𝖈𝖔𝖒𝖒𝖊𝖓𝖘𝖆𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖒 | d.f. |

🛠 grayson55 🛠

[ 9:11 PM ]
⏪ REW.

"don't feel like climbing the stairs. goodnight everyone," soraya says and walks away.

"you sleep in the laundry room?" dom questions, a confused look on his face.

i'm now taking in his features as it wasn't much importance before. his face tattoos are interesting; an apple logo and LBE.

i wonder what it means.

"i'm practicing tiny home living," i finally answer.

"looks like upstairs is for the boys!" matt smiles.

"but my room's down here," i say.

"exactly," he laughs, hitting dom's shoulder.

i flip him off.

"can i room with you dommy?" apple speaks up.

"yeah, c'mon."

i walk to my room, closing myself inside. i pass the washer and dryer, taking a deep breath as i sit on my bed.

everything runs around in my head in one fluent orchestra.

i'm the last one left.

why?

why me?

what did i do to deserve this? to be the last one in new jersey with super humans that have somehow created a bond with me. they've shown me that they trust me... and i trust them!

i don't think they started MAX20. they couldn't have. not with the way they act. they're too good of actors if so.

despite that cycle of if they did or not, i'm glad i've ran into them.

we're a group of misfits on a cool day.

us!

that has to mean something!

my heart aches for my lost ones. i miss them so much. i wonder if they were still here would i have even ran into soraya and dom.

would things have been different? would i be in the trouble i'm in if i would've said no and drove off?

would we be the same if my family had lived?

i try to shake the what if's and decide to lay down.

i can't dwell on the past anymore.

the future is ahead. i can have it in my hands if i choose to.

i try not to think as much as i let sleep take over my body.

•
[ 10:02 PM ]

i wake to silence. it's nearly dark in my room besides faint shadows from the moonlight. i sit up and scratch my head, thinking maybe i should cut all my hair off since it's annoying me.

my stomach growls.

i should see if anyone's up and hungry. maybe i can do a vegan bbq. i don't know.

i stand and make my way into the kitchen, starting a search through the cabinets and fridge for anything i can use to get something into my stomach.

i find vegan jackfruit in the flavor of bbq and frozen fries. i mentally thank my mom for having something vegan always stocked up even though i moved out.

i can throw these on the fire in the backyard, we could sit around the fire pit and get to know each other more.

i sit on the counter and wait a minute, basking in the silence. it's both deafening and comforting. peace and chaos.

so much ahead that we don't know. we've killed officers. the government, who knows which part, are either a step ahead of us or we're actually smarter than the people who study criminals.

a couple non-criminals- more or less- outsmarts the big government.

insane!

i smile to myself.

i'm really glad i'm home.

new jersey will always hit a special place in my heart. it slaps.

i jump down and check on the jackfruit and fries to see if they're unfrozen some.

i could just fry the jackfruit and bake the fries. we could still eat around the fire pit.

i grab a frying pan and a sheet pan. i pour olive oil on the sheet pan so the fries don't stick. i place the shoestring french fries on top, set the oven and wait a few to preheat.

i break the jackfruit bag open and set the stove. luckily it's gas and even more luck that electricity hasn't died out. yet.

it takes about 15 minutes for it to cook according to the bag.

"just jackfruit with fries?" i question to myself, brain turning for something to do with the jackfruit.

i look at the pantry and go to open it.

"yes!"

i pull out the hamburger buns that were going bad today. i plate everything and decide to see if anyone's awake or down to eat.

i avoid soraya first in case she's difficult to get up. i'll try dom first. that way he can wake her.

i take each step confidently before remembering i don't know which rooms they chose.

i go and knock on my first guess. i open the door slightly, poking my head in.

dominic sits on the edge of the bed. apple is knocked out on top of the bed sheets.

"hey, i cooked a vegan dinner. are you down to join?" i ask him with a smile.

"vegan dinner?"

"hamburger made out of jackfruit. a lot of people say it reminds them of chicken. it's flavored bbq. i also put in fries that should be ready soon."

he looks at apple.

"should i wake her?" he asks me.

"it's been a pretty long day. i think she's okay sleeping. i can wrap up her food."

he nods and stands.

he walks over and pecks apple's forehead before meeting me outside.

"which room is matt's?"

he points to the opposite door.

"have you asked ray?"

"i didn't know if she's awake," i tell him striding to matt's door.

"she is," he nods.

the telepathic shit.

scary, but cool.

i knock on matt's door and wait.

"yeah!" i hear through the door.

i open it and pop my head in.