sweetheart ; steven hyde (discontinued)

5.

the couch

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I wake up Saturday morning, a bit more tired than usual. It's also a little later than I usually wake up as well.

I groan and roll out of bed then take a quick shower, brush my teeth and dress in a pair of light blue denim shorts and a long sleeved shirt that ties in the front.

Aunt Penny left a note telling me she went to the grocery store and Maxx is out with a few friends.

I grab an orange and peel it then go to the living room. The old couch is still in the middle of the living room, so I just ignore it and sit on the new one.

I flip on the TV and some soap opera plays, so I flick through the channels. Nothing interesting is in so I go back to the soap opera channel and just watch that.

I stare blankly at the TV, eating my orange. A knock comes at the door and I rise to answer it.

I open the door and Steven stands on the other side. He smiles. I just stare.

"I told your aunt that I would come over and move this couch for her," He says.

"She's not here." I reply.

"Well is it fine if I like, move it out or..." He trails off, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah, do you need help?" I offer.

"Yeah," He replies and I let him in.

We walk over to the couch and he says, "Grab one end, I'll grab the other," So, I do what he says and grab my end.

He says ready and I lift with a grunt. We struggle to get the couch out the door and once we're out we set the couch down for a break.

I sigh and wipe my sweat less forehead.

He says ready again and I prepare to lift my end again with another grunt as we make our way down the yard together.

Once we reach the curb, we set the couch down and I take a seat on it, along with him.

I catch my breath as he does the same, taking out a cigarette and lighting it. He takes a hit, then hands it to me as I do the same.

"Thanks for helping," He speaks.

"It's no problem," I say with a shrug.

A moment of silence passes as we sit beside each other on the couch.

"I'm Steven Hyde, my friends call me Hyde. It's nice to meet you." He holds out his hand and I chuckle a bit.

"Hello Steven Hyde who's friends call him Hyde. It's nice to meet you, I'm Lana May, my friends call my Lana." I place my hand in his and we shake.

"I heard you're from Cali, that's pretty rad. What's it like there?" He asks and my mind wanders to the comments he's made about my parents. But, I shake the thoughts from my head.

This is a fresh start

"It's lovely there." I answer as a car passes us. I take a hit of the cigarette and pass it to him.

Another moment of silence passes, a bit more awkward than the last. But I don't think either of us knows what to say.

Aunt Penny's car pulls up and she parks in the driveway. She gets out.

"Steven, Hi! How are you? Can you guys help me?" He opens the trunk and begins piling bags onto her arm. Hyde and I walk up to her car, doing the same as her.

We walk through the door and set the bags in the kitchen and help her start putting them away.

"Thank you guys so much, do you guys want lunch or something? I can make sandwiches or something." She says, putting a gallon of milk on the fridge.

Hyde and I look at each other.

"I could eat," He shrugs and I agree.

Aunt Penny prepares us all grilled cheeses and we sit around the table eating our food with cans of Diet Coke.

"Thank you for taking the couch out," She says to us and we huge each other a look.

"It's not a problem," Hyde says. "If you ever need help just let me know," He says to her and sips from his coke.

"That's so sweet, Steven. Thank you," She says gratefully. We finish our food and I gather everyones plates, setting them in the sink.

"Well, I've got to get going. My moms probably worried sick about me," He says sarcastically. "Thank you for the food," He says to Aunt Penny and she tells him it's no problem.

He says bye to us, then leaves the house.

"He's such a sweet boy," She says, grabbing our cans and emptying them in the sink, then disposing of the cans in the trash can.

If only she knew some of the things he has said to me, I think to myself.

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