Hopeless Honey

Normal

We walked into the house holding the bags of food. My mom and Sarah were still in the kitchen, now they were washing dishes and cleaning up.

"Honey? What are you doing here?" Sarah asked curiously.

I saw Xavier gave her a look and she instantly frowned. "What happened?"

"Mija, que pasa?" My mom said, worried.

"I caught Mateo cheating on me." I said fighting tears.

"I'm sorry baby" My mom and Sarah scooped me in a hug that lasted a while. "Go get pjs on so we can eat" my mom said.

I walked up the long steps that seemed even longer today. I felt a presence next to me. Xavier walked up quickly, trying to catch up.

"Thanks for giving me a ride" I said when we reached the top.

"Yeah, anytime." He said scratching the back of his neck. His shirt lifted slightly and I couldn't help but look. I was kicking myself for being so obvious about it.

I washed my face off, put on my most comfortable shorts and a t-shirt that I cut at the waist with a bralett under. I put on my fluffy slippers and tied my hair up. I felt like I was starving.

I walked downstairs to see everyone sitting around the table serving themselves form. My mom was handing out plates and forks and cups.

Xavier held baby Taylor in his lap and served her food. I squeezed into a tiny space and began doing the same. It got a bit quiet and they all sort of looked at me. My mom and I stood out at this table. Our skin was rich brown and our hair was jet black. My eyes were the color of coffee and they contrasted with the sparkling blue ones that stared back at me. If any stranger saw us all here, together, it's be clear that we were "the help" but I don't think any of them realized that we were different. We were just a part of their lives.

"Honey" Alex called. I looked up, a little confused. It was a bit awkward and I expected her to ask an uncomfortable question, like she would normally.

"Did you see the Germany vs. Colombia game yesterday? It was sick, right?" She laughed. We often talked about sports and both of our favorite was soccer. I smiled.

"Yeah, I totally thought Colombia had that one." We continued our conversation and everything else around us did too. Chitter chatter flowed and everything was normal again.

I looked over at Alex and and started laughing. She had grains of rice all over her face. I don't know how they even got there, but I wasn't surprised. Xavier looked at me and I looked back, his eyes were relaxed and he didn't have his usual glare on. He looked happy. I looked into his eyes and smiled. The look he gave me was one I can only describe as the hottest he has ever looked.

His usual pale skin was slightly tanned, his hair was fluffy and his blonde locks fell perfectly on his head. His plain white t-shirt was fitted in all the perfect places, his chest, his arms, and his shorts showed off his toned legs.

He looked at me funny, then I realized I had been caught. I looked away, laughing slightly. The rest of the night went regularly we all finished eating and put the plates into the sink, and the leftovers in the fridge.

"Chicas! Son las 12 ya!" My mom yelled. They all knew exactly what that meant and they marched up to their rooms to get ready for bed. It was midnight, but since it was Friday and they didn't have any activities until tomorrow afternoon, she let them stay up.

I kissed my mom on the cheek and went upstairs to brush my teeth. It was my job to make sure they were all in bed in the next 10 minutes.

Taylor and Maddie were knocked out by the time I went up. Clair Emily and Alex were fighting over who got to use the sink first even though there were enough sinks in this house for all of them to brush their teeth at once. When I finally got them wrangled up, there was one more person. I felt compelled to go to his door, but when I got there I couldn't bring myself to knock on it.

What if I knock and the sweet Xavier from today was gone. What if I'd made him up and he was just gonna tell me to get the fuck out. I went back to my side of the house, which felt like miles and miles away.

When I laid in bed, I was so hot I had to change into a cropped tank top. I guess the central cooling was broken in my room. I couldn't help but let my mind wonder off. What if I hadn't caught Mateo? How long would I have continued in that sham relationship?

Although it was a shitty day, I was grateful.