The Third Widow - part two

Part 13. Questions and answers

I was about to get up from my seat when the girl beside me jumped up first, startling everyone in the room including herself. I gave her a confused look and I noticed her pleading eyes leave Clint's before she turned back to me.

"Why don't you stay a little longer?" she asked me with a slight stutter, suddenly having lost the assertiveness she showed only moments earlier. 

"I.. I'm not sure" I tried to shuffle past her but got cut off by the dog that totally stood in her corner. I eyed a different route but before I could even get a move on, the girl shoved a handful of dvd's in my face, "It's Christmas movie marathon today, you should stay" she insisted.

I looked back at Clint for some help but he just completely withdrew from the entire conversation, being of no use yet again. I finally caved as I watched her excited face and let out a sigh before plopping back down on the couch.

"Fine, but only for a little bit" I bargained, telling myself I had struck a deal instead of just given her whatever she wanted. The girl let out a happy squeal and began rambling about the wide array of movies we could choose from, eventually settling on something I had never even heard of but didn't care much about arguing with her.

Kate ran off a little later while mumbling something about smoothies, leaving me and mister 'fun' together in an awkward silence. I could feel his eyes on me but didn't have the heart to meet them, guilt about how I treated him finally catching up with me.

"I missed you" he finally whispered to which my head snapped up to stare straight at him. His cheeks turned a light shade of red as he cleared his throat when he realized what he said. "We all missed you, especially Nathaniel" he chuckled at the thought of his little boy.

I felt bad knowing I had hurt them when I left, but it was impossible for me to stay after everything. I couldn't bare the constant reminder of my sister being gone or knowing I had nowhere to go back to, so I fled, hoping to create a distance so great that even the thoughts about it would get left behind. I hung my head in defeat, unable to give a response that could capture how I felt, how sorry I was but also how much I had missed them as well.

A comforting hand reached out for mine and I could hear him struggling for words when he got cut off by the force which is called Kate Bishop.

"Here" she shouted towards me and before I could react she had tossed me some sort of sweater which I managed to catch with my face. I took it in my hands to look it over better and saw Clint next to me doing the same with the one he had gotten. I scrunched my nose in disgust at the idiotic designs before shaking my head and putting it down beside me.

"There is no way I'm putting that on" I complained which caused a loud gasp to sound all the way from the kitchen. Clint shook his head, laughing as he knew I was no match for this girl and her Christmas spirit.

"But we have to do an ugly Christmas sweater party" she argued back, as if that should mean something to me. I crossed my arms as the girl walked over to us with three mugs and placed them down in front of us before diving back into our discussion.

"I still don't understand why Americans choose to make such fools out of themselves" I nodded over to Clint, already dressed in his  sweater while watching our argument with a sheepish look on his face. 

The girl made her way over to me and pretended to be hurt by my words while she made a futile attempt to shield Clint from my insult. "Because it's fun" she explained with a straight face and picked up the sweater before pushing it back into my hands.

"I'm not wearing it" I told her curt, maybe sporting a slight smile on my face. This was enough of a hint for her to know she was definitely getting me to give in and her persuasion only rose.

"Come on, it will look great on you. Put it on" she now demanded, her voice almost completely serious if it wasn't for the slight shake in it that betrayed how she actually felt.

"No" I shot back, standing my ground for as long as I could.

"Don't be a party pooper" she complained as she dragged out a defeated groan. I watched her look from me to Clint before eyeing the dog and sending him a 'subtle' nod. The girl dove straight at me, grabbing the sweater and pulling it over my head. If I really  wanted to, I could have easily managed her, but I wasn't some cold-hearted person that would kill the fun so instead I just acted surprised and let her have her way.

Kate finally sat down next to me, pleased with her work as she appreciated my terrible sweater which got topped off with a scowl. The girl seemed to have a lot of fun which slightly rubbed off on the rest of the party present and before I knew it, we were all laughing together.

I couldn't help but try to think back to the last time I'd felt joy like this, feeling even more pathetic when I couldn't come up with a memory at all.

We watched weird American movies all night, Kate swearing by their titles as 'true classics' but I honestly didn't understand much of them. At some point I got handed a few more slices of pizza, warm this time, while enjoying the sweet taste of these smoothies she had made for all of us.

During the third movie I noticed a weight dip on my shoulder and found the raven haired girl had fallen asleep on me. I tried to subtly wiggle out under her but wouldn't be able to escape without waking her up, which was a little too evil even for me. Clint gave me a wink when he noticed and stood up to shut off the television, as neither of us were interested in what it was showing.

"I guess you are staying the night also" he joked as he observed my trapped state. I narrowed my eyes in warning before he took a step back, lucky I couldn't get up from my spot to teach him a lesson.

The man disappeared from my vision only to return moments later with a blanket big enough for the two of us and carefully draped it over the sleeping girl and myself. "She likes you" he stated in a hushed voice as he nodded to my new accessory. 

"So what" I tried to sound indifferent to his compliment but couldn't help the warm feeling that rushed along inside me.

"Nothing" he shrugged as he watched me closely. "So how have you been doing Alex?" he suddenly asked, breaking the comfortable silence that had washed over the room.

I tried to avoid his gaze but knew he would be able to read me regardless. "Just fine, really" I replied while I listened to his scoff of disbelief. 

"Don't lie to me, I know it's been hard" his voice was soft and held a lot of emotion. "Why did you never come to see us?" he asked, not meaning any accusations but more so genuinely sad to have missed me for so long.

"I don't know" I told him honestly. "It was just too painful I guess" I explained as he silently waited for my answer. 

He nodded without saying an other word, slowly raising from his seat and crouching down before me. "I'm glad you're okay kid" he whispered as he gently patted my head. "As okay as you could have been regarding everything" he followed after and gave me a sad smile.

He got up and shuffled over to what I assumed to be a bedroom and I called out behind him before slapping a hand in front of my mouth to trap the loud sound. "Where are you going?" I whisper shouted at him to which he let out a satisfying laugh.

"To sleep" he replied with a snicker, not leaving anything up to my imagination.

I frantically waved around my arms best I could as I called out for his help in getting the girl off me. The man quickly shook his head and turned around with a small wave.

"Have a fun night" he continued to laugh as he shut the door behind him, leaving me in my dire state, trapped under a hyperactive, annoying, stubborn, weird girl who was now slightly snoring. I shifted in my seat, trying to get at least a little more comfortable as I watched her face slowly react to my movement, praying internally I hadn't woken her up.