As I waited for the pan's temperature adjust, it occurred to me that Matt loved fruit, so I opened the fridge placed to the right of the oven, and moved things around, hoping that maybe my brother had bought some the other day when he'd gone grocery shopping. I smiled as I found a box of blueberries and strawberries sitting at the back of the fridge. Typical Matt. He was scared I'd eat all of his fruit, so that was his usual attempt to keep me from finding them.
I pulled them out, and by the time I'd finished washing the fruit and cutting the strawberries in half, the pan was ready to be put to good use. I rolled around a small square of butter around, hoping that this would not only make my pancakes taste better, but make for an easier cleanup too.
I heard Matt come out of his room and bound down the stairs and walk towards the kitchen just as I put the pancakes onto two plates and topped them with both fruits. He stopped as he saw what I was doing. "Oh, Bryn, I'm in a rush to get out today, I was just going to grab a granola bar or something, then head out."
I smiled, hiding my disappointment.
"That's okay, you can take the plate with you and eat it as you drive." I could tell either he didn't want to hurt my feelings or couldn't resist the temptation, and so I watched him as he came forward, pulled a plate towards him and sat down opposite me on one of the bar stools.
"What happened to the rush?" I asked him, happy he'd decided to stay a few minutes longer. He mumbled something inaudible as I handed him a fork and began eating with haste. My disappointment returned, but my facade didn't.
"It's still there, all right." I said with a smile, laughing.
His plate was clean not a minute later, and I stared in amazement. Only boys could eat so much so quickly, I thought quietly.
"Thanks so much, Bryn, that was awesome," he said gratefully, and I stopped him as I realized he was picking his plate up to bring it to the sink.
"Don't worry about that, just head out if you're in a rush," I said with a smile.
Without a moments hesitation he had placed his plate back down onto the counter and turned around quickly, disappearing from view.
"See you tonight!" I heard him say loudly from the front door. I listened as the door clicked shut behind him and the tires of his car rolled quickly away on the stoned driveway outside.
No longer in need of keeping up a mask, I sighed, taking dislike to the new Matt. I sat down on the same bar stool that he had occupied moments before, and ate my breakfast alone in silence. After I'd eaten what I could, I cleaned what was left on my plate into the garbage and washed all the dishes that were in the sink. When I'd finished drying them I put them away, the shrill ringing of silence a constant distraction in my ears.
Hoping the sky was just as gray as it had been before, I walked out of the kitchen, and was happy to find that the weather had not changed. I glanced upward towards the clouds, and assessed whether it would rain or not. After coming to the conclusion that although the sky was murky, it appeared to be light enough not to rain, I smiled. It was the perfect day to go for a walk in the woods. Even as I looked downwards towards the ground did I notice a small trail pathway that I hadn't noticed earlier, leading a few ways off behind the pool into the forest.
I ran up the stairs, and got ready with haste to match Matt's speed this morning. In less than ten minutes I was out of the shower and dressed with makeup, but I felt the need to straighten the waves of my hair. I took my time, but eventually I was satisfied, and was eager to get out the back door. Before walking out, I made sure to lock the front door, and locked the back door behind me as I stepped out.
Stranger [Part VI]
Start from the beginning
