บท 65: Yard Sale
"You're not even here anymore", Luke complained.
"But it's my stuff!", Haley exclaimed, anger visible on her displayed face, "Where's mom? Take me to mom. And move slow, I'm still drunk-ing my coffee", Haley quickly added as soon as she saw the approaching form of her mother. "Mom!", Haley yelled.
"What's the problem?", Claire inquired.
"Uh. Tell Luke not to sell my stuff", Haley said as though her mom was stupid.
"Honey, come on. Give it up", Claire tiredly said, "Even John Mayer doesn't have a John Mayer poster anymore".
"It's signed by him", Haley countered.
"It's time you knew", Claire muttered, her hands on her waist, "They come that way".
"But it's signed 'To Haley'", Haley dumbly remarked.
"In a different colour", Claire countered, "You're dad wrote that".
"Ew!", Haley gasped, "He wrote 'Your body is a wonderland'".
"I didn't catch that till after", Claire explained, walking away.
"Mom!", Alex shouted, attracting her mom's attention, "Is it okay if Zephyr comes over for the yard sale?".
"Well, honey, didn't you see him last night?", Claire asked, crossing her arms.
"So? Desiree's coming over, nothing's changing if Zephyr does as well", Alex questioned, "Why don't you like Zephyr coming over?".
[Commentary]
"It's not that I don't like him coming to our house per se", Claire began, "It's just that ... Zephyr and Alex tend to get carried away when they're by themselves in Alex's room. Last night, I accidentally caught them making out in her room and their hands ... were all over each other".
"Yes, when Zephyr and I are together by ourselves, we do tend to get carried away. But that's only because Zephyr is an insatiable guy", Alex explained, smiling as she continued, "I don't know why, but he gets better every time we make out. As a result, during our make-out sessions, there has been some ... under-the-shirt action. His chest is really hard and his abs look amazing".
"I'm really worried", Phil started, "I really like Zephyr. He's cool, smart, sporty and rich. An amazing guy really. But the thing is ... I don't like what I've seen recently. Whenever Alex and him are in the same room, they're basically all over together. They're always holding hands, they kiss each other, and it's not even on the cheek, and I've seen them ... make out. I understand that Alex and Zephyr are teenagers and that they're in a relationship, but I'm not comfortable with the PTSD I have from what I saw".
[Commentary ends]
"Heads up!", Phil exclaimed, "Coming through!".
"Wow! Thank God you're finally getting rid of that thing", Claire said in relief.
"What?", Phil questioned, "I'm not getting rid of this bad boy. I was going to meet you at your Dad's and get a little exercise along the way. What's your need with my streetrider?".
"I think it's nerdy and I speak Elvish", Alex remarked, "Zephyr saw it once and even he agrees with me and he's fluent in over 10 languages".
"It's not nerdy", Phil argued, "Luke. Back me up here".
"I hope you mean into the garage because I have friends on this street", Luke stated, not understanding how Phil believed his 'streetrider' was cool.
"Honey. I didn't think it was possible but you've somehow found something less cool than those pants that zip off into shorts", Claire remarked.
"My shants. Which you have been against since day 1", Phil countered, "Does it matter to any of you that this is a highly efficient cardiovascular workout machine that would likely prolong my life?".
"Mh", Claire nodded her head, "Yeah. But what kind of life? And with whom?", walking away once she was done after giving Phil's hand a small pat.
"Hmph", Phil muttered, riding away with his 'streetrider' despite the numerous looks he received from people on the sidewalk and people driving by.
[Time Skip]
"Hey", Desiree greeted everyone as she pulled into the yard.
Zephyr, who was unloading boxes full of stuff from the trunk of the car, briefly greeted everyone with a "Yo" before returning to his work. Once done, he turned around, looking at the large stack of boxes and just as he was about to pick one up, he felt someone hug him from behind.
"Hi!", Alex cheerily muttered, "How are you?".
"I'm good", Zephyr replied, a large smile plastered on his face, "What about you?".
"I've been so bored without you here", Alex answered.
"As much as I enjoy this, I have to put these in the yard", Zephyr stated, "I'll be with you in a few minutes. Is that okay?".
"Sure", Alex nodded her head. As Zephyr picked up one box, Alex picked up the one right next to it and said, "I'll help you. That way we can catch up at the same time".
As Alex and Zephyr began transporting the boxes onto Jay's lawn, Claire, who was watching them alongside Cam and Mitchell, sighed.
"What's wrong?", Mitchell asked, curious as to the cause of Claire's reaction.
"Nothing", Claire answered, not removing her eyes from the couple.
"Clearly there's something wrong if you're staring at them like that", Cam countered.
"Fine", Claire sighed, "A few days ago, I caught Zephyr and Alex making out in her room".
"That's normal", Mitchell muttered.
"Yeah", Cam nodded his head, "They're both in a relationship and have been for over a year so of course they're going to kiss and make out".
"It's not just that", Claire hissed.
"Then what is it?", Mitchell impatiently questioned.
"Right", Claire murmured, taking a moment to calm herself down, before whispering, "So they were making out and had their hands all over each other, even under each other shirts".
"That's to be expected", Cam remarked.
"They're both 15, well, Zephyr is. Alex turns 15 in a few weeks", Mitchell added, "So of course they're bound to take the next step in their relationship. Don't act like you were any better at their age? If anything, you were worse".
"This isn't about me", Claire argued, "This is about Zephyr and Alex and how they're not controlling themselves. I'm worried Alex is going to make a mistake and end up with a broken heart".
"Okay. One. Alex is a big girl now, you can't control her life anymore", Cam began, "Two. Alex has been at that stage where she's interested in boys and the risk of that includes having your heart broken. Three. Zephyr is a really nice boy. I've seen him and Alex together and the way they are, they're probably going to end up getting married, which, mind you, isn't a bad thing when you consider how well he's done despite being a 15-year-old. A 15-year-old Claire".
"Come on!", Claire exclaimed, "You can't seriously expect them to last that long". Instead of answering, Mitchell and Cam simultaneously raised their eyebrow, causing Claire to sigh, "I ... admit that there is a chance. But her self-esteem has gotten really high. I don't want it to go back down again".
"What you haven't realised, Claire, is that Zephyr's the one who's helped her", Mitchell ranted, "Why do you think she has more friends now? Zephyr. Why do you think she revises less? Zephyr again. Why do you think she's in the lacrosse team? Zephyr. Almost every good change that's happened to her so far is because of Zephyr, something you'd realise if you actually asked her instead of sneaking around and having a problem with the stage they've reached in their relationship". Realising that everyone's eyes were on him, Mitchell coughed into her hand, "Nothing to see here folks. Just continue with what you were doing".
After taking a few moments to think about it, Claire came to the conclusion that Mitchell had. Two years ago, even before she officially met Zephyr, Claire noticed some small changes in Alex which grew more pronounced and prominent the more and more time Alex spent with Zephyr. "Damn it!", Claire quietly cursed, "You're right".
"Exactly", Mitchell muttered, "So stop acting like a creep and if you have any concerns, tell them to Alex. You don't want to make the same mistake with Haley and appear unapproachable to the point that she tells you nothing".
Taking a deep breath, Claire nodded her head.
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