Muddle on! (#Wattys2016)

Chapter 13

     One word.

     Awkward.

     That's how the trip back to the states was. Awkward. It wasn't just that when I woke up after my nap, I found Ted next to me, silently watching me with a peculiar expression on his face.

     Zach.

     Zach was strangely quiet. I even caught him on a numerous occasions looking at me oddly. Between the time we left the hotel in Punta de Mita and arrived to Las Vegas he hadn't threw even a single insult at me. And in general acted weird.

     I must add that the awkwardness didn't stop there. The entire ride back to Boston in my stupid loud roaring car was laced with unease. Thank goodness that Zach parted from us the moment we landed on the American soil, because I don't think I would take more tension if more were possible. All three days, including the time we stopped overnight in some Nebraska's bed and breakfast, I haven't gotten even one full answer from Ted. Our conversations consisted of half sentences and one-word answers.

     Sort of like:

     "Did you see?"

     "What?"

     "Back there..."

     "Oh, yeah..."

     "Hungry?"

     "Huh?"

     "I asked if you were hungry?"

     "Yep."

     "Should we stop..."

     "Yep."

     "Something Italian."

     "No, Chinese."

     "On a highway in Utah?"

     "........Burger then."

     At first I tried to brighten up his mood, and even attempted a few times stopping at some local "on the road" marvels to take some pictures. But after we passed Colorado, I realized that it was pointless, and only talked to Ted when it was necessary, hence the awkwardness.

     After Iowa, I was just silently driving and practically hadn't uttered a word till we reached Indiana. In Ohio we made a quick gas stop and switched places, so I could take a rest. Sometime during the ride, I dozed off and when I opened my eye the next time, we were already passing New York State.

     When we've arrived to Boston, Ted drove us to his place, first. He gave me an awkward one-arm hug and told me that he'd call me sometime during the next week. Thinking that it was the best he could do considering his strange mood, I accepted his words with a small smile and drove home.

     "Honey, I'm home!" I shouted particularly to no one as I entered the front door. Tinley's car was missing from the parking spot. She was either at her mother's or at work. Judging by the freezing temperature in the house, and that the cup that I left on the dining table a week ago still stood on its place, she most probably had spent the whole spring break with her mother.

     Immediately, I reached to turn the heat on, and went to drop my travel bag to the laundry room near the kitchen. Then, I went to my room and dropped flat on my back on my bed. My eyes automatically closed and my thoughts went scattered. I could hear the heater coming alive, making some clicking noises. In a few minutes the air around me started softening. I unzipped my jacket, and waited for another ten minutes until the room had turned nice and warm. Lazily slipping off the bed, I stood up and strolled towards my closet. I put the jacket on the hanger and pulled some home clothes from the upper rack. I wanted more than anything to soak in a hot bathtub. After the craziest week of my life, I needed peace and quiet. The facilities of our bathroom only offered something out of seventies that was definitely poorly suited for my badly needed spa session. I wrinkled my nose and started dragging my feet towards the bathroom.