A Simple Life: Chapter 33 (Patreon)

It is not long before my feelings sink even lower.  Around the front of the house I can hear Kayla looking for me.

“Avery?”

“He ran around back.”  Says one of the neighbors I’d startled.  “Dude was freaking out.”

Hunkering down deeper I peek around through the lush, leafy branches of the shrub and see Kayla run about ten yards out before stopping and scanning the open parkland.  My heart sinks further as I see Winona walk swiftly out to join her.  The greatest mercy I could have received right now was if the Earth had opened up there and then and swallowed me whole.  Oh how I wished they’d just go away.

“Where is he?”

“I don’t know.”  Kayla says.

“What was that about?”

“I don’t know.”  Kayla’s shoulders slump.  “He’s always been…different.”  Bringing her hands to her mouth she calls out.  “AVERY!”

“He couldn’t have gone far.”  Winona looks around and, like I had moments ago, her eyes soon catch sight of the only hiding spot in the area.  Studying the bush closely she turns and starts walking my way.  OH NO!  I shift deeper behind the cover though I knew it was hopeless and cover my weak, crying face again.  “Here you are.”

“He’s in my bush?”

“Kay, shush now.”

I cannot see but I hear a rustle get closer.  Lowering my hands I look up to see Winona pushing through between the shrub and the wall.  I stay frozen, unsure of what to do.  Being found like this I couldn’t exactly stand up and try to act this was normal or shrug it off.  And at the moment I had nowhere else to run.

Winona plucks one of the violet hydrangea blooms and commences to sit down right there beside me.  Right in the dark soil!

“N-N-No.”  I whisper.  “Your d-d-dress.”

Without a care she settles her ass in the dirt and rests her back against the side of the house, her legs crossed beneath her skirt.

“Is he okay?”  Kayla asks.

“Give us a couple of minutes Kay.”

“But…”

“Give us a couple of minutes.”  She says again more firmly.

“Yeah, sure Winnie.”

Holding the little spray of flowers by the stem she slowly twirls it between her finger and thumb.  I remain crouched and balled up waiting for her to say something.  But she doesn’t.  She simply sits and waits and watches the blossoms spin forward then back, which makes it incredibly awkward for me.  It was tough to hide and be alone when there was somebody sitting there with you.  Watching her nonchalantly watch the flowers and seeing that she wasn’t overtly angry or upset I gradually, bit by bit, relax from my shell.

Summoning my courage I sniffle and stutter in a raspy voice.  “I-I-I’m s-s-sorry.  I-I-I c-can w-w-walk home.”

“If you want.”  She says, her voice low and calm.  After a moment’s pause she says.  “It’s pretty cool we found a group so easy.”

“Wh-what?”

“The FoF group.”  She says.  “Usually it’s a pain in the ass getting an in person game together.  We’re lucky.”

“L-Lucky?”

“They might not all stick with it but hey, it gets us started.”

Bringing the flowers close she sniffs them and smiles, then offers it to me.  Unsure of what else to do I accept the bloom, holding it by the stem in both hands.  I was so confused.  She was talking like nothing happened.

“I wonder what class they’ll each play.”  She says as she looks around the back of the plant and begins flicking at one of the leaves nearby.  “Cain will be a warrior of some sort I’m pretty sure.  I get the sense that Briar will take one of the more advanced options.  I suspect she knows the rules even better than I do.”  She laughs.  “And Kayla and Riley, who knows!  This is going to be interesting.  I hope I’m ready for these weirdos.”

I look from the flower, to her, back to the flower, and back to her again as I grappled with what was happening here.  Why was she acting like this?

“Y-Y-You d-d-don’t-t-t…”

Reaching over she pats my chest.  “Breathe Sprout.  It’s okay.”  As I gasp and gulp breaths of air she says again.  “It’s okay.”

I swallow hard and try again.  “You d-don’t have to p-p-pretend to l-l-like me.”

