My Shades of Gray

Shade 3 ~ Housemates

I had a nightmare that night, but it wasn’t as drastic as I usually had. Besides, when I woke up, it was already morning. I walked out of my room towards the bathroom, but Caroline was inside.

“It’s alright. I’ll wait.” I said and went back to my room.

I searched for an outfit to wear. Since I couldn’t see the colors anymore, I order my clothes online by reading their descriptions and labeling the color names on them. I took a pair of shorts with a dark blue label and a sleeveless babydoll top.

I’m used to seeing these gray shades and I’ve made different sorts of approaches to play with the color with the help of Google.

“I’m out!” I heard Caroline’s voice and went to the bathroom.

After taking a quick shower, I changed into my outfit and dried my dirty blonde hair. Then I applied a moisturizer on my face, a light pink shade of lipstick, and mascara on my eyelashes. I’ve brown eyes and a normal white skin texture.

I can also tell the difference between people’s hair and eye color. If they’re lighter shades of gray, they are usually blonde and the darker shades are brunette. I couldn’t pinpoint the exact color, but this was enough for me to imagine someone with color.

My mind went to my housemates.

Caroline, Colton, and Rachel have lighter gray shades, so my guess is they are blondes.

Scarlett has darker means a brunette and Rio had a combination of light and dark shades. I guessed he might have colored his hair.

As for Hunter, his hair seemed jet-black to me.

When my hair dried, I wrapped them in a ponytail and went downstairs to see Colton and Caroline cooking in the kitchen.

“Morning.” They smiled at me.

“How was your first night?” Colton waggled his brows, making Caroline smack his head. “Ouch! That hurts Callie.”

“He means how did you sleep?” Caroline ignored his glares.

“Like a baby,” I mumbled and took a seat. “I wanted to ask about the rent. When do you want me to pay?”

“You can pay it at the end of the month.” She shrugged. “No rush.”

No one asked me what Caroline set our rent and their casual behavior towards it only made me feel they didn’t need it. I was curious why was Caroline so eager to have a housemate. But I didn’t ask her because it would be intruding, which I wouldn’t like if it was me.

I heard a door open and looked to my left to see Hunter coming out of a door in the narrow hallway. I didn’t notice this before and it wasn’t his room. My eyes darted over his sweaty sleeveless shirt and boxers. He cast me a glance before entering the common bathroom on the ground floor, which was next to the stairs.

“Your friends don’t like me,” I mumbled, turning towards Caroline.

“I like you,” Colton spoke up, but we ignored him.

“Don’t worry about them.” She shook the spatula and then flipped the egg. “They are just not used to being open to strangers.”

“Can I ask you something?” She nodded her head. “How did you all meet?”

“We’re all high school friends.” She said and my brows shot up.

“Really?”

“Hunter and I are best friends, and we used to live next door,” Colton said as he spread the jam on the bread. “We met the rest in high school, except for Scarlett. She began dating Rio in college freshmen year.”