Here To Stay

Chapter Eight

Leah

"Time for dessert," Cam announced. Everyone dropped their plates in the sink after rinsing them with water once and returned to the living room. Usually, we ate in the kitchen on our 4-chaired table, but since the fifth guy entered the picture- or here, the house- dinner shifted to the couch. Xander sat on a chair, Charlie and Cam on the couch, and Zach and I on the floor.

The cooks for the evening brought in a batch of muffins and bowls. I frowned. Muffins came in the bottom five of the list, if I had one, of sweets I liked. Most of the time, they were either too soft or like blocks that felt like an eraser. My expectations from the ones in front of me did not go beyond my experiences.

Everyone helped themselves to the delicacies- except two.

"Leah, do you want to try? You might like it." Zach offered once all the bowls on the table had at least one. He left himself for the last. With a negative shake of my head and leaning back in my chair, I answered. "I am good. You can go ahead."

"Lee, taste it," Charlie mumbled, mid-bite. She wiped off the crumb that almost fell. "It's good. Also, guys, I need RSVP on Thanksgiving Dinner."

"I'll be there. My family is going to my aunt's this year, and I would rather not get into that mess." Cam shuddered. As active as my dear friend was in university and otherwise, he ran away from family gatherings before even receiving the invitation.

We turned to Xander. "I am coming too. I am planning to go home directly during Christmas."

"Zach?" My roommate questioned. He nodded wordlessly.

"Wait a second!" Our ginger-haired friend exclaimed. He looked at Charlie with widened eyes. "Good? That would be an insult to this heaven on Earth." Cam turned to the baker. "This is unbelievable. Fabulous. Mouth-watering."

My hands twitched under the table as I tried to keep my face devoid of any expression. However, the following statement made my task more difficult.

"Hands off, Cam. I call dibs on this batch." Xander said. He rarely had more than one serving of sweets. They had to be great for him to take the whole batch. My actions almost betrayed me while the others fought over the muffins. I had denied the baked good once; I could certainly go without it the rest of the evening.

"Charlie, did they tell you?" The words came out involuntarily from my mouth. They had stuck in the back of my mind since the morning; however, I wanted to have the conversation in private.

Her movements paused. She had heard. Hesitation was visible before she turned to me as if preparing herself.

"Do you want to go outside?" She asked, eyes soft.

Despite the urge to show defiance, I nodded gently. We got up to leave the room. In the kitchen, Charlie moved to fill the half-full jug of water. She was someone who found safety in a non-conflicting environment. Fixing things around her was her habit before going into the situation.

"Quit stalling."

"Quit talking in that tone." She set the filled jug on the counter and covered it.

After a pause, the tough girl act wore off, and a slight tingling feeling crept in. The feeling made my limbs heavier. "I am sorry."

"They didn't tell me." The girl in front of me spoke. My brows peaked. "Jason did."

"He what?" How in the world did he end up telling her? As far as I knew, they barely conversed apart from when he checked up on me. As I mentioned earlier, Charlie tried being as discreet as possible, but a house with thin walls didn't let her.

"Remember when he called on your birthday? He told me that night. I think he got grounded for raising his voice in front of his parents." She admitted. Two arms went around my shoulders and pulled me into their warmth. "Jason cares, Lee. Stop pushing him away."

Hot, shearing anger made its return as quickly as it had left. I pulled away from the hug.

"Stop pushing him away? Where was he when mom and dad told me to move out to clear my mind and make a clear decision? They have been punishing me for making a choice that I- hell, no kid- should have to." I bellowed, moving away towards the sink. "I get that they were mad and stopped talking to me. But this? Removing their names from my school records? Just like that. On top of that, I had to hear it from the school counsellor." My volume had increased on its own accord.

Charlie's eyes shifted to the door, making me realize we had gathered an audience. Two of the three faces frowned in understanding, while the third person looked confused but... concerned too?

"Is everything okay?" Zach asked.

"Fine." I bit back. "Can everyone get out for a few minutes? Please." I added the last word after a pause. Thankfully, they moved out without questions.

Slipping into one of the high chairs, I poured myself a glass of water before resting my head on the counter. A few minutes must have passed when I was woken up by gentle shaking.

Looking over my shoulder, my newest roommate stood.

"Uh, I probably shouldn't have woken you up, but I thought you would prefer to not sleep on a chair," Zach said, looking doubtful of his actions. "It is almost 12. The three of them fell asleep on the couch." There was a slight chuckle at the end.

"Why did you laugh at that?" I asked, sharpening my gaze at him. If by any chance, he was laughing at them, he had another think coming. He stepped back as I took one forward with tightened fists.

"Woah, wait. You slept the same way during the day, and it just reminded me of my si-," he spoke with a careful yet amused tone. "Never mind."

"Si- what?"

"I have something for you." He blatantly ignored my question and moved to the oven. Putting on mitts, he pulled out a small black tray with chocolate muffins.

"I thought they were finished."

"They were. I just put in another batch of the leftover dough. Can't let food go to waste, can I?" Zach spoke with a small smile. There was a softness in his voice that I couldn't quite understand. The muffins were transferred to a plate and placed between us as he sat beside me.

"Leah, do you want to try? You might like it." He repeated the same sentence from earlier.

-x-

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- Sam <3