Unexpected Perfection

4

{Ayah}

The next time I see Theo, he hurries up and leaves the kitchen.

I try not to let it bother me.

"Hey, where are you off to?"
Mason chases after him.

I hear,
"Mind your own damn business."

Followed by a door slamming loudly.

Yeah, Theo seems like a real nice guy.

"Aww, I sure do miss having him around. He's pretty cool, ain't he?"
He is all smiles when he turns the corner.

I hesitate before nodding.

For some reason, Mason really wants me to like the grumpy man.

It's been about 3 days since they moved in but I've barely even seen him.

"I wonder if he's like that because of the army. My uncle kind of acted like that and he was in the military for a long time."
I say, reluctantly holding out my arms as he starts digging around in the cabinets for snacks.

"Nah, he's always been like that. Some people are just like that, Ayah."
He says quietly, tossing a bag of Doritos over his shoulder.

I move out the way, glaring when it lands on the table.

"Are you out of your mind? You be nice, I'm a guest! Have some home etiquette."
I demand.

He snickers.
"You were supposed to catch them, dumbass."

"So you're saying that when he was like 6 years old, he was walking around mean mugging everybody?"
I ignore him completely.

This is very interesting to me, I don't really run into that many mad looking people. This is a nice little semi divided town.

Plus Mason told me they've been friends for years. How could you be friends with a guy like Mason for so long yet be so...serious?

Well, at least compared to him.

"First of all, I met him in 6th grade. And second of all, no. Some people go through stuff. Really messed up family stuff."

I hold my breath as he turns.

I don't think I've ever seen him serious before.

"Oh, dang. That's crazy."
I clear my throat, feeling a little bad.

How dumb could I be? Of course people go through stuff behind closed doors.

Poor Theo.

I wonder if he's ever caught a break.

A little while later, I'm helping Mason hang up his posters when I hear a loud bang.

I almost jump right out of my skin but Mason doesn't even blink.