For What It's Worth

Chapter Thirteen : Sweet Suffocation

S W E E T S U F F O C A T I O N

Isabelle

I cannot believe what has just happened. The last twenty-four hours have been a whirlwind, an emotional rollercoaster. It all feels so surreal and confusing.

I knock for the second time on the door to Violet and Eva's apartment, hoping that they're in. Eventually, I hear shuffling of feet and Violet's loud voice questioning Eva if she ordered anything.

"Oh." Her voice is muffled through the door as she looks through the peep hole. The door is thrown open and I receive a welcoming grin from Violet. Eva is close behind her, coming to check out who was at the door.

"He kissed me!" I start off.

The both of them squeal with excitement, clinging onto me and hauling me inside their apartment to jump around. I can't help but laugh along with them. The noise fades out and I brush my hair off the front of my face, realizing what this means.

"Oh my god. I let him kiss me." I complain, crushing my face up in the palms of my hands. "Ugh."

We all sit around the island in their small cozy kitchen. It's cluttered with little random decorations and succulent plants. Eva makes us all a cup of coffee and I launch into the story of what happened earlier on.

"...And then he said he has these feelings but because he's never experienced them before he doesn't know how to handle it." I explain, recalling his lines over in my head. "And then he kissed me."

"Is he a good kisser?" Eva asks, sipping from her coffee.

"Yes." The answer is aggravating. "He is. But it wasn't a long kiss. A few seconds at most."

"Tongue?" Violet pushes.

"A little." They both grin widely at me, seeming to be more excited to hear the story than I am to tell it. "But this isn't good. We just fought and now he's kissed me? That kind of gets him off of the hook because I feel good about it. Things are even more complicated than they were before."

"They don't have to be. I mean, it would help if he wasn't just a stupid boy, scared about his feelings." Violet jokes. She's not wrong.

"Yeah. You can say that again?" We all trail off, leaving us in a long silence that's only interrupted by Violet slurping on her coffee.

"Wait, so tell me about the kiss again." Eva says, making me laugh.

**

I lay on my front on the couch, underneath the covers they've given me. Eva kindly set up a bed for me again so I can comfortably stay the night. I really am lucky to have friends like them. The room is lit with a glowing purple light that sets a soft, cozy haze over the room. They had candles on, the sweet aroma still lingering throughout the apartment.

Eva and Violet went to bed about an hour ago, their distant laughter making me smile every time I hear it. Eventually, it all went quiet so I was left alone with my thoughts. I keep thinking everything through in my head, trying to make sense of it all.

My thumb hovers over the call button, debating whether or not to call him. I bring my phone up to my ear, listening to it ring, waiting for an answer.

"Hi." I speak softly when I hear a crackle.

"Hey, is everything okay? How are you?" He asks, immediately.

"Yeah, good. You?" It feels awkward already. Are we actually going to do all this small talk when we kissed just a few hours ago?