Trouble ▸▸ Kellic

26.

A driver was awaiting Vic's arrival patiently in front of the airport, though he was happy to give me a ride as well. I was a little worried that the driver would be indifferent, but he easily complied with us, which was a huge relief.

Vic's parents lived towards the outskirts of San Diego, so the drive was quite long and quite awkward. Nobody would speak, and whenever I felt like I should be breaking the silence, the time seemed inopportune. So instead, not a word was uttered for nearly an hour and a half.

Vic's house came into view, and the first thing I noted was the nice garden out front. The house itself was pleasant, moderately sized and clean cut. Looking at this house made my house look like more garbage than it already was.

Our driver helped with our bags, pulling them from the trunk before setting them on the pavement softly. A screened door on the house swung open as a short woman and man approached us. Vic smiled at them both, meeting them halfway before embracing his mother and then his father. I felt slightly uncomfortable, having hung back by the car in silence.

Once Vic and his parents quit small talking, everybody's eyes fell on me. I tried my best to smile, deciding to approach Vic's parents slowly. The woman smiled at me, reaching her hand out to shake mine as she introduced herself, her husband following. Vic had already informed his parents of my visiting, so my arrival wasn't too shocking.

If I thought the outside of the house was beautiful, I couldn't believe my eyes once I was inside. The interior of the house looked much more massive than the exterior did. All of the rooms were spacious and open, every room seeming to flow naturally into one another.

The bedrooms were upstairs, and Vic and I were separated as his mother showed me to the guest room directly across from Vic's room. I was met with a queen sized, perfectly made bed. For a guest room, it was very nice; nicer than a hotel, for sure.

Vic came into the guest room a few minutes after his mom had left, knocking before entering and giving me a cheeky grin when he noticed me unpacking. Silently, he wandered over to my side, tossing my items out of my suitcase and onto the bed.

"Your parents are nice," I commented softly, folding a pair of jeans up before shoving them into the dresser's drawers. Vic didn't reply; he just continued to pull out random articles of clothing from the bag. I didn't dare say anything after that, so the rest of my unpacking was silent.

It felt like things were very quiet anymore. I didn't like that.

After I had somewhat settled in, we walked back downstairs together, shoulders brushing but hands never touching. It was too dangerous under the circumstances to be remotely romantic under this roof. I didn't like that, either.

Dinner was one of the best meals of my life. Vic's father was a talented cooker, explaining that when he was young, he enjoyed learning new recipes and practicing cooking. For once, there was hardly any silence as Vic's parents filled the gaps, asking us (but mostly me) questions. By the time dinner was over, I knew Vic's parent's had wormed a decent background check of me from right under my nose.

Not much happened after dinner, except for when Vic finally spoke up about our plans to visit the city sometime over the visit. Vic's mother nodded, saying that she thought it would be nice for me to experience the city life and that they would be willing to rent us a hotel room while we were there. I was, of course, happy with this response, but Vic seemed far less enthusiastic about his mom's compliance.

"Are you okay?" I finally asked Vic in a whisper as we walked up the stairs and down the skinny hall. Vic sighed softly, not looking me in the eyes.

"It's just weird being back here and all. They're acting strange, but that's probably just because you're here. If It was just Mike and I, their reaction the city trip would have been completely different," Vic explained softly, following me into the guest room.

"Well... how long has it been since you last spoke?" I asked, curious.

"Months," was all Vic said, running a hand through his hair.

"Time can change people-" I tried, encouragingly.

"Not them," Vic interrupted harshly. "Sorry, it's just... our relationship, like I've explained, isn't too good. If it was, I wouldn't be attending Amber academy," Vic added, voice softer.

Very hesitantly, I reached out, intertwining my fingers with Vic's. Arguing was the last thing I wanted to do on our first night outside of the academy, so if he still had bad feelings for his parents, I wasn't going to try and fix them. None of that was any of my business.

Vic and I said goodnight to Vic's parents in unison, wandering back into my room soon after. And somehow, both of us ended up the cold, silk sheets, bodies close together. I sighed as Vic ran his fingers through my hair soothingly. In that moment, never had I ever wanted to fall asleep so badly, but I knew I couldn't; not with Vic there, anyway.

"You should return to your room," I spoke, slightly reluctant. The last thing I wanted was for Vic's warmth to disappear, and the thought of sleeping in a foreign bed without a not so foreign Vic was uncomforting.

"I don't want to," Vic whined, dragging out his words. I chuckled in agreement before finally shoving him off the bed, muttering a goodnight before burying my face deep into the pleasantly scented pillow. Vic groaned, leaning down to peck my cheek which wasn't buried into the pillow before the door was latched shut and I was left in the immense darkness until morning.