The Hooded Figure

THIRTY

This makes me happy and sad at the same time :)^^

I sat there, staring at them in equal measures, unsure of what to say. On one hand, if it was consensual and they were okay with it, who am I to judge? Whatever makes them happy, right?

On the other hand, I've always only pictured my parents together. It's incredibly hard for me to imagine them... well, not together.

"So the reason you guys are hardly ever home is because," I swallowed, "you're out getting laid? By other people?"

"Honey, we don't mean-" I stopped my mother mid-sentence.

"Look, I'm fine with you guys being polyamorous. It's your choice and I have to respect that, but the reason I hardly ever see you is because you're out with other people?" Did they care about seeing their lovers more than seeing me? Is that why I hardly see my mom at all? Or why my dad goes out to the pub every few days?

Am I not worth it?

As the last thought flitted through my mind, a felt my eyes start to water, but I wouldn't let the tears fall.

"It's okay," I whispered. "At least I know."

My mom and dad smiled at each other sadly before looking back at me. My dad put his hand on my knee and said, "we'll give you some time to process this. We love you, Amy."

Which is why you don't want to spend any time with me, I finished.

The moment they were out of my room I put my head into my pillows, trying to hold back the tears. I was mildly successful, only a tear or two slipping down my cheek before a sniffled defiantly and sat up in my bed. I decided that it was their choice and their loss, not mine.

Or at least, that's what I told myself.

-------

Asher wasn't working that night and the shift wasn't nearly as enjoyable as I thought it would be. In fact, it just gave me more time to think about how shitty I felt.

The next few days were dull and everything stayed relatively the same. I hardly talked to Alexander or Jamie because I wasn't in the mood to decipher the subtle clues either of them would leave to help figure out which was which. My mind had been reeling over the kiss we'd shared and how quickly it had ended, but it seemed as if Jamie had already forgotten about it. Overall, it had been a pretty shitty week.

I had work today and I was generally thankful because it would help take my mind off things.

Well, that's what I thought about as I rolled the dough anyway. Asher was on delivery so he was in and out over the hours and I found myself accidentally making patterns on the pizzas. Fortunately, I caught myself, but there were a few occasions where I nearly put a pizza with a tear drop on it into the oven. There weren't very many people here for a Sunday night; not that I'd know, having only worked here for about a week or two.

The hours went by slowly and I was alone in the kitchen. Maria was waitressing and Marco was the host.

"Hey," Asher said as he poked his head in the door, grabbing a boxed pizza and leaving before I could even reply. There were no orders and I leaned my face against my hand, sighing tiredly.

Suddenly, Maria came through the doors, handing me an order. I had already been feeling shitty, but when I read the order of pineapple pizza, I grimaced. I made it, reluctantly, and managed to get it into the oven. Once it was done, I placed it on the counter and waited, slightly agitated. Maria came in soon after, took the pizza, and smiled at me before leaving again.

Just as the doors closed behind her, Marco came in through the other doors. "How are you doing, Amy?" He asked, smiling happily at me. I retuned his smile as best I could and dusted off my hands on my apron.

"Fine, you?" I replied, clasping my hands together awkwardly, unsure of what to do with myself.

"Good. You can go, we're about to close up," he told me, still smiling. Although I hadn't known him long, he always seemed to be in a good mood. I was somewhat envious of him. I eyed the clock warily. It read 5:45PM and we would be closing in fifteen minutes. I smiled and thanked him, taking off my apron as he left the kitchen. I quickly cleaned up and exited he kitchen via the door that lead to the main dining room. As I was walking out the door, I heard someone call, "Amy!"

I turned around slowly and groggily, only to have my eyes bug out of my head when I saw a familiar hooded figure. I tiptoed over to him and whispered, "what are you doing here?"

"Eating pizza," he replied slyly, lifting a slice as if to prove his point. Over the past week, I'd noticed that Alexander's voice is in fact, a little higher than Jamie's. It made it a lot easier to differentiate the two.

"Seriously, Jamie, what are you doing here?" I asked, suddenly bitter. After the 'goodnight kiss' on my porch I'd felt like the happiest girl alive, but after being practically ignored for the past week, the feeling was almost entirely gone.

Almost.

However, if also made me realize that I was the one putting all the effort into our friendship.

"What? I can't eat pizza at a diner?" He inquired innocently with a bit of sarcasm.

"Whatever. Enjoy your pizza then," I said, smiling sarcastically as I turned around and started walking away.

"Wait!" He called out. I didn't stop, but I did hear his chair slide back. Suddenly, his hand was on my wrist and I was frozen in place. "Wait," he repeated, quieter. I slowly turned around in his grasp.

"What?" I asked, ignoring the butterflies in my stomach and the fire the ignited at his touch. He didn't answer and let go of my arm. He brought his hand to the back of his hood and rubbed his neck awkwardly so I took that as my cue to leave.

"Amy," he said, jogging beside me before stopping in front of me. I paused.

"What? Just eat your pizza," I stated, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I came here to ask you something..." he trailed off quietly.

"Okay, what is it?" I questioned, looking up at him. When he didn't reply right away, I took a step to leave with a heavy sigh.

"Will you go out with me?"