Words I Couldn't Say

Chapter 14

Chapter 14 – Full of The Joys of spring

The days in college wheezed by like a quick blur. In classes, time seemed to tick away like a quick lightning in the classes we had together which was more than half and the time tortured us slow with a snail’s pace when we were separated.

“Aki!” Annelise bounded up next to me, showing her pearly whites as she halted in her steps in front of me. “Are you excited?”

I bowed my head a little with a smile on my face, looking at her from the corner of my eyes. “How can I not? I have a pretty girl coming over to my house tomorrow.”

A mock gasp escaped her lips with her hand covering her mouth while the black coloured orbs went wide. “How could you? I thought it was our special night Aki!” Her voice turned into a whine as she jutted her bottom lip out into a pout.

“It was. I prefer hanging out with a pretty girl for the night,” I winked, adjusting his bag’s strap on his shoulder.

“You’re mean, big meanie,” Annelise puffed her cheeks and hugged her books tighter, refusing to look at me but the small twitch of her lips gave her annoyance away.

“Aww,” I cooed, sidestepping to wrap my free arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to my body. “But I’m your big meanie.”

She gave up and let the smile widen. “True that.”

Though hesitant, I kissed her temple and we continued our way back to my house. After the many hours of spending time with her, it had gotten easier to joke around but only with her, and if and only if, Daniel wasn’t there to ruin everything. After constantly going home together, her parents at long last allowed her to hangout over at my place. At the top of the steps to the house, a frown couldn’t help but replace my smile. My parents’ cars weren’t parked in the front porch and the house was deadly quiet, just like any other days. Pushing the door open with a click, I was greeted with the dark, the shadows lurking at every corner. I felt Annelise stand on her toe with her hands resting on my shoulders as she tried to take a glance inside the house. This would be the first time she set foot into the house.

“Where are your parents?” she chirped, confusion painted across her features.

“Work. And if all the any other times you do not see them, they’re at work,” I replied all too bluntly, the tone coming off harsher than I intended.

Annelise flinched away and clasped her hands together, lowering her head. With a groan, I turned on my heels and pulled her in for a hug. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…” I murmured, looking up into the sky with a tinge of sorrow. When she didn’t respond, he squeezed her tighter with wistful hope.

She lifted her hands slowly, contemplating to return the hug or not.

“Please,” I begged.

I felt her hands on my back. “It’s okay. I was just caught off guard.”

I released her and gazed into her eyes, the blackness of the colour pulling me in. The emotions showed as clear as day, her eyes mirroring her soul. How did I ever thought that this girl can wreak havoc in my life, I wouldn’t have any clue. All she did was reel me in closer, and closer each day.

“Anne –”

A soft melody rang through the air as her hand phone vibrated in her back pocket. Taking a step back, Annelise fished out her phone and turned around, accepting the call. I felt my heart drop, a heavy weight weighing on my shoulders. Without looking back at her, I switched on the lights and walked into the kitchen, the frown plastering itself on my face. Did she think I would not have noticed? Did she think just because I let her in, she would have my full trust? – Even though she held half of my heart?

I leaned against the kitchen counter, reminiscing about the times of her smiles and laughter, and then I began questioning myself. Was it merely a façade? Did she pity me because I was always alone and keeping to myself? I felt the frown curved downwards more by an inch. My mind was full of questions and the answers I could not provide.

“Aki!”

I looked up from the floor, forcing a smile on with the hope she would not notice. She had been calling me by that nickname, saying that it was her special nickname for me, but was I really special?

“Sorry about that,” she gave me a sorry smile. “Now, what do you want to do?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Anything.”

I pushed all the negativity to the back of my head. It was our special night that we always spend each fortnight. This was our first time camping in my house, seeing as change was good.

“Movies it is!” she squealed and ran out to the living room, leaving me in her wake with questions returning to my mind.