Complicated

Chapter 17

Knock

Knock

Knock

Knock

 The days of the week fastly passes by. It's been a cycle of ignoring and hanging out with Tom, and hanging out with Jenny and her cat, Plum. Apparently, Jellybean would've loved Plum, even though he's  a dog and she's a cat. That knock on the door has been going on for 3 minutes, and I'm still not giving up the fact that some time later, the dude knocking on the door will lose hope and get the hell out of our front yard.

 I sigh as I stand up. I really don't want to deal with this shit. I hope it's Jenny or Tom though. I turn my wrist to open the door, and I see a pair of similar emerald green eyes. But it's not Tom, though. It's Renzo. Tom's big brother.

A creature with golden fur and chubby cheeks is cradled in his arms. I discreetly smile inside my mind, since I am too stunned to actually do it in reality. The only words that escape my mouth is that creature's name. Jellybean.

 "How.... Why.... When.... ?" I say, as I stutter in front of Renzo, a person I rarely see. Yes, I go to Tom's house, but I seldom see him. Why the hell does he have Jellybean? And didn't he see any of the flyers I posted? "I saw him inside a thorny bush near the park. I took care of him for several weeks. And just a while ago, Patrick saw him, and told me that he was yours. So yeah, here he is." he answers as he smiles. He looks exactly like Tom. And seeing Jellybean isn't the only thing that fills me with glee, yet his presence is another reason why I'm happy. 

 "Um... Thank you.... You do not know how much tears I've shed because of this furry fella." I tell him, and he chuckles. "You didn't see any flyers or anything? I posted some." I tell him, confused."Flyers? I didn't see any flyers, actually." he said, as I look around to see that I actually didn't post any flyers. Hm... Maybe it was just a dream. No, scratch that, it was a nightmare.

Jellybean jumps off into my arms, and I cuddle him. Renzo smiles, and I blush. Goddamn. The charisma must be in their genes. "Um.... Do you want to.... enter?" I ask, trying my best to be hospitable. "I'd like that." he says, as he brushes his feet on the floor mat. I make my way to the kitchen, cuddling jellybean and talking to him as if it can even respond to my rants. Besides Tom, he's the only person I can rant to, considering the fact that he was my only friend. 

I thoroughly mix the sugar into the coffee, the strong odor whafting in the room. I place both mugs on the wooden tray as I inhale the scent of the latter. Its smell always makes me feel relaxed for some reason, kinda like cherry blossoms do. I place the tray on the coffee table and I sit across from him. He picks a mug up ever so gently, and sips. I completely ignore the mug of coffee in front of me and continue to catch up with Jellybean. He stops sipping and stares at us, smiling as he does so. We continue on like this for 5 minutes, and after that, I get irritated. And you do not want to irritate me. Do you know how silent and "nice" people tend to behave like a monster when they get pissed off at people? Well, I'm sort of one of them.

"Okay, Renzo, as much as I do not want to get pissed off at your face, I just did. And I'm really really grateful of you finding Jellybean here, but if you're gonna continue on looking at us like that, I shall scoop your eyeballs out of their sockets with a stainless steel spoon. So if you don't mind, please do stop."  I tell him through gritted teeth, and he chokes on the coffee he was sipping. "No, no, don't misunderstand my glare, it was just that... you looked cute when you bond with Jellybean. I called him Peanut, though. Because he's nuts. get it?" he says as he chuckles, and I start to laugh. We continue to chat about small random things just like Tom and I do, and in every second that passes by, I enumerate his similarities with Tom. He has this one hell of a charm, his emerald green eyes, his face, his cuteness,........... his everything.

This continues for an estimated 1 hour, until we have nothing to say at all, as if we have talked about everything. I learned that he loves Star Wars, he wants to murder ants, he's annoyed with how judgmental people are, and he wants to have World war III with Star Trek fans. I bid him goodbye with a wave of my hand, and Jellybean sweetly licks his cheek. He smiles at the creature in front of him, and he walks home. I quickly walk inside and continue to play with Jellybean. It's nice how a single person, or creature, can make you feel whole.

Later on, Astrid comes home, and I talk to her. Talking is just a habit these days, I don't know if it's a bad or a good habit, though. I knock on her door as Anna does to Elsa, even though I'm older than she is. "Do you wanna build a conversaaaaaaaaaation?" I sing, and she opens the door. "Yeah, yeah, Ave. Enter" she answers, biting a chunk of the apple in her hand. "So, Astrid, any news on Patrick?" I ask enthusiastically. "Well, you know,.... we're getting along so well, especially when we talk about anime and John Green books..... and..... things are so going well." she continues to tell about her crushlife, and I'm happy for her. I'm happy even though my crush life's not going that well. It just goes to show how listening to someone be happy is so contagious that you forget about your own happiness.

While telling me about eating lunch with Patrick, she yawns, and I pat her head like I used to. It was a habit of mine. I thought that whenever I'm present, she'll always feel safe, and that she wouldn't get scared of the monsters under her bed. Well, now that she's 13, she doesn't think of them anymore. she has a new perspective of what monsters are now. 'The real monsters are humans'  she says. But I, for one, think that if life would have its own TV show, love would be the antagonist.

I settle her into her bed, as she turns and turns. I kiss and her forehead and I whisper her a good night, even though it's a bit cheesy. She smiles at this, and I go into my own dreamland. I slip into bed with Jellybean beside me as I hug her tightly. 'I like this day.'  I think. It was a day of catching up; a day of acquaintances; and a day that I'll remember.

I haven't talked to Renzo for a while. Though it's a bit peculiar that every time I stare at him, I think that he's Tom. He's not. Tom and Renzo are separate human beings,self. I remind myself that the Faulkner brothers are of different ages. Though they are equally attractive and charismatic, I like Tom best. He's my best friend anyway. My first crush, too. 

Too many memories are locked up within Tom. i can't let him go, even if I try. The only thing  I have to let go of is my love, or attraction, to him.

I sigh, and I just cuddle Jellybean. I breathe into his fur and he licks my cheek. As I said, there's always something about this dog that makes me see the sun in everything. He even made me meet Renzo. Maybe Jellybean's a good luck charm. Or maybe being able to be with Jellybean is a sign that everything could be better again.

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Hey guys! I'd just like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for reading my story. I never knew that it'd make it to 900 reads. I love you all. 

So continue on and read it, there are a lot mor chapters coming. Stay tuned and enjoy, dears.

-A.G Ciceron/ WalrusBlood