Be My Addiction

23 • Netflix and Chili

Eugene

Through the next week, I helped Ethan by monitoring how many pills he had been taking. He would occasionally snap at me but I knew he didn't mean it and by the way his eyes always looked apologetic, I knew he was sorry. I'm proud of him though. He has been working and doing his best. He also hasn't been complaining. 

I wouldn't blame him but it's still a positive.

Today, I invited Ethan over to my house. He was coming around twelve. It was Saturday and a bit rainy. I would have offered to give him a ride but he quickly denied it. At first, I thought it was because he didn't want to "cause problems" but I soon remembered his fear of cars. 

Thinking about it, I can imagine it will be harder for him to be in vehicles without being high.

We'll have to work on that, another time.

My mom and Anna would be out for most of the door. Whenever mom would have to work, she would take Anna to go play with her co-worker's daughter. Many people would think my father would be the one bringing in the money because of all the stereotypes with fathers being dominant in their field but in reality, my mom was the boss. She fell in love with fashion at a young age and became a fashion designer. She goes by a different name to keep people from showing up at our doorstep but it's obvious we had money.

My father wasn't in the picture. He left us for another life and I resent him for that. Mom quickly pulled herself up after he vanished, but I'm pretty sure she did that because she had a family to take care of. I haven't gotten over it. Anna knows what happened to our dad but she seems perfectly content without having him in our lives. We all are.

I’m pulled from my thoughts at the sound of knocking. With a grin, I jumped to my feet and made my way to open the door. In the doorway, Ethan stood. I had just started to pour but he was safe from the rain because of the roof. He looked a bit wet from having walking here and his black hair lightly dripped in his face.

I wanted to push his hair from his face but I managed to control myself. Ethan gave a light smile. He had a bit more color to his face but I could see the slight tremor in his hands. Of course, that could just be from the cold rain.

When I realized he was still outside, I stepped out of the way to let him in, “You must be freezing! I’ll get you some dry clothes and a towel for you to dry your hair.”

Ethan chuckled lightly and his cheeks were flushed - probably from the cold. He rubbed the back of his neck, “You don’t have to”

Waving off his concern, I smile, “It’s no problem.” With that, I made my way to my bedroom. I found a shirt with some sweatpants. These would probably be the only thing he could fit into considering I’m bigger than him. I also grabbed a towel. Ethan must have been freezing, in the rain so he would appreciate it if the clothes were warm. Walking to the laundry room, I put them in the dryer for five minutes. When I returned with the warm clothes, Ethan was busying himself by looking at the pictures on our wall. He had his back to me but I could see him rubbing his arms. When he noticed my presence, he gave a lopsided smile and walked over. 

Gosh that smile could melt my heart with the way it angled, showing just the right amount of teeth and what looked to be dimples.

This boy was going to kill me.

Ethan reached out and I handed him the clothes, “I’ll get us something to eat. When you come out, go ahead and choose something to watch.” 

He nodded and headed into the bathroom to change. 

We were low on food so I sent mom a quick text to let her know. I decided to go with something simple. Chili and chips. 

If you haven’t tried this before, you haven’t lived.

The chili was heated up in a bowl and I prepped the chips on a large plate. When the chili was done, I placed the bowl in the center of the plate and sprinkled cheese inside the dish. If I wasn’t planning on going to college with a football scholarship, I would probably become a chef.

By the time I came out of the kitchen, Ethan was sitting on the couch, looking through Netflix to find out what we could watch. He chose a comedy show called ‘The Unicorn’ and sat back. He looked mighty fine in my clothes and his hair was almost stylishly messy. 

Ok, so that was gay.

“Are you going to just stand there or are you going to sit?” Ethan chuckled and I was pulled out of my thoughts with a bashful smile.

I set the bowl down and soon dropped into the couch beside Ethan. Curiosity lit in his eyes at the meal I made and soon he was dipping the chips into the chili, the cheesy mixture filling the chip. He took a bite and groaned.

The boy quickly ate that chip and grinned, “This tastes amazing.” He murmured and ate more chips.

Letting out a soft laugh, I shook my head and sat back, “So how are you feeling? You know, with your withdrawal symptoms?” 

Ethan finished his bite and took a moment to answer, “I’m doing better.” He glanced down, biting his lip. He seemed to be contemplating something. Whatever it was, he made his decision and spoke again, “Last night was hard. I had a bad dream, which made it hard to sleep.”

Recently I had learned just how much Ethan dreams about the crash. Some people forget about the trauma. Others can’t stop thinking about it.

I think Ethan is somewhere in between the two.