The Kings

43

Fred

I woke up to the smell of strawberries.

Strong strawberries.

I sighed and looked over, seeing Adeline wasn't in the bed. I looked over at her bathroom door and noticed it was open a little, and the light was on.

I propped myself up on my elbow and looked over at my phone, rubbing my eyes. I grabbed my phone and looked at the time.

It was eleven A.M., and I hadn't slept until eleven since I was fifteen, probably.

I laid back down and sighed, rubbing my eyes yet again. The door opened and she walked out, a towel wrapped around her body.

"Morning, baby," she greeted, smiling.

I just nodded and sat up, scratching my abdomen. "You smell like strawberries."

"Yeah," she said, "don't guys love the smell of strawberries?"

I shrugged. "I mean, I guess?"

She walked into the kitchen. "What do you want for breakfast? I have..."

She trailed off as she opened her fridge, her foot tapping against the floor. "Absolutely fucking nothing."

I shook my head. "I'll get something on my way home. I'll drop you something by, too."

She just looked at me. "We could spend the day together."

I looked at her, my jaw taut.

Yes, I'd let her back in, but I wasn't fully ready to trust her again. In any way. I'd beat myself up over even letting her back in, so trusting was going to be another battle.

"Or if you don't want to," she said, cocking an eyebrow up at me.

I just shook my head. "I've just got plans today."

"Yeah, like what?" She asked, her hand on her hip.

I threw the covers off of me and shrugged. "Plans."

She rolled her eyes and stomped into the kitchen.

"Listen, all I want to do is spend time with my boyfriend. Is that a crime?"

"Okay, well you acting like a fucking two year old isn't going to help you get your way," I said, slipping into my jeans.

She just looked at me and I walked around, tripping over something in the middle of the walkway.

"Goddamnit, Adeline, is it really that hard to clean up after yourself?" I asked.

I hadn't realized how abrasive I'd come across.

She just bit down on her bottom lip. "Okay, look, I get it, you're still angry with me, but you don't have to be so mean."

"No, Adeline, if I was mean, I would've told you to turn around and walk your ass right out of my house last night," I said, looking over at her, "but I didn't."

I watched her eyes well up with tears and I just sighed, leaning my head back. "Adeline, don't do that."

"Don't do what?" She asked, "cry over you being an asshole towards me?"

I walked over to her and wrapped an arm around her neck, pulling her into me. "I am angry with you."

"Obviously," she said, sniffling against my chest.

"But I have a reason, Adeline," I said, "okay, I'm really guarded right now and that's just something you'll have to get used to."

She nodded and wrapped her arms around me, making me look down at her.