying to crystallize the moment -- like she never wanted to forget.

Aryah revealed more and more about what she deemed her "little, boring world." She told me about the school she'd graduated from and how shitty the people were to her. She didn't touch on why, but she did emphasize how happy she was to be away. She told me about her friends and upon the mention of her best friend Hadi, I watched her tense up. It was clear that she missed her. What followed was a nervous request for time for her to call her friend and check in on her family once we had reached Sally's.

Three days ago, I had kissed that little lady, or rather she had kissed the hell out of me. Heck, I'd been ready to take her there. But... we weren't ready, yet. I wanted to give us some time to get to know each other better and, so, for the past few days I've dialed back on the physical.

It has been difficult.

I mean...It took all of me NOT to touch her. Of course, there have been moments of tension. I mean, Sally all but called us out on the fact that we couldn't take our eyes off of one another at work. Sally didn't really bother Aryah much about it because she saw how easily flustered she got, but she knew me. As such, I was often the victim of the "what are your intentions?" lectures in the back room during closing time while Aryah waited for me by the truck.

"I've been watching you, Sage, and I've never seen that look in your eye safe for when you're playing something with strings," Sally had droned on for the 10th time.