Polar opposites sharing bunk beds and possibly falling in love in the process. Alex would not believe it in a billion years.
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Alex is an only child, a force of nature, and an academic machine. At least, she likes to focus on those aspects of h...
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I wanted to make a speedy exit, but Alex's grandpa wasn't about to let me leave just yet.
"Where are you going?" Alex's grandpa asks, I insisted on addressing him formally at first, but he insisted I call him Wiatt.
I look at him for a few seconds, trying to formulate a response simultaneously short and respectful. The more time I spend talking to Wiatt, the more I will want to stay.
I can't afford to stay though.
Most of the old people I've met have sad eyes. Not because they've lived sad lives, but because they've lost good ones. My grandmother in Virginia visits every once in a while, she has the saddest expression I've ever seen. As a kid, I used to avoid visiting her, her stare made me want to cry. Now I realize, I became part of the problem. Surely, her grandson avoiding her would only add to the pain. She's the only one in the family still alive to still have blue eyes, but she can't truly enjoy them. It's a depressing sight to witness eyes as shiny as hers wasted in reflecting sadness all the time. I don't think I've seen her smile genuinely once.
Mr. Wiatt is the opposite of her. He has this kind of fatherly look I haven't gotten from my dad since I was eleven. He looks at everyone as if they're precious, priceless, or critical to the state of his heart. His eyes are nearly black, and yet they're brighter than most. They remind me of Alex in a way, I guess that's where she got it.
Thinking about it, that's not the only thing she seems to have gotten from her grandfather. The way she walks, the way she speaks, the way she corners you when you least expect it. Or maybe I'm just remembering things from the Alex I used to know. I've spent more time annoyed by Alex than entertained by her antics. So in a way, that makes me annoyed at Wiatt too, when he really doesn't deserve it.
I grin and take a deep breath, brushing Alex out of my mind, a reply formulating in my mind.
"Out, I'll be back in a little while, Wiatt." I respond, careless as ever. Little does he know, inside I'm having a mini heart attack.
....
I navigate the streets of-I swear I have to get used to calling this not home! The streets are quiet, and the neighbors are all either at work or locked at home.
I remember making the effort to get to know each and every one of them when we first moved in. Crazy 'ol Marshall lives in house 177, he insists his house is haunted by the old owners. Mrs. Ramirez from house 181 is still in the dark about whether or not her husband is cheating on her. Then, there's my dad's best friend, Mr. Washington. He lives in house 189, with his wife Lily and son, Brett.
As I pause in front of his house, I search my mind for any remorse for what I did to Brett yesterday, none comes back to haunt me. That jackass deserved what came to him. Out of all my friends, Brett's always been the quickest to forgive, and yet his tolerance is still low as shit. I'm not going to make any excuses, he was driving me nuts and the talk about my mom may have gotten in my head a bit. But I don't regret enough to be the bigger person and apologize.
