REDAMANCY ➳ Eric Matthews

Thirteen

"Poetry is art." Mr. Turner told the class, letting his finger linger above the board. "Your poems will be given in on Halloween day." 

Adora could feel Eric's strong gaze on the side of her head. It was burning and full of interest. As she turned her head over, she caught his eyes that wouldn't look away. They burned her brain and made it all mellow.

She dared to stare him in the eye, not looking away. 

The word Redamancy sat on their poem's rough draft. They weren't going anywhere because of the thought of the night before. How much they wanted each other.

A stomp snapped the girl's gaze away from Eric. 

Buddy walked into the room, with a pencil sitting between his parted lips and his head held high. He looked over to the girl, his gaze also burning into hers. But it was different. It was filled with hurt and strong angry feelings that could simply drive one away from the other.

"Hey." Eric spoke up, letting his hand grab Adora's, fingers brushing hers. "We should work on this tonight." 

Adora's brown wavy hair fell down her back as she nodded. "Okay, you can come over at my place." She said with a shrug.

➳ ➳ ➳

The girl jammed her keys into the front door, feeling slightly embarrassed as Eric stood behind her with his hands in his jean pockets.

She could feel the colour raise up to her face, feeling even more shy than she'd ever been before. Especially because Harlow was probably inside, singing loudly to Queen with an apron on and cooking chocolate chip cookies. 

The door opened, to reveal the most amazing smell. Chocolate chip cookies. 

"It smells nice in here!" Eric exclaimed, bobbing his head to Killer Queen by Queen that played in the kitchen.

"It's my brother, he's over today."

Eric raised his brow in confusion, like he was realizing that the girl was expecting him to put pressure on her.

"You know, I wasn't going to do anything without consent." He breathed out, dropping the rough draft onto the living room's coffee table. "I like y-"

Before he could continue, Harlow walked into the living room with his dirty apron and his brown hair perfectly combed to the side. 

He looked between his sister and Eric, but kept his dark eyes on the guest. He narrowed them, and pursed his lips. He knew. Harlow knew this was the guy who stood her up. He was not happy.

"Dora." Harlow looked over to her, not seeming pleased. "Mind telling me why he's here?" He pointed at him, standing taller than earlier before.

"Har, this is Eric. We're here to do our project." 

Harlow raised his dark brow, that darkened his eye. He untied the apron from his back and dropped it onto the couch. 

"Dora, I'm only nineteen and I know what's going on here." 

Adora crossed her arms, defending herself. "Oh yeah? What's going on here, then?" 

Harlow scoffed loudly. The girl had never seen him this mad ever since their mother left. "He's using you! Can't you see? He's totally using you!" He hissed, pointing at Eric who had his eyes wide like a bowling ball's radius.

"Harlow!" Adora screamed, eyeing the boy like he were an intruder. 

Harlow stopped himself from saying whatever he was going to say, stomping harshly on the wooden flooring. His gaze was broken from Eric's and quickly brought back to Adora's eyes.

"I can't be mom anymore, Adora. I just can't! I took the responsibility of being the responsible adult in this house! I threw away my damn acceptance letter to Harvard to take care of you and dad. I took the responsibility of protecting you, but I can't anymore. I just can't." Harlow shook his head before storming out the front door!

"Hey!" Adora ran after her older brother, stopping in the driveway where he started opening his old high school vehicle's door. 

"Leave me alone, Adora." He huffed, before getting into the old crumpled car.

Adora quickly grabbed his door and chucked it opened, breathing heavily out of despair. "No!" She yelled. For some reason, Harlow stopped, stared and seemed surprised. "You can't leave! Please! Let me talk to you! Please stay Har!" 

Harlow blinked, his chocolate brown eyes lingering behind her, where Eric stood on her home's front steps. 

Shaking his head, he bit his lip in irritation. "You'll be fine, Dora. Take care of your father for me, alright?"

As he closed the door, Adora could feel warm salty tears streaming down her face. "No! Come back!" She hollered, waving her hands in the air. 

Harlow backed out of the driveway, dodging her question and driving down the street at about 70 km/h!

Adora took a seat on the grass of her front lawn, not looking back at Eric who stood behind her. The girl's cheeks were sticky with wet tears, her bottom lip quivering but she still held up that barrier. She held her head up high and still, pretended like it weren't the end of the world.

She heard steps behind her. Not turning her head, she knew who sat beside her. Eric did. He laid down beside her, staring at the blue sky that was slowly starting to turn into a splash of pinks and oranges.

Adora then, laid down beside him, whipping her tears with her hand. She was an independent woman and she definitely didn't need Eric whipping them for her. 

Turning their heads to look at eachother, in sync, Eric gave the girl a small smile. They stared at each other, taking in the feeling of comfort. His arm snaked around her waist, pulling her onto his chest. The girl let her hand rest over his stomach, sighing deeply as she closed her eyes, listening deeply to his heart beat.

"Everything's going to be okay." Eric whispered. "I promise."

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Damn, this chapter's deepppp lmao