WE STILL EXIST

Chapter Five- Morning After

NOAH BLAKE 

Cold air lays over my legs and I move to try to get them warm again after being wrapped in a cocoon all night long. After not being able to find the warmth I was looking for, I open my eyes to see an unfamiliar scene in front of me.

An empty room with a desk and a small window, bare walls, and a dark casted room is laid out. The thought of not being in my bed startles me and I sit up straight.

I remember now, I hooked up with Avery last night at the party. Ohh, that was a bad idea. No, terrible idea.

Getting up fully, I open the bedroom door to find no one in the hallway or the bathroom. I sit on the toilet and think about all of the stuff that happened last night.

I went outside the backyard for some air, I saw Coden, Maddie and her new toy Jess, and Avery. Before that, I was sulking around not really wanting to be here, but Avery intrigued me because Coden annoyed me.

That sounds about right to me, his temperament bugged the shit out of me. His controlling behavior last night made me angry and I showed him...

Washing my hands in the sink, I dry my hands on my shirt since there are no towels in here. Opening the door to the hallway, I walk out looking around and going to the stairs.

People are gathered in the living room on couches. Cleaning up the messes people left over, I spot Maddie and Coden talking. More like they are arguing in a hushed whisper.

Walking down the stairs, no one looks at me. The hardwood floors creak the second I step down and Coden shoots his head in my direction. Maddie follows suit and runs over to me.

"Where the hell have you been?" Her voice is firm, but I see a smile creep up on her face.

She laughs, "I'm sorry. I tried to be serious!"

I laugh with her, "what's going on?"

"Mm, the storm was a bad one over on the West coast near him, but it disperse when it got here. Not too much damage done, but trees were knocked down for sure." Maddie uses her manicured fingers to straighten out her shirt, "some rain ruined the furniture that wasn't put inside. Other than that, it was not bad."

She didn't answer my question, "so what are you doing right now? People gathered?"

"Oh, yes. There is a power outage for a ten-mile radius and there are still some sprinkles here and there, so we are all waiting for Avery and Dale to get back from the shed. They are measuring out the possible damage if we leave."

Avery, that reminds me. I need to talk to him about last night. I am still not exactly sure where we stand. The things he said to me were convinced that he likes me or finds me attractive.

"Noah, can you come here and help with this?" Coden calls me over to him, I don't want to go anywhere near him. Not after the way he spoke to me last night and demanded that I stay away from Avery.

Maddie pulls me with her to Coden where he pushes her away, "go clean up the bathrooms."

She rolls her eyes and says, "Whatever."

I look out of the window hoping that he doesn't actually need help and lets me go off with Maddie to clean the bathrooms.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Avery walk up to the house from the shed covering his body from the potential rain. His eyes partly meet mine and he looks down again.