Love Just Is

Chapter SIXTEEN

Chapter SIXTEEN

I wake up at around eleven am. When I got back here at the house after what happened, I headed straight back to my room and slept. I tried everything to fall asleep right away because there's no point in staying up so late. Really. After that heated conversation with shouting and glaring with Theo, I just wanted to doze off. Good thing that my body obliged with what I wanted to do.

         So right now, I'm heading out of my room and about to go to the kitchen when I spot grandma about to go out.

         "Where are you going, grandma?" I ask, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Good morning, by the way."

         She raises an eyebrow. "It's almost twelve noon now. How was your sleep?" she asks. She looks like examining me; I look away. I don't want to have an eye to eye contact with her. She can read me easily and I don't want her to know what happened. She will tell it to my mom for sure.

         "Yeah, yeah. My sleep's fine. You're going to Ann's?" I ask, diverting the question elsewhere.

         "Reese, dear, is something wrong?" she asks now.

         I sigh. "Nothing, grandma."

         "Are you sure?"

         I face her with a grin. "Yes, everything is perfectly fine." Hopefully she'll buy it.

         After a minute of staring me, she finally lets me off the hook. "Okay. Your food's on the fridge. Just heat it up. I don't know what time I'll be home."

         "Okay." I take a short glance to the living room and see no one there. "Where's-"

         "Theo?" she finishes for me.

         I nod. "Hmm. Yeah. Where is he?"

         "Out with his dad."

         "With his dad? So, Joan is alone right now?" I ask.

         "Yeah. Why?"

         "Can I go there?" I ask, giving her a puppy dog face.

         She smiles. "Of course, dear. Are you going now?"

         "Yeah."

         "Okay, then. Let's go. I'll lock the door then you head on to their house."

         This is perfect. Theo's out with Uncle Lucas, giving me the chance to talk to Joan... alone. And it's also a good thing that Theo is not there. I don't know if he's mad at me or he forgets what happened, but one thing's for sure, I'm not ready to face him.

                                                                  * * *

I knock on the front door when I get to the Perkins' house. The door opens right away, revealing Joan's angelic face.

         "Hi, Joan!" I greet her.

         She smiles at me and opens the door to get me in.

         "So, what are you doing?" I ask her.

         She shakes her head.

         "Nothing? Oh, okay. How about... uh... I ask you question then you answer? Like getting to know. What do you say?" I ask, hopeful that she will agree.

         Then the smile that I saw the last time I was here appears on her face. I know she knows what I'm trying to say to her. We're both female; we can read each other's look. She nods. She grabs my hand and pulls me upstairs. When we get to the top, we walk a little and stops in front of a room. I assume this is her room.