Where Do We Go from Here?

xix.

"Theo! Someone's at the door!" I shout as I cover my phone. "He kills me sometimes," I say to the other line.

I hear a chuckle. "You make me feel grateful for being an only child," Garith says, his voice, lazy and low.

I lay on my bed with my head and my feet hanging on its sides. "It's cool but sometimes I feel like he googles 100 ways to annoy your sister, you know?"

He laughs and I hear a few set of knocks again. I roll my eyes. "Uhm hey, I think I have to get this one. Talk to you later?" I say.

"Oh sure sure. But uhm.." he trails off.

"What is it?" I ask with my toes curled stiff.

"I was wondering if you could watch our game this Friday?"

Being aware he doesn't see me, I bite my lip to stop myself from blurting any embarrassing replies. "Yeah, I don't have anything on Friday so that's cool,' I say without even checking my schedule.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Cause for some reason it's scheduled the same time and date for the basketball varsity's game as well," he explains and even if objectively, I know that doesn't change anything. My gut says otherwise. "I know you're really close with Jean and his crew so like if they invited you first-"

"No, it's cool. I'll go to your game," I cut him off and I hear a sigh of relief on the other line making me smile.

I hear a couple of steps on our hallway leading to Theo and I's bedroom. "Theo?" A voice calls. It's low and almost inaudible but my heart skips because it isn't my brother's.

"H-hey, uhm, I really gotta go. Talk to you later," I say and hung up without waiting for Garith's reply.

Before I can pull myself up out of my bed, I see a figure emerge on my doorway.

"Oh, sorry," he says in surprise and I bolt right up, sitting on my bed.

"What the hell?" I shout eyeing him from head to toe. He has his white oversized shirt over his jersey. A sizable font showing the number 88 on the lower right of his shorts.

"Dude, I've been knocking and shouting," Rocky exclaims.

"No, you weren't!"

"Yeah, I was and your door's open by the way," he says.

I jump out of bed, close my bedroom door, walk past him and go straight to our main door.

The door is ajar and I look at him, still in front of my room.

"I told you so," he says.

I turn the knob to lock it and head straight to Theo's door.

I knock twice. "Theo!"

I do another set of knocks. "Theo?"

No answer.

When Theo was sixteen, he made me promise never to go to his room without permission but something feels wrong so I slowly turn the knob and open it expecting the worst thing I can find.

I let out a sigh scanning the cleanest and dullest room.

"What were you expecting? A dead body?" Rocky jokes.

"Ha ha funny, San Jose," I remark with only half my mind on him.

Theo's bed is unmade.

He doesn't go out without tidying up.