Forty-Seven Uses for a Paperclip (Completed)

Chapter Twenty-Seven: EAR

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Easily Angered Redheads

I can't meet Colton's eyes the next morning.

I'm embarrassed about what I said last night. I mean, the guy cried his heart out because his Dad finally reached his breaking point and hit him. He trusted me enough to be vulnerable. And then there was me, acting all weird and telling him how he's too good for me.

And yet it's true.

After spending so much time with Colton, I realize I've severely misjudged him from the beginning. Perfect, straight-A, all-around-nice-guy Colton Pearce has a crappy home life. He doesn't have a strong father figure to look up to. He's unlucky in like with this crazy redhead who, for years, didn't return his affections. Yet he would still (repeatedly) ask her out, joke, laugh, and try to be a good big brother for his younger sister. It's like some cheesy Hallmark movie.

And now he's sitting at said redhead's kitchen table, still in yesterday's rumpled clothes, eating slightly burnt bacon and toast.

"Wow," I say as I emerge, sleepy-eyed from my bedroom. I'm still in my pajamas and I'm sure my hair is a mess but it's just Colton. It's not as if he'll dump me for not looking pretty in the morning. "When did you learn to cook, Dad?" I turn to my father, who is also in his pajamas. He's standing at the stove, frying bacon within an inch of its life.

"Do you not see what your boyfriend is eating?" Dad asks, gesturing to Colton with his tongs.

I sigh. "Good point. Alright, I'll rephrase it: when did you start trying to cook, Dad?"

"This morning." Dad responds, setting five pieces of charred bacon on a plate covered in a paper towel to soak up the grease. "It isn't going well."

As if on cue, two pieces of toast pop out of the toaster, bringing with them much black smoke. The shrill beep of the fire alarm fills the entire house, along with the scent of burnt bread.

"Crap." Dad mutters, setting down his tongs and heading down the hall to turn the smoke alarm off.

"You don't have to eat that, you know." I tell Colton once Dad's gone, moving closer to the kitchen table.