The World Through Various Eyes

[25] More Answers, More Questions (Jade's POV)

Back at Alex's house, things were going surprisingly decently. Despite the stories Alex had told me of the things his father said when he was drunk, or occasionally, did, he was behaving strangely civilly. He seemed to be putting forth effort to take a break from alcohol. It usually didn't last too long, but it was an important step forward. And was it just me or was he drinking in smaller quantities?

Usually, when he got especially intoxicated, he would just blather on and on about extraneous, nonsensical topics. I never really knew how exactly to respond, so I'd either sit there and observe, or leave. I wasn't frequently around him, so more often than not, I was able to avoid these exchanges. But when I was around, it was apparent that Alex had been right about him.

I had never fully understood how he felt until I lived in his house. As him, no less.

That day in particular was nothing special, unless you count Alex's father being sober for once. He had requested that I run to the store with him to buy some ingredients to bake a cake. Apparently, he was going away to a reunion somewhere soon. I thought it was careless of him to leave his own child alone, but I didn't dare say so. Mr. Swaltz seemed slightly kind underneath his bitterness, but he was still highly unpredictable.

Due to his alcoholic nature, it was easy to see how I was a little apprehensive about getting in a car with him. I had no guarantee that he was sober then. It was definitely a risk, but in the end, it didn't result disasterously. So, all-in-all, a decent experience. He wasn't the best of drivers, but nothing dangerous or life threatening ensued.

After we returned home, he asked me to help make the cake with him. I took all the ingredients out of their bags and lined them up in the order that the recipe required them. Mr. Swaltz hung his coat as I did this, all the while observing from the entrance hallway. It was an odd feeling, being watched.

An abrupt knock was heard. Alex's dad was right in front of the door, so naturally, he was the one to answer it.

"Alex, your lady friend is here to visit you." he alerted me, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

At first, I was at a loss for who it could have been. Alex didn't have many friends, let alone female ones. But then, after realizing the only possible person it could have been, I immediately knew who it was.

I came to the door to see myself staring back at me.

"Hello Jade." I greeted.

"Hello Alex." he responded.

It felt kind of unsettling, calling him by my name, but his father was standing in the door and anything else, such as his real name, would not have made sense to him.

I motioned for him to come in and when he didn't take the cue the first time, grabbed his hand and helped him up, over the top step and into the house.

Alex's dad waved to me, alerting me that he'd just continue making the cake himself. I felt a little bad for some reason, but obliged.

We walked in silence to his room. At that point, we were both fully aware of where it was located.

Alex sat himself down on his mattress.

"Can't say I missed this place. How about you? How is everything going?"

Oh course he didn't miss it. Frankly, I couldn't blame him. My house was infinitely better in condition, and my parents were easier to deal with.

There wasn't anything super interesting about software developers, but in this case, lack of 'interesting' was good. I bet Alex wished his father wasn't so 'interesting'.

"Decently. I bet your dad suspects something is up, though. Like something has been done with his Alex."

He tucked my long hair behind his ears, taking a hairband off his wrist and tying it up.