Secrets & Love

Chapter 9: Avalon

"I think I can manage," I said shyly, walking away. I felt her eyes on me the whole time, what did I do that made her dislike me so much?

I heard their distant voices from the laundry room, as I placed the damp clothes into the dryer. What were they talking about? Why doesn't his mother like me? The thoughts haunted me. What was it that was between Josh and Asher? What was the connection between this Emily? I sighed, placing in a dryer sheet, and turning on the dryer, putting my attention to the whites. What's the story behind this family? What were the scars on Josh's body from? What happened? I placed the soap along with some scented beads into the washer, turning it on to the correct settings.

"Ava?" a voice came from behind, causing me to jump. How long have they been waiting?

"Josh," I let out a breath, he stood in the doorway, his hands in his pockets, shifting his feet, "you scared me."

"Sorry, just came to see if you needed help" he let out a worry smile. What was wrong?

"Is something wrong?" I asked, turning to turn on the washer.

"No nothing is wrong," he said, it only felt like the half truth. I let it slide, not wanting to push anything. I cleaned up any mess I made, waiting for either him to say something, or my mind to ask an askable question. Turning around, he was closer now, his hands still in his pocket, his hair in a beautiful mess, as his forest green eyes looked down upon me. Here comes the flutters.

"I have to go to work tomorrow," he says. I tilt my head to the side slightly, "that means I can't take you with me." Oh.

"So I will have to stay here?" I asked, knowing the answer already.

"Yes, but my father will be here; you can go to him if you need anything," he smiled slightly. "My mother shouldn't be a problem, you will barely know she's here when she works in her office."

I nodded my head, wishing that he didn't have to go. Though, I realized I could spend my time reading in the little nook. I looked back on the time left on the machines, half an hour left. I sighed at the waiting time.

"We still have some stuff to put away," I said, where was I going with this? "Why don't you help me with it while we wait for the clothes to dry?" I suggested. A smile grew on his face, and his eyes brightened.

"Alright," he smiled, putting out his hand. I didn't flinch.

Josh had played around with some of the objects, like trying on the shoes he knew were too small, or putting on the accessories like bags, and necklaces. Laughter filled the room, as we slowly but surely cleaned everything off the bed. Along when the first load of laundry had finished. Finding a place for everything. I didn't want to move too many things, I knew the room was special. Not wanting to take that away.

When finishing up the items on the bed, the box that Josh held running over to me at the mall, laid on the bed in the same bag. I picked up, walking over to hand it to him. He put up his hand, shaking his head no. I looked at him confused, he smiled behind a soft chuckle.

"It's for you," he said. That made sense.

"Oh," my voice came stronger with surprise than I attended to. "You didn't have to get me anything."

"But I wanted to," he's too sweet. "Open it."

I took it out of the bag, and a rectangle box came out. The words 'iPhone' are typed on the side. A picture of a pink phone was on top. I looked at Josh with confusion, then back down, peeling the plastic off the box. Inside, underneath some papers, a thin pink phone laid. It was cool to the touch, why did he give me one of these?

"So you can contact me when I'm not around," I felt a smile on his face.

"I don't know what to say," I looked up to him with shock, "thank you.'' I walked over, giving him a hug. It caught him off guard, but then he gave one back. He was warm, and his scent filled me. Please don't let go.

"I'll help you set it up," he said, releasing from the hug, allowing the cool air to take away the warmth. I nodded with a smile, handing him the phone to him.

He showed me how to set it up, putting in a new email, number, dates. It was all new to me, as he showed me how to actually use it, laughing at the amount of times I asked a similar question, time after time.

"You really do ask a lot of questions," he laughed. His laughter filled the room full of joy.

"You always say that," I nudged him with my hand, laughing with him.

"Cause it's true," he gently nudged back, handing me the phone. It was warm where he held it. I smiled, placing it beside me, as he sat beside me on my bed. I laid back, staring at the ceiling.

"You like to look at the ceiling don't you?" he asked, laying beside me.

"It's oddly satisfying," I tell him, following the lines of the vines, and flowers as every pattern was unique. I placed my hands on my stomach, hanging my legs off the edge of the bed.

"We should probably go to sleep now," he said, after a few minutes of silence.

"A little longer?" I asked, and I heard him chuckle quietly. Picturing his smile made mine grow.

"Alright, only a few minutes," he said calmly, placing a hand on mine, hooking his pinkie with mine, as I placed one down on my side moments before.