บท 29: Chapter 27
I didn't blink,but he did.. countless times. Repeatedly until I feared his vision would turn blurry. But if it did then I doubted he'd mind, that would prevent him from having to see me. And he never wanted to SEE me. Not in the normal visual sense but rather in the other way. If he ever did let himself think of things like that he was definitely going to freak out and start worrying over nothing. Kyle was the type of person that hated being confused, he didn't like not understanding things.
" Jacob and Trey are best friends,right?" he suddenly asked. At first glance one would assume he was looking at me, but his eyes were as usual, fixated on the space between my eyes. I frowned at his question, wondering what it had to do with anything and why he had brought it up.
" Yeah,I think they are. They're always together, " I replied. Jacob and Trey were our classmates. They had always been close..ever since Trey joined our class four years back. But I barely talked to either of them...neither did Kyle. He was MY best friend. He was only allowed to be close to me because I also never tried to be close to the other kids. I didn't really like most of them that much. Some talked too much, others were always bragging about things and the others just liked to play around too much. I played around as well, but again, only with Stevens.
He couldn't have any other friends apart from me!
" Do you think they play around the way we do?" Stevens asked. I chuckled and asked him what he meant.
I knew, but I just wanted him to say it out loud. It was a way to indirectly get him even more uncomfortable.
" For example, this, " he gestured to the two of us. Meaning the position we were in. I was still lying on top of him, he felt rigid beneath me. And he was trying his best not to move around too much.
Sometimes I wanted to say certain things to make him nervous. Some jokes that would definitely make him feel weird whenever he was around me. But then I remembered that we were kids and it probably wouldn't be normal for me to say such things. I always blamed it on the types of TV shows I watched, but thanks to them, I now knew things that would probably be of use later on.
" I'm sure they don't," I calmly replied. It wasn't the answer he expected. He raised a brow,and I crossed my arms on his chest, then I asked him to calm down because he looked too tense.
" What do I keep telling you? It only feels weird because you're thinking too much. Do what I do, "
" Which is?"
" Stop caring, " I said with a shrug. Then I sighed and ruffled his hair. I still wasn't sure whether he just liked growing it out or he didn't really care about it. For an eleven year old, he had too much and too long hair. If he were my brother, my mom would have taken him to the barbershop in the blink of an eye. But I was extremely glad he wasn't my brother. Actually, I didn't even want to think of him that way. It felt even more awkward.
" Turquoise, " I stated for probably the hundredth time. I waited for him to start challenging me, to refuse the simple fact and come up with his own thoughts about something I was more aware of. I was the one that got to look into those eyes every single day. Even during the weekend, I couldn't go through those two days without seeing him at all. And so we always met up. Last Sunday my dad had taken us to the mall. That definitely topped on my most memorable days.
He took in a deep breath.
The nervousness was all gone, this was just Stevens. Normal, carefree, ' whatever mood ' Stevens.
" Turquoise, " he said.
He had finally, after three years, agreed with me. I smiled, then I glanced around that room before I settled my gaze on him once more. And before he could do or say anything,I tickled him. His laughter, his begs for mercy...those little things always refused to leave my mind. I loved the tiny details about him. To me they were like the puzzles he loved, I always tried to put them together so that I could better understand him and how he thought.
After he had begged enough, I let him be. Then I git off him and quickly offered him the sandwich before he thought about getting his revenge. He glared at me, but I just thought he looked even cured whenever he was angry. But he eventually took the sandwich and took a bite, pausing to wipe some tears from his face. An unfortunate result of all the tickling. He had to be the most ticklish person I had ever met. He shuddered even when I lightly placed my hand on his neck. He denied it though, whenever I told him he'd just say that he had super sensitive skin. That that was the reason why he couldn't even stay out in the sun for too long.
But those two things were completely unrelated. He was ticklish because he was Stevens...and because I was always the one touching him.
We went back to the puzzle. He seemed more energetic this time. He was fast at such things. But he had been right about that one being tough. There were just so many pieces, we had never tried to assemble one with so many pieces before. We must have been at it for over an hour because when he glanced at the wall clock he gasped.
" It's already seven, " he stated.
I turned around and confirmed it for myself. His mom was really late.
" Maybe she's still at work, " I assured him because I didn't want him to start worrying. He was too good. If my mom had been like his I wouldn't have ever been nice to her. would have asked her to let me be and not to ever bother about me because I didn't need her.
I would never admit this to Stevens but I didn't like his mom. She was like one of those grown ups who always made all kids feel scared just by looking at them.
