Your Body Is A Wonderland.

Speak for Me

I wake up to the smell of bacon, eggs, and something burning.

I rub the sleep out of my eyes as I pull on a giant sweatshirt and make my way to the kitchen.

Veronica is standing behind my stove with a confused look on her face, staring down at a griddle covered in black blobs.

"Oh, hey, Auden." Veronica says, only glancing up at me briefly.

I take a seat on a barstool in front of her. "Uh, Veronica?" I ask, wrinkling my nose, "What are those?"

She sighs, "They're supposed to be pancakes but I think something went wrong."

I eye the ingredients sitting next to her mixing bowl. Eggs, milk, and butter.

"Where's the flour?" I say.

Veronica groans and slaps her forehead, "Oh shoot. I knew I was forgetting something important."

I laugh and take the griddle off the stove, dumping the burnt disks into the trash.

"Just bacon and eggs are fine." I smile, getting plates for us, "Thank you so much for cooking this, I really appreciate it!"

Veronica smiles sheeplishly, "Bacon and eggs would be fine. If they hadn't burnt too."

I burst out laughing. It feels good to be so happy.

"Cooking isn't your thing, is it?" I say with a genuine smile.

Veronica chuckles, "No, that's Preston's forte."

"He told me he learned it from your mother?"

She smiles sadly, "My mom was literally the best cook I've ever known."

I note the slight drop in her expression and bite my lip. I'm not sure whether or not to ask what's on my mind.

"She's dead." Veronica says, a little too casually, as she starts wiping my counters. Her eyes never meet mine and I can tell it hurts for her to say it. "I bet Preston never told you that."

I shake my head, "He didn't."

"He doesn't like talking about it all that much." She mentions quietly.

"You don't have to talk about this if you don't want to." I tell her.

Veronica looks up at me with a soft smile, "I want to." She sighs, "Just not today, okay?"

I nod. "Can I ask why you even want to tell me though? You hardly know me. I understand if you don't want to."

She puts a hand on my arm and this time, her smile reaches her eyes, "Because you already feel like my sister."

---

"I can't do this, Veronica."

"Yes, you can." She rolls her eyes.

We're standing outside Preston's huge house. Memories are flooding back to me like a tsunami. It's been so long since I came here for the first and only time, but it almost feels like a home that I moved out of.

"He's not home, I already told you that." She says, walking up the front porch. She puts a key in the lock and turns it without opening the door. "Come on, I have to find some legal documents."

I sigh and follow her into the house.

Suddenly, it's like I'm seeing ghosts. I see me sitting behind the counter in the kitchen as Preston makes crepes. Then, we float up the stairs, Preston with a six pack of beer in hand, and me with a blank stare. Even though I'm downstairs, I can picture our night in his room.