Broken souls

- Chapter 5 -

I look down at her small frame. She is sitting on the floor, trying to get the milk stains out of my backpack.

"You don't have to do this you know"
Her stormy grey eyes find mine.
"I know, but I want to"
"I'm just going to put it in the washer when I get home"
"Ok then"
She stands up and for a second she looks unsure about what she's going to do next.
"Do you want to go home? You should probably change or shower."

The simple thought about running into my stepdad now is letting my blood freeze.

"I-I can't go home now." I say, before quickly adding "I forgot my keys this morning and my mom won't be back until later"

"Oh...Um..Well we could always go to my house. I have some oversized t-shirts that I could borrow you?"

I hesitate. I don't go to strangers houses and I definitely don't think it's a good idea to spend more time with her.
But I also can't risk going home like this and mom can't see me like this either. I don't want to worry her even more. She got enough shit do deal with as it is.

"Are you sure? Aren't your parents going to be there?"

"I am. My parents are at work and won't get back until later this evening." She just shrugs.

Thirty minutes later, I'm standing in front of a huge white house.
It has wide windows and even a driveway with a fountain in the middle. Everywhere I look are beautiful flowers planted. Avery's family must be loaded.

The interior is as expected beautiful and has simple but modern looking furniture.

We climb up the stairs and I don't miss the bitter look in Avery's expression. At the end of a long corridor upstairs, she opens a door and leads me into a bedroom.

The room is bright, with dark green walls and large bookshelves, filled with books from all kind of genres. The furniture is made out of dark wood and her bed is filled with pillows. Her room looks so much more alive compaired to the rest of the house.

"The bathroom is over there. Fresh towels should be in the cabinet."
She points to a door that I hadn't noticed yet. I give her a small nod of gratitude and enter the bathroom. The floors are made out of dark grey tiles and the walls have the same colour as her room. What catches my attention the most is the huge shower. It's in between two grey stone walls, with a rain shower and a little wooden bench.

I quickly strip off my clothes and get under the warm water. Feeling bad about using her stuff, I only put a little bit of her honey scented soap into my hand and leather it into my hair.

When I exit the bathroom, I find her room to be empty. On her bed lies a fresh T-shirt and I can't help but sniff on it. It smells like soap and her.
I like it.

Deciding to stay in my boxers and her shirt —that surprisingly fits—, I climb down the stairs to find her. She's in the kitchen, preparing some sandwiches.
"Hey, I made you something to eat since they dropped your food and I also put your clothes in the washer." She says and I don't miss how her eyes quickly dart to my boxers.

"That's really nice and you didn't have to do all of this. Thanks" I'm really confused. I don't get how she could do this for a stranger. She's way too fucking nice.

"You're welcome"

At first we sit in comfortably silence while we eat. It lasts until she starts to hum the theme song of Marvel movies.

After that, we talk about all our favourite movies and favourite superheroes. Time flies away, and too soon for my liking, my clothes have dried and I have to go back to my house. When I finally leave, I can't help but feel a little bit disappointed. I can't remember the last time I had this much fun.

It's not until I'm back in my own room, that I notice, that I'm still wearing her shirt. I guess I will have to see her again then.