Splinters: Part One

Part One | 1

Once Greg's eyes landed on me, he smiled. "Brayden," he said, advancing towards me.

He extended a hand out to me. "I'm Greg."

I nodded, shaking his hand.

"Shy?" he asked, making me blush.

"Greg, let him be." Melissa scolded, slapping his shoulder lightly.

Greg seemed to ignore his wife as he took off his satchel and set it on the island. He walked over to my left and sat in a stool next to me. He looked over at Melissa and nodded towards my sandwich.

"Can I have one too?"

She nodded. "PB&J?"

He smirked. "Like always."

I lowered my gaze and played with my fingers.

"So Brayden, how's your day been so far, son?"

I glanced at him. "Uh, g-good." I mumbled.

Melissa looked at me, her eyebrows raised as she spread peanut butter onto Greg's sandwich. I looked away. An awkward silence came over us as Melissa fixed us our sandwiches. When Greg and I finished eating, Melissa suggested taking me on a tour of the house.

We exited the kitchen and turned right, down a wide hall way. There were so many rooms, I honestly lost count. When Melissa said five rooms, I had thought that was the entire house, but really she just meant bedrooms. Along with those were two living rooms, one giant kitchen, five bathrooms, and then the master bedroom which was obviously Greg's and Melissa's. One room that caught my eye was empty except for one thing. A giant black piano sat in the corner of the room atop white stainless carpet. The walls were a pale tan and one window was left of the piano, just above the bench. White see-through drapes hung from the side of the window, completely still.

At some point, Melissa led me to my room. It had dark blue walls and light brown carpet. A bed sat on the right side of the room with navy blue sheets that looked extremely comfortable. The room was so plain, but I enjoyed that. It felt comforting. I was almost excited to be staying here for the night. 

"You can just set your bag anywhere in here. This'll be your room for the night, and hopefully the future."

I entered the room completely, looking around and observing my surroundings. A giant window was above the bed. I could see the mountains and sunset with just a glance. The colors that roamed across the sky gave me hope. It felt like a dream.

"Who's up for a movie?" Greg proposed abruptly.

Melissa smiled at her husband, taking the movies from his hands and scanning the options.

"Do you like football, Brayden?" Melissa asked, sending me an encouraging smile.

I blinked. "Um, I don't really know much about it."

"Have you ever seen The Blind Side?" Greg questioned, lifting a movie case of a football player and a woman at his side.

I shook my head.

"It's a classic!" Greg beamed. "Come on! Let's go!"

Greg, Melissa, and I all went to the upstairs living room. A plasma screen TV hung above a stone fireplace. A leather sofa sat across from it, a coffee table in the middle of the room, and two singular chairs on the left and right side of the coffee table sat unoccupied.

I chose a singular chair while Melissa and Greg sat in the sofa next to each other. She whispered something to him and he nodded. He leant towards me.

"Brayden, you can sit here with us."