Love In The Mall

𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒔.

I ring the doorbell and bounce foot-to-foot. An older version of Simone answers the door. "Hi, I'm Thomas."

"Hi Thomas," she says looking at me oddly. 

"I'm here to see Simone. I told her I'll pick her up today."

"Here come on in," she holds the door open for me. I walk inside the house and look around. "Simone is actually sleeping. You can stay for breakfast until she walks up."

Simone's mom guides me to their kitchen. I see an older man. He looks at me wearily. "Are you the boy that my daughter ran off to with last night?"

I start to get nervous. I stutter. "Uh. Yes?"

"Were you not sure if you were with her last night?" He interrogates me. "Were you with more than one girl?"

"No," I say quickly. I clear my throat. "Yes, I was with your daughter last night. No, I was not with more than one girl."

"Honey, please leave the poor boy alone. He's shaking," Simone's mom says. "Plus, he got her home at a reasonable time."

"She shouldn't have left in the first place," Simone's dad says madly. "But, I suppose he did get her here at a good time, considering the circumstances." 

I stay quiet as they bicker. I glance around the house, hoping to see an baby pictures of Simone. 

"Thomas, do you maybe want to go up to Simone's room and wake her up?" Simone's mom says. 

I nod my head. "No, he will not go to Simone's room," Simone's dad says.

I freeze. Simone's mom looks at me and mouths, "Go."

I hesitate but go up the stairs. I find the door that says Simone. I gently knock but don't hear a reply, so I go into her room. I see her wrapped in a blanket. I walk over to her and gently shake her body. "Good morning, sleepyhead."

Simone groans and snuggles deeper into her pillow. I start to laugh and shake her again. She refuses again, keeping her eyes shut tightly. But, she raises her hand in the air, signaling she wants to cuddle. I hug her. Her strength takes me as a surprise as she pulls me into her bed. 

She continues to hold me tightly. "Come on, Darling," I say. "I have a surprise for you. Don't you want to see it."

Simone's eyes open slowly. She quickly bolts out of bed and runs to her bathroom. She quickly gets ready. Once she is done, she comes out of the bathroom. Simone skips towards the bed where I am lying down. 

She put her hands on my shoulders and quickly pecks my lips. I'm taken by surprise. When she pulls away, her cheeks turn red. I grab her and pull her onto the bed, and give her one long, sweet kiss. Once I pull away, I tell Simone that we have to go. As soon as we are downstairs, she greets her parents and telling her that we are leaving. 

As she puts her shoes on, I notice her outfit. She's wearing my hoodie that I gave her a while ago.