XXI. Irrepressible
Theo was actually a lot more entertaining than I expected him to be. It turns out he's extremely sassy, but he's an amazing friend, too. He wouldn't let me sit for a single moment without a smile on my face. I thought this would be awkward, but we got along really well. I was pleasantly surprised.
"So, why did Alex leave? Do you know?" He turned his head towards me as we pulled to a full stop at the end of a dirt road.
I looked down at my lap for a few moments, wondering if I should tell him or make something up.
"No clue," I muttered, not making eye contact.
Just as I turned to spark up a conversation far from the topic of Alex, Theo's phone started ringing. I watched out of the corner of my eye as he reached into his pocket and answered without even glancing at the phone.
"Oh! Where are you?" He sounded slightly worried, but more playful than anything else. I made a face of irritation and rolled my eyes, looking down at my phone. Not a single notification. I had been gone something around 3 hours and she had to of just gotten home. Where the fuck had she been?
"Alright. I'll come by and get you right now. I have Adri with me, anyways." He laughed, but his face dropped and I could hear the silence from the other end from all the way over here.
"What's wrong with her?"
I don't know why I could hear her, but I could. I don't want to even look at her. Its official. I quit.
I climbed out of the car on the side of the road and hurried behind a few trees so Theo couldn't see me. Concentrating the best that I could, I felt a small shiver run through my spine and hoped it meant that I was changed. I glanced down and found myself a few feet above ground. I was a blue jay.
I 'stumbled' a bit at first, but eventually I was flying off towards the road. I tried my best to follow the path Theo and I had taken to get here and went home. After what felt like only half an hour, I spotted our house. I searched for the bathroom window and prayed for it to be open. Nobody ever went in the guest bath and it was usually open to air out so it didn't get musty.
I landed on the bathroom counter and closed my eyes, changing back into myself. I silently cursed myself for having left my phone in Theo's car, but I was also glad because I'm not entirely sure what would have happened to it. I'm not even sure where my clothes go when I changed.
I sighed and listened for the sound of Alex's voice and, shockingly, found it.
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure she's fine. I'll call her right now." Her voice came from down the hall, more than likely our bedroom.
"Damn it, Adri. It'll be fine. I promise." She sighed and I figured he spotted my phone in the passenger seat.
"Okay, just come get me. I'll see you in twenty." Okay, so the flight had to of been no more than ten minutes.
"Adriette. I know you're here. You're not a quiet lander." Her voice was cold and within a moment, she was standing in front of me. Her eyes were stabbing daggers and I wasn't in the mood to even look at her.
Shoving past her, I barely made it a step into the hallway before her hand wrapped around my forearm. I froze, willing myself to ignore her to the best of my abilities.
"Think of something to tell Theo when he gets here about how you got home so quickly." She snapped and let go of me, walking in the opposite direction. I felt this weird feeling bubble up inside of me and I wasn't sure if I was going to cry or throw something.
I was laying on my bunk, trying to find anywhere to poke a hole in the story I had come up with when Theo burst into the bedroom.
"I'm sorry. I was going to go for a walk and I got lost. I realized I didn't have my phone on me and managed to walk out on the road a few minutes later. Someone stopped and asked if I needed a ride and I knew it was a bad idea but I accepted and had him drop me off about a block away so he didn't really know where I lived. I'm sorry." I gave him a sad smile as I landed on the floor and looked down, sadly. I heard him sigh and peaked up just as he threw his arms around me.
"I'm just glad you aren't hurt and you're safe. If you ever do that again, I'm going to strangle the crap out of you." He gave me a bright smile and I laughed, patting his back as he pulled away. Alex walked in then, giving me a look secretly.
I just nodded slightly when Theo turned to face her. I still felt uncomfortable in the same room as her so I mumbled a be right back and hurried out. Locking the door behind me, I hugged my knees to my chest and curled up in the shower. It obviously wasn't a first choice, but it would do.
I heard a knock at the door and ignored it, dropping my face down on my knees. I didn't want to deal with anyone and if it was Alex, I especially didn't want to deal with her.
The sound of a key in a lock made me jump and I barely managed to process that the door was opening before it was closed again and I was facing Alex. She shut the small window in the bathroom, preventing me from leaving and crossed her arms, facing me.
"Why are you avoiding me?" My jaw dropped and my eyes narrowed at this accusation. I'm avoiding her?
"Fuck you. You up and left when I was in the shower this morning and made no moves to text me or call me or even so much as leave a note so I wasn't fucking worried about you. So, fuck you, Alex. Fuck. You." I hissed, shoving past her to leave the bathroom. Her hand wrapped around my wrist before I even touched the door knob and she pulled me back.
"I needed time to think." She spoke quietly and the cold seeping from her voice gave me goosebumps.
"You needed time? Let me go." I hissed under my breath, not even bothering to fight her grip. I didn't have it in me anymore.
She didn't say anything and for a moment, I grew a bit uncomfortable at the silence, but within milliseconds, she turned and pressed her lips to mine in a sloppy, emotional kiss. I didn't respond at first, but my logic slipped and I was kissing her back, my arms wrapping around her neck. She pressed her palms to my hips holding me in place.
"I'm sorry I left." She said after pulling away. I took a deep, shaky breath and stared past her, my head laying on her shoulder. Her arms had encircled my body and she pressed a small kiss to my temple as one of her hands rubbed small circles on my lower back.
"It's alright. Kind of. I was just kind of shocked and hurt." I mumbled, hoping she could hear me. I felt her nod against my shoulder as she pulled me closer. Her hands went from open palm to fists in my back and she was holding me tightly, nuzzling her face against my neck.
We stood like that for a few moments and I felt my heart ache at this feeling of being held. She pulled away with a small smile and slipped her hand into mine.
"Can I be the little spoon?" I smiled at how adorable she could be and gave her a small nod. She pulled me out of the bathroom and down the hall to our room. We climbed into her bed and I wrapped my arms around her from behind, planting small kisses on her exposed shoulder and neck.
It was silent for a while and I figured she had fallen asleep. I glanced over her head to see the clock read 8:30. I wasn't sure how the day had passed so quickly, but it had and there wasn't much I could do about it.
As I was nodding off, I felt myself slipping into unconciousness just as Alex's voice, thick with sleep mumbled, "I'm not ready for a relationship."
What?
