Poison

[ 10 ]

hi guys this chapter is severely unedited so beware but yeah here you go. enjoy. in the meantime while u wait for another update after u quickly finish this one, go check out my other book, 'the pursuit of felicity' (which will be updated probably wednesday) so yeah :)

I stop by the coffee shop on Monday and Maya eagerly invites me to hang out after her shift. I happily agree and ask if 5 will work and she tells me that anytime before 7 will do. So why is it that I'm standing in the middle of her living room but she's nowhere to be seen? I even peek my head in her room, which is dark. The kitchen is also empty, as well as the bathroom. The only room I haven't checked is Asa's.

I stare at the closed door, wondering what it's like in his room. He's a very neat person, I know that. Would it be weird if I looked in? I wouldn't walk inside- just open the door a crack and look around. He wouldn't notice, right? I slowly approach the door, feeling my heart hammering in my chest. What if he walks in while I'm checking?

Suddenly, his door swings open and I'm left standing a foot away with a dumbfounded expression on my face. He gazes back at me, only slightly alarmed at my presence. I move to the side and let him pass me. When he does, I take note of his casual apparel. He must've been changing out of his work attire. "Maya's at work. They called her in early," he informs me.

"Ugh," I grunt as I drop onto the couch. My heart has yet to recover from him appearing from the unknown depths of his room. He hovers beside the recliner, awkwardly glancing at me every couple of seconds. I can tell he wants to say something.

"I'm about to go grocery shopping," he responds, which is his way of telling me to leave. Slightly surprised at how kind of a dismissal that was, I pull myself up to go when he speaks again. "Do you want to come?"

I peer at him in slight confusion. "Seriously?" I ask after a three second gap of us just exchanging glances with each other.

"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't serious," he replies as he starts in the direction of the front door.

"Okay," I say and slowly, I follow behind him.

"Come on," he insists. He leads the way out of the apartment, only this time, he turns and uses the key I marked to lock the door.

"You guys have started locking it?" I wonder aloud as he drops the key ring back into his pockets.

"No," he replies in short. I don't bother waiting for further explanation, knowing he won't say more than asked.

"You're welcome, you know, for marking your key," I respond as I tuck my hands in my sweater pockets.

"So the red heart was you?" he replies as he walks towards the staircase. I decide to join him on the journey and he seems a little startled. He holds the door open for me and we descend down the steps together. I can tell he's going slower to match the pace of my short legs.

"Yeah, I did it when your vision was impaired," I respond.

"Interesting," he mumbles thoughtfully. We eventually reach the lobby, where we exit the building and approach the parking lot. I get into the passenger's seat of his car and lean over to put my bag in the backseat. He waits until I'm buckled in to exit the spot, which surprises me. I half-expected him to floor it while I was in limbo between the front and back seat so that he could break hard and I'd fly through the windshield. I hesitantly turn on the radio and he doesn't say anything, which only startles me further. Remembering his comment about my singing, I stick to humming along.

We quickly reach Food Mart but one of my favorite songs comes on just as we pull into the parking space. "I love this song!" I announce as the familiar tune fills the spacious car. I hope he's the kind of person that'll sit and wait for it to finish before getting out, even if it's just us sitting in awkward silence while using our phones.