Fragments of His Being | ✓

CHAPTER NINE

In Quinn's home, the space for the dining room, kitchen, and living room were the same and only separated by diffraction in flooring. The room was lit in orange fluorescence light that reflected off the old worn-out furniture and titled kitchenette floors. Quinn was sitting next to Cody on the sofa. The two boys were sipping soup with metal spoons from the small bowls they held in their hands.

"How is it?" Quinn asked, looking over at Cody who had just put a spoonful of soup in his mouth.

"Good," Cody muttered after swallowing. "It's really nice," he added, as his eyes flickered to Quinn for a bit.

Quinn smiled. "That's good to hear, my mum's good at cooking." He pulled his legs up on the couch, watching as Cody mirrored his smile. The two boys stared at each other, but their gazes were soon stolen by the window when lightning flashed, and thunder followed. It had started drizzling when they had first gotten to the apartment, but now it was a full-on storm.

"Huh, it's getting really bad..." Quinn trailed, wondering if his sister and mum would elect to sleepover at work today.

The drops of rain hitting the window made a tricking sound that got louder with time. Quinn got up then, going to grab a bowl to place under the area of the roof that leaked during storms. He headed back to the Sofa when he was done, before looking over at Cody who still had a bowl in his hands.

"Are you done?" Quinn asked, gesturing to the bowl. "I could put it away for you if you are."

"I am," Cody said, getting up.

Quinn reached out to pull at his shirt. "I said I would put it away for you, didn't I?" He smiled at the boy who gave him the bowl after hesitating for a bit. Cody sat back down, watching Quinn head over to the sink to wash both their bowls. The taller boy returned to the sofa soon after, and he sat closer to Cody than he had initially done.

"Rain sucks, doesn't it?" Quinn muttered, trying to start a conversation.

Cody chuckled. "I guess." He shrugged, pulling his legs up to hug them to himself. His feet were naked now, and Quinn could see the series of scars on them. He wondered if those had anything to do with the boy's brother.

Quinn hummed. "Everything gets all wet and sticky. My sneakers aren't going to like the mud tomorrow."

A laugh escaped Cody's lips. "But it's sort of like natural air conditioning, isn't it?" he said, staring at Quinn.

Quinn's brows farrow as he things about it "Yeah, I guess sort, but can't it be cold without you know—messing up the place?"

Cody laughed at that, and a silence swallowed the room when he stopped. The boy cocked his head at Quinn. He noticed how tired the taller boy looked under the dim lights. His brown eyes were dull, and the smile he had on barely reached his eyes.

"Are you tired?" Cody asked, reaching to touch Quinn's arm.

"Yeah, a little bit," Quinn yawned, rubbing his eyes.

Cody thought for a bit. "Maybe I should leave so you can sleep?" he offered.

"It's okay, I still have to stay up and wait for my parents to come back. I know my sister is at her friend's place if she finished her shift early, but my parents don't usually come back till ten," Quinn said. "Also, you said that you'd stay over."

"I know," Cody said, still feeling a bit self-conscious about Quinn's offer. "That's late," he said, referring to Quinn's sentence about his parents not coming home in a bit.

"Yeah, they do overtime a lot. I wish I could work a bit, but they don't want me to yet. Ah, they're that kind of parents who like to put the full burden on themselves," Quinn said.