“You’re right.”  She says right back.  “I don’t.”

“Wh-Why are you h-here?”

“We’re on a date, remember?”  She says, then looks around.  “Never had a date in a bush before.  It’s original, I’ll give you that.”

Despite myself I laugh.  “M-Maybe next time it’ll be a t-tree.”

“Hey!  We’re moving up in the world.”

I giggle-cry at the quip but then sigh sadly.  “If…there is a n-next time.”

She glances at me.  “We’ll have to see how this one turns out.  I’m having a pretty good time so far.”

Good time?  We were sitting in the dirt wedged between a wall and shrubbery.  She had a pretty funny idea of what was a good time.  She had pretty funny ideas about a lot of things, choice of men chief among them.

“I’m s-sorry I’m like this.  I’m s-sorry I r-ruined…”

“Stop.”  She says.  “No apologies.”

I take long, deep breath.  The shame and anxiety that had me tied in knots just minutes ago getting more slack for ever second Winona sat with me.

“Didn’t like the movie?”  She gently probes.  “Hit a nerve?”

“It was…it was wonderful.”  I whisper.  Settling down I sit beside her in the dirt, hip to hip, clutching my flower to my chest.  As natural as anything she slips an arm around me and lightly grips my opposite shoulder.  “It was absolutely wonderful.  It was…the b-best thing…I-I’ve ever seen.”

Leaning her head down and around to look me in the eyes she says.  “It’s okay to cry Avery.  Everyone tears up at a good movie.  Everyone with a heart at least.”

“Everyone?”

“Everyone.”  She says.  “You should see my Dad at the end of Turner and Hooch.  I’m talkin open fire hydrants.”

“Your Dad!?”  That big, tough mechanic Amos cried at movies?

“Oh yeah.  It’s his soft spot.  He can’t stand seeing animals suffer.”  She says.  “Gets him every time.”  Her hand rubs across to my neck and down my back.  “It wasn’t just the movie though.  Was it?”

I shake my head no.

“Did you want to talk about it?”

I think about it.  I think about it hard.  While I knew I had to keep Grandpa’s secret, even I wasn’t supposed to know about it yet, I also knew that eventually I would have to share that heavy burden with somebody.  Somebody that I trusted to hold it close.  But not yet.  I don’t think I could have even said the words aloud without completely falling to pieces again.  The pain was still too fresh, the wound too deep.  I shake my head again.

“Okay.”  She says softly.  Taking in a big breath through her nose she lets it out through her mouth and rests her head back to look up at the darkening sky.  “It’s a nice night.”

“Yeah.”  I lay my head back as well and look up with her to see the first star of the night twinkling high above.  “Winona?”

“Yeah Sprout?”

“Why are you so nice?”

She sighs and shifts closer.  “I dunno.  Might be your pretty smile, might be dat phat ass, whose to say?”

“What!?”  I giggle.

“I’m kidding.”  She chuckles and bumps her side into me.  “You’re easy to be nice to Sprout.  I…I think you’re worth it.”

“Oh!”

“Yeah.”

We fall silent and sit in the floral aroma of hydrangea watching the sky darken to reveal a few more celestial bodies.  For a time she rests her cheek on my head and I rest mine on her shoulder.  Looking back down at the violet colored flowers I still held I say.  “Kayla’s gonna worry.  Should we go back in?”

“We could stay here if you want.”  She sits up again, then confides.  “Between you and me, I don’t trust that Babe one bit.”

“He’s okay.”

“If you say so.”  She replies, unconvinced.

“We should go in.”  I let out a huff and sit up straighter as I gather myself.  “Man, this is going to be so embarrassing.  Everyone’s going to think I’m so weird.”

“And they’d be right.”  She pinches my chin and gives it a little shake.  “Weird is good.”

“Weird is good.”

I look up at her.  She looks down at me.  Our eyes meet.  Our souls touch.  And for one shared beat of our hearts…time stands still.

The next thing I knew I was being kissed.