Abstinence x Grayson Dolan

five

A B S T I N E N C E
F I V E

THERE wasn't a single peep for as long as Mabel could hear. One roommate on a trip with her own youth group and the other on a vacation with her family in Vancouver. Mabel sent them both a text, reminding them of how jealous she was of them but reminding them how much she loved the two of them and couldn't wait for them to come home to her.

Tuesday's were one of Mabel's day's off from work, so she decided to take advantage of the day and visit her mom. She throws on a pair of white jean shorts and a loose, black and pin striped white spaghetti strap tank top. Her slightly greasy hair ends up in pony tail a top her head, sunglasses covering her eyes, and flip flops to protect the bottom of her feet. Mabel's phone slides in the cup holder in her car and keys in ignition. She doesn't bother to text her mom, wanting the arrival to be a complete surprise, and she drives away from the apartment building.

     The twenty minute drive ends in disappointment when her mom's Focus isn't parked the drive way. Double checking the absence of her mom, Mabel enters the house calling out to her mom only to have an echo as a response. She pouts slightly, saddened that she wasn't able to connect with her mom on one of the only days she has time. As a reminder, she texts her mom telling her that she loves her and to tell her when she gets home.

     Now, with not a single thing planned and a free day, Mabel heads across the grass to the Dolans house like she was thirteen. Her knocks on the door are greeted by Lisa who was busy baking in the absence of all her children, yet she invites Mabel in anyway wanting company just as Mabel had.

     "Cameron's out with her friends today and Ethan's at work. Grayson said he was meeting some girl, but I have no idea when he'll be back." Lisa explains, but Mabel retaliates that she'd love to bake cookies with Lisa, ignoring the way her heart shrunk the smallest bit at the mention of Grayson meeting a girl.

     The duo gets to work immediately, starting with original chocolate chip and planning to hit peanut butter, sugar, and spritz. They both make a batch of the same recipe, each talking nonstop about anything that comes to mind. Lisa spoke about her sons, telling embarrassing stories that even Mabel didn't know and she was one of their best friends. Mabel was convinced that she had better abs then the twins combined by the time Lisa halted her never ending list of stories. Mabel could've even compete with how many stories Lisa had to tell, but Mabel didn't mind, she could listen all day to someone talk about their life experiences if they were willing to share.

     "We all thought that you and Grayson would be together by now," Mabel's motions stop for a mere second, unknowing of this assumption till now. "You both had such big crushes on each other as kids. Your mom and I always hoped that you guys would end up together. Guess those were just kid crushes."

     If only Lisa knew.

     Their conversation came to a pause when the sound of the front door opening resonated through the house. Exactly who Mabel didn't want to see walks into the kitchen, his appearance grasping all of her attention. Clothes she had picked out for him in New York City draped his body and she had no other reaction than weak knees.

     "Hey honey," Lisa chimes with her bubbly personality that never pops, "How'd your date go?"

     "She stood me up." And with that, he slapped the bouquet of roses on the table and stomped his way out to the porch outside. Through the glass door, the women could see he had cracked open a beer, something he only did when upset.