You, Me, and Her

Chapter 7: Sisters

"Are you and Alex dating?"

That question lingered in the air throughout the remainder of the night. My mind replayed the sound of her gentle, flowery voice boldly posing the question, over and over again.

Had she asked me that because she was innocently and genuinely interested in the dynamic of my and Alex's relationship?

Or was she hoping one of us was single?

And if the latter was the case... who was she hoping was single? Me? Or him?

I pressed my face into the palms of my hands and fought the urge to scream. I inhaled deeply, catching a soothing whiff of my coconut butter balm, and counted to five. I shook out the stiffness in my neck and opened my eyes, readjusting them to the dimness of the dark room.

One glowing red light lit the small room that had once been the "His" in my bedroom's "His and Hers" dual closets. Since moving back home, I figured the space could be repurposed into something more useful, and it was a decent size to use as a dark room to develop my never-ending rolls of film. I had piled in all of my film-developing equipment and materials that I gathered over my university years and swapped the overhead lightbulb with a red-tinted one to protect the film and photo paper while I developed my images.

It wasn't the most high-tech, and it certainly didn't have any spare elbow room, but it worked well enough. I took a final five-second inhale and exhale then picked up my tongs again, carefully lifting my last photo from the plastic bin of fixer and securing it to a line to let it hang to dry.

I had been documenting the clean-up journey on the farm so far, as Claire had proposed, but I told her she didn't have to pay for my photography services until she was earning a bit more income down the line. If it meant I could work less and photograph more, I didn't mind the delay.

The crimson glow softly outlined a faint image of the farmer from earlier in the day, her arms cradling a hefty stack of scythed hay. Her face, aglow and focused, reflected the sun's shimmering light with unwavering concentration. 

I was truly beginning to regret the amount of time I was spending thinking about a girl I could never feasibly have a serious relationship with. She was building a new life here in Pelican Town—she wanted to be here. Meanwhile, I was looking for any way to get out of here. As appealing and intriguing as Claire Rivera was turning out to be, I would never be able to see her as more than a seasonal fling.

Of course, if she was even interested in me in the first place. For all I knew, she could prove to be even less of my type of girl if she was attracted to Alex instead.

"Ugh," I said aloud, drawing out the vowel to disrupt the silence of the space.

I had to get some air. I felt like I was going to suffocate in that room if I didn't get out of it. Racing thoughts of brunette braids and poppies clogged my mind and I needed to escape them, if only for a little while.

I shut the door firmly behind me as I exited before rustling through my dresser to find a pair of appropriate pants for the evening weather. I settled on a pair of blue sweatpants to match the baby blue of my sports bra. I'd just take a short walk around the yard, maybe stop by the river that was just a few minutes down the road and let the croaking of frogs and chirping of crickets drown out my thoughts.

After only taking one step out of my bedroom, I was stopped in my tracks by a suppressed sob coming from the kitchen, followed by a series of sniffles. I quietly shut my door and tiptoed over to the source of the noise. Emily had her back turned toward me, concealing her face from view as the crying continued. I let my presence become known as my footsteps creaked softly on the floor, triggering her to swiftly press a tissue to her nose and set her phone face down onto the table.