Slightly Less Badass

~Chapter Six~

"Jay?"
"Uh ya hi." He awkwardly shifts his weight. For the longest time I don't say anything, I just stare at him. Jacob is the first to react. He walks forward and gives Jay a sorta hug.
"It's been awhile," Jacob says in an almost accusing tone. He steps aside and gestures for Jay to come in.
"Ya I haven't seen you in over a month. How've you been?" Jay says as he steps inside. I could tell he was extremely uncomfortable and refused to look at either of us.
"I'm fine. How are you?"
"This is pathetic small talk," Rina interjects as she enters the room, David trailing curiously behind her. I notice his eyes widen slightly in surprise when he sees Jay.
"Why are you here?" I blurt out. He glances at me quickly before looking back down at his shoes.
"I invited him," Rina says brightly. She was the only one smiling. Jay glances around at our messy appearances and raises an eyebrow.
"We were having a food fight," Rina explains. He lets out a small laugh and shakes his head.
"Of course you were. And let me guess, I arrived just in time to clean up for you because somehow I always get stuck cleaning up." A faint smile forms but it quickly vanishes when he looks over at me then away again.
"That would be great thanks. We were just about to make breakfast for dinner. These dummies think it's weird so we thought we'd prove them wrong."
"How have they never had it for dinner before? It's your guys favorite."
I could tell how forced they were trying to sound lighthearted. Rina grabs his bags out of his hands and shoves some of them into mine.
"Okay well we'll take these upstairs then. You three better get to work cleaning up so we can cook."
She turns to leave but I hesitate with one last glance at Jay, then over at Jacob. Jay still refused to look at me but Jacob gave me a small smile before heading back towards the kitchen. I start to follow Rina when David yells after us.
"Why do we have to clean?"
"Because I said so," Rina yells back. He grumbles something but we're to far away to hear I. I can only assume he's cussing considering David very much likes to cuss when he was frustrated or annoyed. We dump the bags in an empty room then I turn to go back downstairs but Rina stops me. Since I'm not really in the mood to talk to her I just shove past an keep walking. I don't understand why she would invite him on our vacation when he's the one who refuses to ever talk to me and always seems to try to start pointless arguments.
"Mira please," she says, exasperated. I'm not sure what she has to be exasperated about but at the moment I really don't care. I keep walking and ignored her pleads. In the kitchen, the only people talking were Jay and David but they fell silent once I entered the room. Most of our mess had been cleaned up so I get back to work on my cinnamon rolls. Jacob shoves me slightly, I ignore him, then he shoves me again.
"Yes?"
"You've still got flour on your nose," he whispers. I scrunch up my nose but don't bother to wipe it away. I glance up at him and laugh.
"And you've still got egg smeared in your hair. Here, don't move."
Since he's much taller than me I have to stand on my tippy toes to reach his hair. He bends down a little bit it doesn't help much. He winces as I tug at his hair.
"I don't think it's coming out. You'll probably need a shower," I tell him. He reaches out and wipes the top of my nose off.
"So will you. You look like an old lady," he says and tug on my hair. I stick my tongue out at him.
"Thanks that makes me swoon with happiness. It's what every girl wants to hear."
He winks and says, "Welcome sweetheart."
Someone coughs loudly. I look behind me to see Rina glaring at us. I raise an eyebrow at her and she quickly turns away.
-:-:-:-:-:-
Dinner was the most awkward and uncomfortable thing I've ever had to sit through. There was hardly any conversation and I practically ran once it was over. In an almost single file line we all went upstairs, Jacob and I taking the lead.
"I call the bathroom first!" Jacob announces loudly. David and Rina groan; we only have one bathroom that has a shower and we're all covered in food. We come to a stop in front of the bathroom, all of us glaring at each other. The other three reluctantly keep walking towards their rooms.
"No I think I'll go first," I say. Before anyone can react I quickly run into the bathroom and lock the door.
"No fair!" Jacob yells.
"You weren't fast enough pretty boy!" I yell back.
"Meanie. Then I call second shower."

After I made sure all of the flour was out of my hair, I walk back to my room with only a towel wrapped around me; usually I would walk down the hallway nearly naked but I didn't bring clothes into the bathroom with me. As I pass his bedroom I yell to Jacob to let him know he can get in the shower now. I nearly drop my towel when I walk into my bedroom; Rina is sitting on the bed staring expectantly at the door, obviously waiting for me.
"You're getting flour on my bed," I whine and quickly shove her off. She shrugs and pathetically attempts to wipe the spot where she was sitting.
"What do you want?" I demand.
"Just wanted to talk," she replies with another shrug.
"Can't it wait?"
"Not really. It's about Jay."
I stop searching for my pajamas and look over at her. She had a small smile on her face but I could tell it was forced, almost making it look like a grimace.
"Are you mad at him?"
I pause, considering. I don't think very long, though, before replying.
"Yes I am."
"Why?"
"Hm let's review shall we? Well we we're getting along just fine until he came home from work one day and abruptly started being cold to me. He hardly said anything to me, hardly even looked at me, for about two weeks. When I asked him what was wrong he would just shrug and say nothing. Then, he said he thought we needed time apart so I had to go move back in with my parents. So, ya, I'm a bit upset."
Rina is silent for a long time. It was clear she wasn't planning on leaving anytime soon I roll my eyes before turning my back to her and start getting dressed. When I turn back around she staring at me.
"That's kinda creepy," I inform her and start brushing my hair.
"Mira-" she stops, quickly glancing at me then at the wall. She takes a deep breath and starts over again.
"Mira, please don't be mad. I'm not trying to be insulting but I can't help but ask because, well, to be honest what he said to me sorta made sense and I'm just trying to help. I wouldn't ask if I-"
"Oh just spit it out already," I say impatiently. She mumbles something so fast i don't understand a word of it.
"Enunciate please."
She takes another very deep breath and speaks slowly and clearly. But what she says makes me want to cry and punch her in the face.
"Are you and Jacob having an affair?"
All emotion seems to deflate from me. I tilt my head to the side, staring at her. She seems to shrink away from me in anticipation for the tantrum she's probably expecting. Without saying anything to her I walk out of the room and start down the stairs. I pass Jacob halfway down. He grabs my arm to stop me.
"What's wrong? Why are you crying?"
I blink; I hadn't realized I was crying. I angerly wipe away the tears. I don't answer him and continue downstairs, with Jacob now following. I march into the living room where David and Jay are sitting and watching tv. Both look up when they hear me enter the room. At once they both jump up and walk towards me, asking me what was wrong.
"Is that why you kicked me out?" My voice sounds hollow and pathetic. Instantly Jay shut his mouth and looks at me in shock. I couldn't look him in the eyes so I stared at his nose instead.
"Is that why you were so distant? Why you said we needed a break? We were going to be married. I loved you." I gather up the courage and look into his eyes. He seemed upset and hurt. I let out a cold sounding laugh.
"No, you don't get to be offended. I love you and you couldn't even ask me a simple question. All you had to do was ask. I would've told you the truth."
He now looks as if I've slapped him. I'm considering actually slapping him. I turn my back to him and take a few steps away before saying something so quietly, I'm not really sure if he hears it.
"The answer is no, by the way."

When I get back to my room Rina is still sitting on the bed. One look at me and she's rushing forward muttering her apologies.
"Out."
One word and she's practically running away. I lock the door behind her then throw myself into my bed. I sit there the rest of the night, ignoring David and Jacob's pleas, staring at the ceiling.