Paper Flower

Layla

"What the hell did I just watch?"

I look out past the slide and see Micah sitting there in the rain; his face is towards the sky and his khakis are totally ruined. He glances over at me, and I think that he must have seen me hiding here, but he doesn't make a move or react at all. Instead, he jogs over to the slide.

I sit there in the corner, on the plastic stool meant for a small child and wait for him to notice that I'm here. He turns the corner and-

"Layla?" Busted.

"I totally just didn't watch you get dumped... I think?" I shrug halfheartedly and give him a smile.

He runs his hands through his hair and sighs. "That was my girlfrie... uh, ex-girlfriend, Katherine. I met her when I went to go pick up coffee for you and your dad. We exchanged numbers, but now I'm starting to regret that decision." He chuckles, a deep, echoing sound.

I look at his current state. His checkered shirt hugs his shoulders, but now comes untucked around the left side of his belt and his back. The right pant of his khakis is soaked in muddy playground water, and his glasses are covered in droplets of rain.

"Did you really wear khakis to a park, Micah?" I scoff at him.

"Yeah, I don't want to talk about that one."

"You're really something else, aren't you?" Even when he's a mess, his blonde hair still looks perfect. Darker near the roots, it's shaggy and just the right length to frame his forehead and barely cover his eyes. 

"By something else you probably mean a huge mess. Come on, let's walk home. The rain's let up for a bit," he ducks out from our little cove and cleans his glasses. I peak and see that the rain did in fact stop, and sunshine was breaking through the clouds overhead. 

"That was the shortest downpour I've ever been in." I say as I come out from my crawlspace and dust off my purple and black leggings. "It's never rained like that in August before."

"They say there's a hurricane that's coming in on the coast, but we're almost 350 miles inland, so it shouldn't effect us," Micah shrugs and puts his hands in his pockets. 

"A hurricane?" I shoot him a look, and he chuckles. 

"Yeah, I know right? Apparently, there was a huge storm forming over the Pacific Ocean. They thought it was just going to be a thunderstorm that was going to hit some country in Southwest Asia, but it's a hurricane and it's most likely going to come in around Daytona Beach. I heard about it on the news this morning," we keep walking in silence after that. 

Once we reach my house, I open the garage door and wipe off my feet. Micah closes it behind me and we both enter before Kikuyu starts to bark at us.

"Kikuyu, you loud, adorable animal," I pet my husky's head and check that she has water and food before switching the load of laundry I started before I went on my run. Mom always did laundry on Sundays, and I have to make sure I have enough nice clothes for school tomorrow.

I hear Micah shout from the kitchen, "Hey Layla, what do you want for breakfast?"

"Just make me whatever you're having!" I yell back as I slam the drier shut and crank the knob.

"Okay, but it'll be done in 15 minutes! Make sure you're cleaned off by then!"

"Alright, Micah!" I say, bounding up the stairs.