Disclosed Truce

Determination

"Thanks for the ride, Garrett," Bristle said sending her neighbor a smile. It was genuine. Whenever she was with him, she refused to bring herself to lie to him. She couldn't. They had built their friendship based off of trust. Besides, it took Garrett two years to get her to where they were now.

He switched his car gears into park. "You don't have to thank me, Bris. I don't mind it."

"Yeah, I know. But I still like to say it. I don't want you to forget," she admitted. She would hate it if Garrett ever felt like she did not appreciate him. He's one of the very few people that she did treasure.

"That'll never happen. So, there's this insane karaoke night going down this weekend. You in?" Garrett smiled.

Karaoke night? Where she would have to sing in front of a crowd. Bristle met his light blue eyes and declined. It's not her scene. Bristle has always been more into quiet, closed in places.

"Worth a try, right? Well I'll see you tomorrow. I better head off before my boss finds a reason to fire me. Same time tomorrow?" He smiled. Garrett grabbed a scrunchy from his cup holder and put his neck length hair into a sloppy bun.

Garrett's hair always fascinated Bristle. The way it crinkled after being wet. Plus the blond added to the attraction. When Bristle first met him, she pegged him to be a former surfer, and she was right. He had to move from California due to financial problems. During his summers he visited there. Garrett always told her stories about California. That was where she planned to move after school. Get away from this life altering town.

"Yeah, sure. Have fun at work." Bristle said as she gathered her belongs. She exited the car, and gently shut the door. Waving, Bristle turned and headed for the front door.

She heard from behind her, his old jeep screech as he drove away. At the door, Bristle balanced her two binders in her arm, while she used both hands to roam her purse for her keys. She gave the purse a shake and her fingers connected with the nickel silver. Seconds later three sets of keys and a Hello Kitty keychain revealed itself.

Unlocking the door, the smell of mixed spices hit her nose. As a reaction to the delightful smell Bristle's stomach growled. Whoever was cooking was stirring up something tasty. Bristle could not wait to eat. She refused to eat the school's food, it always made her sick afterwards.

She dropped her things at the stairs, and made her way through the living room into the kitchen. There her sister was hard at work over the stove. Her mother and uncle were sitting at the kitchen counter laughing. None of them looked up at her. It was as if she was invisible.

"This is going to be so good. I can feel it," Alx went.

Her mother took a sip of dark substance from her favorite wine glass, then asked. "Where'd you get the recipe from, again?" Over the years Bristle's mother's accent changed like the season, as well as her weight.

One year her mother could be some woman from New York with a little weight around. Another one, she could be some southern belle as skinny as could be. Bristle determined that her mother just loved change. That's why, even though their kitchen had just been remodelled last year, it was worked on even more almost five months ago.

The color scheme went from peach and grey to red and black. Bristle had to admit she loved the color way better. And their old silver colored fridge had to go as well, it was replaced by an expensive wooden colored on. The cabinets were now see through and the drawers were black. A small, round island was placed in the middle of the kitchen. Whenever her family was gone, Bristle did her homework there. It was more comfortable in her eyes.

"Pinterest. That website has so many ideas it's insane. I decorated our room using that website's suggestion." Alx responded.

Alx placed a lid over one of the pots. Patting her hands at her sides, her eyes darted to Bristle and her lips split into a smile. "Hey Bris, how was school?"