The House

Chapter 6: Addie

When we pull up to the house the only lights left on are the ones in the downstairs hallway and kitchen. They cast yellow light out of the front windows and onto the uneven ground below. By the looks of it everyone is already asleep.

We open our doors simultaneously and the sound of them slamming behind us echoes into the humid night air. If it's anything like past summers, this humidity will hang around for most of the season. The only time it will give us a break from its hair frizzing grasp will be on the really sunny days.

I go to the back of the car and grab two bags of groceries. A box inside the second one ends up tearing a gash into the thin white plastic as I lift it up. I swear lightly under my breath as half the contents of the bag spill out onto carpet of the trunk.

I feel Raleigh come up behind me and hear him laugh when he sees the box of upturned fruit snacks. "You and plastic bags never did get along," he says while reaching around me to put the misplaced items into other bags. I let out a small chuckle at his statement, because it is very much true. Finding myself smiling at how quickly the searing air between us evaporated, I went to put the groceries still in the mutilated plastic into the first bag I had taken up.

Grabbing another bag, so I had one in each hand, and a gallon of milk I scootch out from between the car and Raleigh. I start towards the house and Raleigh follows me, accompanied by the last two bags of groceries.

I step over the questionable board on the front porch. It somehow managed to break in the middle so half the slab of wood is sagging into the empty air bellow and the other part of it is partially on top of the board next to it. And not to mention the splinter trap that the broken ends create. Because this house is such a piece of me, I'm able to avoid it without a second thought.

I transfer the gallon of milk from my right hand to my left so I can open the door. Even with this attempt at simplifying my life I still struggle with the worn door knob for a moment before it begins to turn. The entire time that I'm waging a battle with the shiny metal knob I can hear Raleigh laughing at my struggle.

Finally the door swings open once I kick the bottom with my foot. It goes slowly and I can hear the rusty hinges protest slightly in the quiet. I step around it and into the front hallway then down to the right where the wall drops away to open into the kitchen.

Raleigh is close behind me and we unload the bags in silence. It's a comfortable silence though, a different creature than the one surrounding us during the latter part of the car ride. This one is familiar and soft and it's the kind of quiet that we both know would be a crime to disturb. The only sounds that accompany us are the rustling of plastic and the opening and closing of cupboards.

Once we finish with the unpacking of my excellent bagging skills we both head out of the kitchen and into the open family room, the ceilings soaring high above us and the dark ocean beyond the weather roughened glass of the windows. The ocean seems to reflect the quiet engulfing the house, as it has calmed from it's storm earlier. Now the waves crest high enough for me to just notice them rising above the black mass that is the rest of the water, but even so, there is no accompanying crash as they break on the shore. There is usually the faintest of whispers echoing through the house, though tonight there's none.

Once we get to the top of the stairs I continue walking straight for my door. I don't really feel like saying goodnight or much of anything else so I just give a halfhearted flip of my hand over my shoulder. The gesture slightly resembles a wave.

I feel Raleigh's hand wrap around my wrist before it can drop back down to my side. Turning around slowly and looking up to his face I see that he wears an expression of unease. I open my mouth to ask him what's wrong but he interrupts me before I can even get a syllable out. "So... um, I wanted to apologize for kinda getting angry at you and what not earlier," he says all this in one breath, running the words together so I can barely understand what is coming out of his mouth. "I was being stupid and a major dick."

A smile curves up my lips at his last statement. It's the most heartfelt an apology from Raleigh could get. "Yeah, you were." He just laughs at my response and pulls me into a tight hug, bending down to bury his face into my hair. I just roll my eyes at the unnecessary affection and wrap my arms around his waist, returning the hug just as tightly.

"I'm glad we're in the same place again. That whole not seeing each other thing sucked," I hear Raleigh mumble into my hair.

"I agree. It's you and me buddy, you and me." Raleigh chuckles at my comment.

"Way to word that in the least cheesy way possible." His voice is dipped in sarcasm.

"Hey, I practically turn into a Hallmark movie when I'm tired. And I'm severely sleep deprived at the moment." I didn't really notice it earlier due to all the excitement and craziness of the day, but my limbs feel heavy and my mind is starting to slow down with fatigue. I stifle a yawn as Raleigh finally pulls out of the hug. "Goodnight, Ryebread," I say with a soft smile.

He returns the smile and says goodnight as I turn around to head to my room.

Once in my room I slip out of my clothes and pull an oversized t-shirt over my head. I fall onto the bed, but don't bother to pull the covers over my body. It's too hot for that anyway, and the air is laced with moisture. I feel sleep wrap it's unforgiving but beautiful fingers around my mind as I drift off.