Chapter 31: So Quiet
!! HEAVILY UNEDITED !!
I went straight home after hanging out at the Pattersons and I thought a lot about what Cole said to me;
'Who Robin really is; is a story that none of us know how to tell,'
I can't stop thinking about what he really meant by that. Did he said that because he truly don't know how to put into words or did he said that just to scare me away?
If it were Freddy, I might've believed him but Cole? I am convinced that Cole knows exactly how I feel about Robin. About his sister. I don't think he would stoop so low to actually stop me from feeling this way for her.
I parked my motorcycle in the garage and went inside through the garage door but what I didn't realize was the very antique and familiar Harley Davidson parked outside of the front porch.
It can't be that, right?
When I finally processed everything and putting two in two, I hastily rushed inside and to say that I was taken aback with the mouth watering smell floating around the living room was an understatement of the century. Mary Anne won't be home until tomorrow morning and Ellen was still at Cali so-
"Think fast!" A voice suddenly yelled from behind me and before I could react or even do anything, a feeling of slight pain was evident on the back of my head and it felt kind of wet and...sticky? I slowly put my hand on my hair and when I pulled it back, it was smudged with yellow stuff.
In other words, egg yolk. This was not happening. Out of the items in the house that she could throw at me, she had to choose a freaking raw egg!
Feeling enraged, I quickly turned around with a scowl on my face only to meet a pair of glinting green eyes and a lazy grin on her god damn pretty face! If I didn't have a major crush on her, I would've so cussed at her right then.
"Robin Shucking Patterson!" I can't believe those words actually rolled off my tongue. Robin chuckled as she held her head back and put her hands on her waist, giving me an unimpressed look.
"The Maze Runner preferences? Really, Jake?" She teased as she slightly tilted her head to the side and casually leaned on the doorframe of the kitchen. A slight pink took over my cheeks and I awkwardly looked away from her alluring, teasing green eyes.
I muttered a silent 'shut up' at her and hoping that she wouldn't hear it but of course, Robin is anything but deaf. She heard me loud and clear by the way she was raising a warning eyebrow at me as if she was challenging me to say anything else. Which I didn't.
"Just what I thought," she said loudly and cockily as she could and I swear that sometimes, she reminds me of myself back when I was in my old school. Now, not so much of a Jerky/Cocky Jake. I'm that guy on occasional terms like when I feel the need to show off and rich brat stuff like that.
Robin turned around and walked back in the kitchen, returning to whatever she was doing before I got here. Which reminds me...
"What are you even doing here?" I asked her, sounded confused and intrigued at the same. Who wouldn't, right? I mean--my mom fired her on her first day at work here and Robin made it clear that she wouldn't want to come back here again. Ever.
So, technically, I have the right to know.
She looked up to me and she had this kind of offended look, I guess. Although, I highly doubt that Robin can even get offended. She is basically made out of the finest rocks.
"I work here, of course." She answered casually as if she has worked here longer than she could remember. I, at the other hand, was scrunching my nose in confusion.
"But, didn't my mom fired you on your first day here?" I asked her and yet again, being a total dick for not filtering anything. Of course, Robin didn't really care and hence, why I didn't think much of how she was going to react.
"Tut tut. It was me who quit. People don't fire me, Jake. Only I have the power to fire myself. So, yeah- I quit but let's just say that someone has finally come back to her senses and realized that she has foolishly let one of her finest worker go and then came crawling back to me. Begging for me to come back," she shamelessly exaggerated the real story.
Wow, I thought I was bad but what Robin told me that day is a whole new level of bad. And she hadn't finish yet.
"I, being the noble and kind person I am, gave her a second chance and kindly took her offer. Long story short, your mom begged me to come back and I agreed to whatever terms as long as I get paid," she concluded. For real this time. Well, half of it I guess.
"Huh," I breathed and looked the other way, taking in what she just said.
I thought for sure mom wasn't going to take her back of anything. I didn't even think she would have a thought of taking her back cause once she made a decision, she would stick to it until the end and no matter what others say, she won't change it.
