Bloom

69. unexpected turns

Haven

Drops rolled down the windows, the soft, radio music playing in the rather quiet car. I didn't know if everyone was simply tired from the day spent at the museum, or if they had been sleep deprived due to Zephaniah's situation.

My thoughts hadn't been anywhere but him today. The fact that he couldn't join us for the last day saddened me- I was so sure he would've liked the Rijksmuseum, where paintings of Rembrandt were portrayed.

Every time I saw another painting, I wondered how Zephaniah would've interpreted it. His point of view, his meanings, his opinions.

I couldn't wait to see him.

Soon later, Sloterdijk came in view, meaning we were home. My heart thumped a little, Vincent hadn't known how Zephaniah had been doing. He came to pick us up right after his workday- Nina had been home. As we stepped out of the car, Luke had muttered that Tara would kill me now that she knew Zephaniah and I were a thing. I had simply ignored him, what did it matter?

The front door opened, the smell of Dutch, cooked food filling our noses right away. The warmth from the house but the rain outside interrupted Abel's view, his glasses fogging up. Nina greeted us with a warm smile, but I tried to peek beside her, wanting to pick up a glimpse of Zeph.

He wasn't there, though, which disappointed me.

"How has he been?" I asked, watching my peers step inside first.

Nina looked down at me, a sad smile forming on her face. "He has slept all day. He's awake now, I believe. He seems to be very tired, doesn't talk much, does he?"

"Depends." I answered quietly, taking off my wet shoes and coat- hanging it up in their wardrobe.

"He might join dinner, but I'm not sure." Nina closed the door behind me, I simply nodded in response. "Your clothes seem wet. It's okay if you want to shower first, we'll eat dinner in thirty minutes."

"Alright, thank you." Giving her another smile, I passed Norah, sighing a little when she rolled her eyes at me. Ever since she got to know about Zephaniah and I too, she started acting strange; constantly sighing, ignoring me, rolling her eyes.

I didn't get her point. No, I didn't tell her right away, but was I allowed to get used to it all too? It had never happened to me before. It made me feel irritated, but I'd lie if I said it didn't make me sad. The whole atmosphere was ruined now because of it- I was sure Nina noticed it too.

It made me wonder why she had to keep up with all the teenage drama's in the first place. If only some people matured, it'd do a lot. Perhaps, it just wasn't in the cards for some of them.

Sighing by myself, I left the living room and slowly made my way over to our area, my heart thumping at the thought of seeing Zephaniah again, even when his cold comment from last night had made me feel confused. I figured he was just confused as well, too exhausted and mentally somewhere else.

Standing in front of the boys' bedroom, I slowly opened the door, noticing that he was asleep, still or again- I didn't know. I stared at him for a while, he seemed exhausted, sad in a way, his cheeks glistening with a trace of dried up tears. My heart thumped, but more in confusion. Hadn't he been so happy the day before?

Was the seizure the cause of his sadness now?

I closed the door, feeling uneasy.

Entering my own room, I picked up my suitcase, wanting to lay it onto the bed to take out some clothes- only for it to fall back onto the floor with a loud thud once I noticed a sheet of paper neatly and straightly laying onto my pillow.