Companion

Chapter 16: No Filters

As soon as we get home, Edge face plants onto the couch and falls asleep almost immediately.

I walk into the kitchen and start boiling a pot of water. A few minutes later, I'm cooking the last box of macaroni we own, and end up splitting it into two bowls because heaven knows I can't eat all that by myself, even if I am so hungry that my stomach is audibly growling. I set the bowls on the table, and go into the living room to wake up Edge so the fake cheesy goodness isn't wasted.

He's in the same position he was twenty minutes ago, completely wiped out. In fact, I am about to walk back to the kitchen and eat by myself. But I see Edge twitch slightly, and I slowly make my way to him. Taking a deep breath, I softly put my hand on his shoulder and push. He wakes with a start that scares me for a second, then squeezes his eyes shut, adjusting to the light.

"Hunter?" His voice is raspy. He stretches.

"I made macaroni."

"Fake cheese?"

"Duh."

"Give me a second." He swings his legs over the side of the couch and stands up. We walk to the kitchen, sit, and eat.

It's hard to ignore what happened earlier. Our fight and his confession is like an annoying, self-absorbed third person sitting at the table. We're afraid to talk and run the risk of it taking over our conversation and making it all about them.

"You're quiet," Edge says.

"So are you."

"So...what happens now?"

"I think we should find something else to talk about."

"You don't want to know anything else?"

"Would you answer my questions if I asked them?"

"Only if you ask me easier things. Other than that, probably not."

"Then I'm not even gonna bother."

"Fair enough."

We finish, and wash our dishes, putting them away. I put a CD into the CD player and sit on the couch, listening absentmindedly, until I drift off to sleep.

+++++

I wake up in my bed. It's pitch black outside. I roll out from under my covers and change into pajamas, before walking out across the hall to quietly brush my teeth and wash my face. Except, I don't make it all of the way across. I just stop in the middle.

There's a light on downstairs.

There's a person downstairs.

Slowly, quietly, I tiptoe down the stairs, barely breathing, until I'm close enough to see the kitchen from the railing.

It's Edge.

He's sitting at the table with a large book, writing something on a piece of paper intently. Too tired to question him, I make my way back upstairs in the same fashion I came down in.

+++++

"Hunter, it's time for school," Edge calls through my door. I groan and pull the covers up over my head. I want nothing more than to stay home. Edge bursts through the door and the covers are pulled off the bed.

"Dammit, Edge--"

"Hunter, you've gotta go to school."

"I'm failing, Edge. I'm gonna get the same grades even if I don't show up."

"At least go for your ID."

Oh right. That's today.

"Fine," I groan and sit up, rubbing the blur from my eyes, "I'll go for the stupid flipping ID."