"Hey," Robin called out and taking me out of my thoughts. I looked up to her and she was...smiling at me. I could've sworn for a second there, my heart's stopped beating. I watched her as she raised a frying pan and at the same time, a smell of sweet tomato sauce raised in the air.
"You hungry?" She asked with a knowing smile on her face. I tried to ignore the rumbling sounds in my stomach and focused on everything about her right now. She looked so different. She seemed...brighter?
* * * * *
"Oh, god," I moaned in goodness after taking the last slurp of the amazingly cooked spaghetti. Robin is a surprisingly good cook. Who would've thought, right?
"This is so good, Robin. How can you cook like this?" I asked her in pure amazement. Robin only chuckled at me in response. "I never thought I'd say this but-" I paused and that made her to look at me in question. I gave her a silly look instead.
"Your cooking is definitely better than Ellen," I said in satisfaction as I leaned back in my chair. Instead of expecting a decent 'thank you' from her, she cussed at me instead.
"What the hell are you talking about? And who the heck is Ellen?" Robin raised her voice at each word she said and her face almost turning red. I guess I was annoying her without me realizing it again.
Then, I remembered that I never really told her my side of story. I never shared about anything from my past when I was in California. I didn't even tell her about any of my friends. To think that she succeed at sharing something with me while I never said a single word to her, made me felt like I was the one who was being secretive.
I looked up to her and she was looking at me expectantly. And I quickly shook off the tight look on my face and replaced it with a guilty smile.
"Right, I never really tell you anything did I?" I asked her guiltily and she was silent for a mere second. When she nodded, that made my heart dropped cause that just proves that Robin wasn't the only one who likes to keep things to themselves.
"Well, uh- Ellen was our maid back in California." I said and slightly feeling embarrassed now that I said 'I have a maid' loudly. It felt...weird. Robin nodded her head in understatement and didn't say anything next. Instead, she stood up and picked her plate up.
"Are you done?" She asked as she pointed at my sauce free plate. I watched her weirdly and nodded my head. She smiled at me and picked up my plate, went to sink and casually washed the plates. She was working. Like she said earlier.
She wasn't here to hear me blabber about my lame pasts. She was here to work and to work only. I glanced at her and watched her as she swiftly did her jobs as if she had done it a million times. She was acting like I wasn't here.
"Hey, you okay, Robin?" I blurted out, breaking the silence that was starting to take over between us. She looked up to me with a blank expression."Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" She smiled at me and left me alone in the kitchen as she went to living room. Soon later, I heard the vacuum being turned on. I assumed that she was cleaning the house for who knows how many times.
I sat there by myself, wondering what made Robin so quiet tonight. And she smiled at lot tonight too. Robin doesn't smile that much when she's around me. And tonight was a little bit too much than usual.I was about to leave but that was when the home phone rang. "Hello?" I breathe out.
"Jake? Is that you?" I heard Ellen asked and before I could answer her, she shot me with questions after questions.
"Are you okay? Are eating properly? Are you in depression? Have you stopped going to school? How bout-"
"Ellen! Calm down. What's going on? Why are you nagging?" I asked her, feeling slightly worried for her right now. I heard her breathed in deeply and sighed before answering me.
"Well, your mother called me a few days ago and she told me that you've changed. She told me that you treated her differently ever since she fired that Robin girl. You've been indifferent towards them ever since. Are you okay, sweetie?" She asked softly.
Did mom take Robin back because of me? Is that why Robin treated me so nicely tonight?
"Jake?" Ellen called me and taking me out of my trance. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Um, I'll call you back okay, Ellen? I gotta do something," I said and after hearing her said 'okay', I ended the line.
I looked up and I found myself staring straight into Robin's green eyes. She was watching me this whole time. Did she know the real reason why Mary Anne took her back? Maybe she knew and pretended not to know.
I could never tell when it comes to her. She's just so hard to read and that what makes me want to know her more.
The problem was; she didn't want to know anything about me.
* * * * *
This was a crappy chapter. Not gonna lie but I'll make it up with the next chapter. Gonna make it more whacky and stuff!
Don't forget to vote guys and check out my new book; Our Wedding while you're at it.
~ h