More Than a Coincidence (An Ereri/Riren fanfiction)

Chp 6

Armin's eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store. "You have to text him, get to know him!"

"Wait wait wait wait wait! Slow down...just because he gave me his number doesn't mean anything! Stop fan boy-ing already!" I sputtered.

Armin laughs, "okay okay, I'm sorry..." Suddenly his tone became serious again, "Eren... tomorrow is Sunday... what are you going to do about church?"

I hesitate to answer, "I haven't thought about that yet, I...I don't know..."

Tears return to my eyes and Armin stands up and holds his hands out. I grab them and he pulls me to my feet, "come on, you look exhausted, you can use a pair of my sleep pants" Armin opens his dresser and grabs a pair of dark red plaid pants, and throws them to me. He walks out, taking the empty mugs, and I change out of my clothes.

I look at my hand and walk over to the desk and open my phone. I click the contact icon and put in the number, I slowly hit the 4 letters spelling his name. I save his number and turn off my phone, I sit on his bed and Armin returns.

We don't even build a fort that night for Armin passed out next to me in his bed. I, however, tossed and turned for hours. I stare out the window at the cloudy night. The stars and the moon that were shining bright during the motorcycle ride were now covered by a thick layer of grey darkness. A tear falls down my cheek as sleep finally consumes me.

- - - - The next morning - - - -

I wake to an empty bed, and a sudden crash propels me off the mattress. I run downstairs as I hear a yell. "AH GOD DAMMIT!" I turn into the kitchen to see Armin, his grandpa, and a woman in the kitchen. Armin's grandpa was standing near the counter where a kitchen knife lay, he was holding his hand.

The woman, who I assume was the day nurse, took a quick look at me and rushed to his side. "Mr. Arlert! Here let me take a look." She grabbed his hand and studied it closely. I see a large gash in the palm of his hand with blood dripping onto the floor. "Ahh, sorry Mr. Arlert but this is going to need some stitches." The nurse spoke softly.

Armin came to my side and explained, "He was cutting vegetables and cut his hand..."

Suddenly Armin's grandpa yelled, "UGH, this is why I always have Marie do the cooking! Armin where's your grandma boy?"

Armin stood in shock, "...Grandpa...grandma died 5 years ago.....don't you remember?"

Armin's presence became sad and his grandpa gasped and cleared his throat, "O-of course I remember..." The nurse wraps a cloth around his deep cut and leads him out towards the door.

Armin looks at me worried, "go...I'll be here," I console, "oh I was thinking of grabbing some clothes from my house today, my dad will still be at the church for a while so I better go now, do you mind if I stay here for a few days?"

Armin smiles, "not a problem!"

I smile and he leaves, I walk back to Armin's room and put on the pants and sweater I had on last night. After a few minutes I look at the time, I'd give myself a little more than an hour before he might show up home. So I start my way down to my house. My lone footsteps click on the cement sidewalk as I make my way down to my house just a few streets away.

The wind blew lightly, pushing my brunette hair away from my face. I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply. As I get closer to my house I can see all the lights turned off, which means dad isn't home yet.

Slowly I turn the handle and push open the front door. I take a step inside but hesitate... "hello?" Just in case I call out, with no response I walk all the way in and close the door. I quickly walk up the stairs. Each step creaked a little louder than the one before. I enter my room and get an old backpack out of my closet. I throw it on the bed and open my dresser. I just scoop up about 5 or 6 shirts and drop the ball of clothing in the bag. I do the same thing with pants, then socks and some boxers. I walk to the bathroom and grab my toothbrush, toothpaste, and comb. I know Armin will let me use his shampoo and stuff so I leave mine. I stuff the items in the dark blue bag. A tear rolls down my face as I zip up the bag.