family friends

18 - aftermath

"I'm not babysitting you; I'm making sure you're safe. It's very different," he argues, nudging my plate closer to me. I roll my eyes and take a bite of eggs.

"It's too impractical. There has to be a different way to make this work without you having to follow me everywhere I go or me having to stay at home all the time."

"Fine. I'll just hire bodyguards for you. Then we both continue with our lives as normal, just with extra security." I glare at him.

"No."

"Why?"

"Because!"

"It's the perfect solution."

"Clay. No. I'd literally have no privacy."

"I'm sure I could find a lady guard!"

"Literally doesn't change a thing. I'm not letting anyone follow me around. I want to be independent this time." 

"What do you mean?"

"When I was with Rachel, I couldn't do anything on my own. I don't want to be forced back into that just because she showed up to my Christmas party and begged me to come back." Clay is silent, no longer all that interested in his food. "Listen, I'm sorry. I know you're just trying to protect me, but I have to deal with this in my own way."

"Okay, I get it," he says, resuming eating.

"Really okay or silently festering okay?"

"Really okay. I can't pretend to understand this, but I can support you in any way you'll let me. And if that's just being here for you then I'm down." He smiles and grabs my hand under the table. "But maybe stay with me? Just so you aren't alone at home every night?"

"Okay, sure." I watch his face relax in relief. "I'll have to grab some stuff from my house, though," I say, glancing down at my outfit—one of his sweatshirts and a pair of shorts I left here weeks ago. He must have changed my clothes when we got home because my clothes from last night have obviously disappeared. 

"Of course. We'll just go when we're done eating." I nod and smile, finally feeling like something is going okay. From down the hall comes a loud yawn and the sound of a door opening and closing. I completely forgot that Nick was even here. "Oh yeah, I forgot he existed," Clay says, reading my mind.

"I... yeah, me too," I respond, leaning back in my seat. Clay watches me, an indecipherable expression on his face. "I look... Well, I'm wearing your clothes, so..." Clay nods thoughtfully then looks around as if analyzing the best way to get out of the sure-to-be-awkward situation that is threatening to arrive. 

As if on cue, a door opens down the hall and Nick's footsteps get closer until he rounds the corner, stopping short when he sees us. He just stares for a moment before bursting out in laughter. "Jesus, man. Now I understand why you missed the stream yesterday. You didn't have to lie about a Christmas party," he says, still laughing as he pulls a bag of frozen waffles out of the freezer. 

"I wasn't lying, you little shit. It was a great party."

"Oh, so that was just the aftermath? Even better." Clay rolls his eyes and I smile at him. "Dude, where are the chocolate chips? I know I put them right here."

"Bottom left," Clay says, standing up and taking our dishes to the sink. "Do you want me to make you some eggs?"

"Is that even a question? Duh," Nick responds, turning to me and rolling his eyes as if Clay has just asked him if he wants a million dollars. I smile and nod, watching him wink at me before turning back to the toaster. 

"I'm gonna go call Samantha," I say, excusing myself from the room. In the hall, I pause and listen to the voices behind me. Their banter is like music to my ears. This is what life should be like. This should be normal.