" Yeah, sure you're right, "
He didn't believe me, I could tell it from his tone, but he still smiled and refocused on the puzzle. I was already tired of it, so I stood up and stretched. I had been seated in that position for too long. My feet were completely numb.
I walked over to my bed and sat down. Not long later, my mom came over to check on us.
" Kyle honey, did your mom say she was going to pick you up later than usual?" she asked Kyle. Walking over to him and bending to pick up the dishes we had used. Kyle shook his head.
" Oh, okay. Let's just wait a while longer, if she isn't here in the next thirty minutes I'll give her a call. Okay?"
" Okay. "
My mom gave him the warmest hug before she pointed to the corner where I had placed all my toys and asked me to pick all of them up before she got back. She didn't even wait for me to respond because she knew me too well. I was just going to whine and complain about it.
Kyle also got tired of the puzzle. He stood and after stretching the same way I had, he walked over to where my toys were and started to organize them on my behalf. I felt completely horrible all of a sudden and so I stood and went over to help him. He had been the one to clean up my washroom, and he had also helped me to arrange and clean my room just two days before. I knew he couldn't stand it whenever things were untidy, but I didn't want him to feel like I was using him somehow.
" So now you wanna do it?" he teased when I appeared next to him. I raised my hand and threatened to tickle him again. That got him to shut up.
We cleaned everything up. It took a while because whenever either of us picked up a toy we loved, we would pause to play with it. Stevens always said I had way too many toys, but I didn't think they were that many.
I still wanted more. I had given him a lot of the ones he had seemed to love the most, and I was still taking notes. I'd he showed that he admired a certain toy a lot, I always gave it to him. He had refused the first time but I was persistent and always refused to take no for an answer.
After we were done neatly organizing the toys, we wondered what to do.
He kept glancing at the wall clock. It was already eight by then. I didn't like the look of disappointment in his face. I also didn't like knowing that most of the time he wore that look, his mom was the cause.
" I have more of those comic books you like, you wanna read them?" I asked in an attempt to cheer him up. But all he did was sigh defeatedly and shake his head.
" What about a video game?"
He shook his head, and I was about to suggest something else when he spoke and made his own suggestion.
" Can we go to the backyard?"
It was late. Usually my mom would never have allowed me to go out there at such an hour. But I was with Stevens, and when I had told her he was the one that wanted to go there, she had accepted.
" Zip up your jacket first, " she instructed and I did as asked. She was in the kitchen, making dinner. But before Kyle and I left, she took her phone and asked us to wait a moment.
" Let's call your mom and see what time she'll get here, " she said as she dialed the number. Then she placed it on her ear and waited. No one picked up. I glanced at Kyle and found him watching my mom with hopeful eyes. She must have seen that look because she decided to call again. This time, someone did pick up.
" Umm, hello..could I talk to Jennifer please?" I frowned, it was Kyle's mom's number, why would she ask to speak to Kyle's mom if that was her number.
" Jennifer! You know, the owner of the phone. " My mom was also frowning.
" Where is she then?" She asked, and I watched as she raised her brows and then she stood up straight and cleared her throat. She looked uncomfortable. Like she had just heard something that she shouldn't have.
" Yeah, okay. Well just tell her that I called, and she shouldn't worry about Kyle. He'll stay over here for tonight..." She turned to Kyle with one of those fake smiles adults wore just so they could convince their kids that everything was okay when in truth it wasn't.
" Well, change of plans Kyle. Your mom's had to take care of some urgent business so you'll be staying over. Sleepover, Yaaay!"
She tried to sound enthusiastic but it was all just fake. Kyle asked where his mom was and after some.seconds which I'm sure my mom used to decide whether or not to lie, she told him that his mom was out of town for a bit. But she was going to get him the following day so there was no reason to worry.
" You're lying, " he whispered. But my mom heard it and I could tell the words affected her. She blew out a breath and cautiously walked over to Kyle, then she went down on her haunches Infront of him and held him by both shoulders.
Kyle seemed hurt.
I wanted to go over to him and hug him, anything that would make him feel better.
" Why doesn't she love me?" Kyle suddenly asked. He must not have intended to ask it out loud because he apologized immediately after. My mom seemed even more hurt.
" Don't say that honey, of course your mom loves you. How could she not love such a sweet child?"
Kyle shook his head. Then he said he was certain she didn't. That he had always known she didn't live him so it wasn't that big a deal.
I didn't like listening to him say such things.
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