Somewhere In Brooklyn

Chapter 56

January 16, 2018

The night had passed and Dale's phone remained isolated, not receiving any notifications from the only person he was craving most attention from.

Althea was a fast texter, he kept on thinking. Even with a lot of typos, she would instantly reply back. Sometimes with a call. But this time, he couldn't even reach her phone.

He was becoming restless, pacing his room back and forth with his hands clasped tightly on his nape, occasionally gripping his dark, untamed hair. He grew tired, frustrated, angry, and worst of all, terrified that he fell asleep on the floor with his head down on his folded arms on the bed.

Later on, his slumber was interrupted when he heard a noise from the front door but ignored it, thinking his mom came home early. He lay down fully on the floor, ignoring the soft bed and the pain in his back shoulders. He was finally comfortable in his position, until he heard a ruckus and loud swears outside his window.

Thinking of burglars, he sat up and grabbed the next thing he could get from within his reach before drawing out the curtains. There on her plaid sweater and denim shorts stood Althea.

You're dreaming, Dale. You're hallucinating again. Go back to sleep. She's not he-

"It's freezing! Let me in!" Her scream was muffled, a puff of smoke escaped from her lips as she spoke due to the chilly air.

He took a step forward, finally waking up and coming to his senses, and opened the window to help her get in. He rushed to get a shirt and sweatpants for her to be warm and comfortable in but he's stopped by a hand on his chest. Althea moved in front of him, cupping his face in both of her cold hands and briefly kissing him.

It's hard not to melt and get shivers down his spine when the cute girl he loved was inches away with her arm hanging loosely on his shoulder, pulling him closer and closer until they molded into each other's body, kissing him feverishly.

That, and also she left the window open. He reached behind her to close it.

"I have a new bike today," she murmured into his lips.

He wanted to be mad at her upon hearing those words, but he couldn't. Not because she's finally there in his arms, but because he felt like he didn't have the right to be angry at her. So he just kissed her back, blindly moving to lay her onto his bed but they ended up stumbling on the floor. Althea giggled, as she continued to kiss his jaw down to his neck.

Sensing his unusual silence, Althea stopped and dropped her smile. "I'm sorry," she whispered, pressing her forehead on his shoulder. She repeated it when Dale didn't answer.

"F-For... for what?"

"You know what."

"I d-don't."

No one dared to break the silence after that. Althea placed herself beside him, but kept her legs above his and her feet between the valley of his legs. She played with the hem of his shirt before speaking up again.

"I'm sorry I didn't answer your messages and phone calls. I didn't mean to make you worry, I just needed a time alone. I went to visit my mom today. It just... it just felt like I haven't done that in a while, so I went to her today. I told her all about you. I miss her. You know that feeling, right? Missing one person you know will stand by you no matter what."

Dale nodded, gripping her hand tighter and running the pad of his thumb on the length of hers. His heart raced, wondering if she knew his past.

"She would believe me, too," Althea continued, "Dad didn't. Not until Ethan finally confessed to him yesterday when he came home with a shiner. They both apologized. Eva was giving me a mixed signals, like she feels sorry for me but also mad like it's my fault that her son assaulted me. Then Ethan finally moved out of the house, and then that's when dad bought me a bike."

Dale felt her body tremble as she sobbed. He heard her let out a cruel laugh. "It's so fucking stupid. He was like, 'Sorry, I didn't believe you when you told me your stepbrother took advantage of you. Here's a bike.' I don't even know how to ride a fucking bike because he never taught me how. I hate him. Both of them. And Eva. After I graduate..."

He couldn't understand a word that she's saying now due to her crying, so he just hugged her tight. It continued like that for a few minutes, until Althea fell silent that he thought she was already sleeping. He was shocked when she spoke again, then panicked due to her question.

"Do you want to meet my mom?"