"If you wash, I'll dry."
Garroth picks up a dish towel hanging from the oven's handle. He reaches for the pot in my hand, drying it off for me.
"Zianna will kill you if she learns you're doing chores."
"She'd kill you too if she learned you were washing her dishes."
I shrug. "Zane loaded the dishwasher up. I said I'd hit start after I wash the pots and pans."
He nods his head. There aren't many things that need to be washed. Zianna is talking to Laurance about cross country anyway, so she doesn't even realize it's not one of the twins doing the dishes.
"If you're anything like Cadenza, you won't be home often. Cadi doesn't do chores when she gets home, and Laurance won't have to either."
Though, with Laurance being gone, the house isn't nearly as messy anymore. It's quieter, though.
"Vylad is clean enough for all of us."
I smile at this, looming back down at the dish in hand. I give it to him, reaching for the last pan before I would move onto lids.
The air between us is comfortable. I expected it to be filled with tension like it was during dinner. It was awkward, and I tried my hardest to break my attention from him.
"So how long has it been going on for?" He asks.
"How long has what?"
Water pools over the pan, overfilling into the sink side that surrounds it. I dump it out, flipping it over to wash the outside.
"You and my brother."
I stop. "You and Laurance have been gone for two weeks, Garroth."
He reaches for the pan.
"So it was recent?"
I roll my eyes. The sponge gets put into place, and I click open the dishwasher. "You know what? I changed my mind. Lids can go in the dishwasher."
He groans behind me. The sound of the pan hitting the countertop is louder than need be, but it doesn't stop me from loading the bottom with lids. His hand touches mine when I place the last lid in.
"I just want you to be honest with me, princess."
Everything within me feels like it sinks to the ground. I can tell Garroth realizes what he said when his eyes widen and breaks contact with mine. It's quiet between us as awkwardness fills the air.
"You really think that lowly of me? We were together for a year and a half, and you think I got over you completely in three months?"
"Al, I-"
I shake my head. "I should go. Dad should be back by now. Just hit start, and you should be fine."
°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
I watch Kandi lean forward and grasp onto her toes, bouncing forward a few times to deepen the stretch.
The coaches love her flexibility, and I've always envied it. I wonder if that's why she's so good with hurdles.
"So he retorted back to the old term of endearment, eh?"
She speaks of these things so casually. The idea of bringing this back up to someone puts my stomach to knots. Garroth didn't mention the slip up to Laurance last night when I left because Laurance never said a thing when he came home. His demeanor was normal.
"Yeah, after he made me feel like a whore for sitting next to one of my best friends."
She lifts her head up from the stretch, pausing her body where it is for the time being. "I don't think he meant to make you feel that way. You know Garroth."
I sigh. I lean backwards, placing my hands behind me to support my weight. To make use of this pose, I begin to stretch my ankles. After what happened last year, doing this and putting support around it sounds like a good idea.
"I do know Garroth, and I know he's terrible with words and lets jealousy cloud his judgment," I say, pulling my bag closer to me. "He did it during our relationship, and he's doing it again."
"Just give him time," Kandi says. "He's going through a lot right now with starting college for the first time. He'll begin thinking with his head and not his ass sooner or later."
"I wish it was sooner rather than later."
"Trust me, we all do. I love my brother, but he's an idiot."
I don't disagree with her on this. Garroth is the sweetest person. He wrapped me in his jacket if I was cold even if it meant freezing himself. He'd kiss away my tears when I was upset.
But learning how to deal with his jealousy was never his strong point.
