Just Friends

7

⊱𝙻𝚎𝚟𝚒⊰

Mom gets through five more chapters before she pauses and sets her book down on her lap.

She frowns as she tells me she's feeling drowsy and is ready for bed. I have a hard time believing her since, apparently, she usually stays up pretty late.

I think she's just tired of reading out loud to us.

Tessa lifts her head off my shoulder. "Me too." She admits on a hum. Mom nods at that and begins getting up from her seat. "Thank you for reading to us." Tessa smiles up at her.

Mom glances at her as a silent acknowledgement. "You never sit still." She looks back to me. Until now, she means. I never sit still until now.

It's a difficult task, not sitting still while Tessa is curled up on my side nonchalantly. She still has her knees to her chest and has only leaned further into me since when we first sat down.

I almost don't want Mom to go to bed just yet. I want her to continue reading through her heavy eyes for the sole purpose of keeping Tessa under my arm for a little longer.

Instead of asking her to sit back down and read, I hold my hand out to accept the book from her. "Good night, Mom." I softly smile.

Mom nods at me. "Good night." She simply replies. Then turns towards the door.

Tessa sighs and begins climbing off of me. "I think my ass is asleep." She casually declares.

I laugh, unable to help it. Tessa smiles at me when I do. "And I'm the weird one." I murmur, beginning to get up too.

"You are." Tessa agrees, smiling wider. "You count the seconds that go by and you put your lists in alphabetical order." She points out.

"That's just being organized." I dismiss, turning away from her to walk towards the bookshelf so I can put The Giver away.

"No, it's being weird." Tessa insists, laughing to herself while she follows me out of the room. She hurries up to walk in step with me the moment I walk out of the doorway.

"Whatever." I wave a hand at her absently. "You're weird too."

"I never said I wasn't." Tessa smugly hums, leaning in closer to me while we pass the stairs. I'm beginning my rounds. "I'm just not weirder than you." She declares.

"Debatable."

"Is it?" She raises a brow.

"It is." I pause at a window to check the lock. It's locked, so I continue on. Tessa's right beside me still, watching me. "Because you say whatever the hell pops into your mind without filtering it out. That's weird."

"Is not." Tessa gasps, offended.

"It is." I start to laugh, amused she thinks it isn't. "Nobody just says things."

"Your mom does." She quickly takes her chance to argue.

"Yeah, and my mom's weird." I scrunch my nose and stop at another window, pushing it down to shut and lock it.

"That's rude."

"It's not." I smile at her and shake my head. "Even my mom would agree. She's kind of weird." I shrug it off.