Always a Friend

Chapter 27

Mom's car was in the driveway when I pulled up next to the house. I sat there, staring at her vehicle for a few minutes, waiting for it to disappear like it was a figment of my imagination. I opened the car door and grabbed my book bag from the passenger seat. I closed the door, closed my eyes, and turned around, opening them one at a time to make sure her vehicle was still there next to mine. Sure enough, her vehicle was parked next to mine in the driveway. I walked up the four steps to the porch, not taking my eyes off her vehicle, and opened the front door. "Mom!" I hollered through the house, dropping my book bag by the door. 

"I'm upstairs getting ready!" Mom hollered back. 

I sighed and mumbled. "Of course you are." 

"I'm going out with Elizabeth for dinner. Do you want me to bring you back anything to eat?" She said, walking down the stairs and putting in her earrings. 

"No. I'll find something to cook." I walked past and headed for the kitchen to see what I could find to fix for dinner. I knew seeing her vehicle in the driveway was too good to be true. I got my hopes up for nothing. For once, I'd like to sit at the table and eat dinner with her instead of sitting alone in front of the TV. Did she not like being around me? Was I that boring? She felt the need to be gone all the time. I knew these were ridiculous thoughts deep down, but they still affected my self-esteem. My mother made every effort in the world to be away from me whenever I was home. 

"I'm leaving. I'll be back later." She hollered. 

I went to holler back, but the door quickly closed before I could utter a sound. I stood in the middle of the kitchen; the silence was deafening. You'd think I'd be used to being alone, but I hated it. All it did was leave me with my thoughts; that was the last thing I wanted to do right now. I went to the living room and turned on the TV, which kept me company most of the time. I turned on a comedy because romance was out of the question. I kicked off my shoes under the coffee table and headed back to the kitchen to find something to cook. I'd become quite the cook for my age. Not that I'd had a choice in the matter. Either I learned how to cook, or I had to live off deli sandwiches for the rest of my teenage life. People can take so many ham sandwiches before they get sick of them. I opened the refrigerator and found some skinless chicken breast, which Mom would probably use for something. Sorry, Mom...Change of plans. I spotted some green beans in the vegetable drawer; I grabbed those along with the chicken. I backed away from the fridge and closed the door with my foot. 

"Gem! Are you home?" Ashton banged on the door. 

I rolled my eyes, debating if I was home or not. He banged on the door again. I set the chicken and green beans packages on the counter, washed my hands, and grabbed a towel on my way out of the kitchen. I opened the front door. "Why aren't you over at your girlfriend's house harassing her?" 

" Ha Ha. You going to let me in, Gem?" Ashton motioned to inside my house. 

"Hmm..." 

"Gem!" 

"Don't disturb me. I'm doing some serious thinking here." I placed my pointer finger on the side of my chin, glancing up at the ceiling. 

"Funny. Let me in...Please." 

"Wow...Did that hurt?" I giggled. 

Ashton's eyes narrowed. "Aren't we full of jokes today? Seriously, you going to let me in or not?" 

"Fine." I opened the door wider, giggling. "I figured you'd be at Claudia's or have her over at your house since both your parents are gone." I closed the door and then headed back to the kitchen. "Are you hungry? I was going to cook myself some dinner." 

"Sure. Do you need some help?" 

"Sure." I turned and smiled. "So, was there something you wanted to talk to me about?" I grabbed a pan from under the counter for the chicken, green beans, and potatoes. I set the pan on the counter and sprayed it with cooking spray so the food wouldn't stick to the bottom. I looked over at Ashton, who was sitting there, staring down at the food as if he was waiting for the words to come flying off the counter up at him. "Ashton..." 

"Huh?" His dazed eyes glanced up at me. 

"Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?" I turned to get a knife out of the drawer. I turned back around, and Ashton was a couple of steps away from me now. "Oh!" I jumped, tossing the knife over on the counter so neither one of us would get hurt. "You scared the shit out of me." I turned the other way and walked around the counter. "I'll be right back. Don't leave!" I hollered over my shoulder as I headed up the stairs. I went to my room, sat down at my vanity, and quickly put my hair up in a ponytail so my long hair wouldn't hang down in the food. I got up, and Ashton was standing in my doorway. I jumped again. "Are you having fun, scaring me today?" I laughed, walking toward the door. Ashton took a step closer to me, closing the gap between us, his cologne making it hard to concentrate. I didn't know what was happening, and I didn't know how I should feel about it either. "Uh...I need to get back downstairs to the food." I motioned around him to the stairs. 

Disappointment swept over his face as he turned to look at the stairs. "Uh...Yeah...Sure." He rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand. "Maybe I should go ahead and go."

"Why? I thought you were going to help me with dinner?" I stopped at the top of the stairs and glanced back at him. 

"I really think I should go." He ran his right hand through his hair. "Yeah...I need to go." He motioned to the stairs, not making eye contact with me. I walked down the stairs and stopped a couple of feet in front of the door. 

"You can stay and have dinner with me." I lowered my head, trying to gaze at him through my lashes. "Sure, you have to go?" 

"I...Really should go. I'll talk to you later, Gemma." He hurried down the steps, across the yard to his car. He waved as he backed out of his driveway. I sighed, pressing my lips together, and shut the door. I walked back to the kitchen and finished making dinner for one instead of two. While I cut up the potatoes, I couldn't stop thinking about how weird Ashton acted before he left. He was nervous about something but wanted to be close to me. I put the knife down, gazing around the kitchen as I thought about how he acted in my room. Did he want to kiss me, then talk himself out of it? I shook my head at the ridiculous thought. Why would he want to kiss me when he's got a girlfriend? Besides, we're just friends. I'm the one he confides in about his dates or conquests. However, you want to categorize them. 

Author's Notes:

Wow...Wonder what that was all about? 

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