In All the Betweens

11

I'm not as warm as I'd like to be after my shower, but I make my way downstairs either way. My oversized knitted sweater gives me some comfort though and I sit down by the kitchen table as Alexander finishes. He's set the table with plates and is currently flipping pancakes. He has put away all the groceries and I wonder how he knew where everything goes.

"It's almost done," he says, back still to me and flips another pancake.

"It smells good," I tell him because it does. It actually smells pretty amazing and it's making my mouth water.

Alexander sits down opposite me at the table, a fat stack of pancakes on a plate. "Dig in," he says as he sets the plate down between us. I don't even hesitate because, well, I love food. I notice they have blue spots in them and my eyes widen.

"Blueberries?" I ask.

He nods, giving me a lopsided smile. "Yeah, they're kinda my favorite."

"Mine too," I say, pouring some syrup over the stack of four pancakes I've set up.

"Seriously?" he asks. I look up from my plate to find him raising his eyebrows at me.

"Yeah, why do you look so shocked?"

He shrugs his shoulder. "I pegged you as a chocolate-chip kind of girl," he explains.

I shake my head. "Way too sweet," I say, cutting into my food. Alexander only watches me take a bite, an almost expectant look on his face. My eyes widen when I start chewing.

"Oh my god, these are amazing," I say, mouth still full of food. I'm looking wide eyed at him now because I'm almost in shock. I don't know why, but I didn't really expect them to be this good. The consistency if fluffy and soft and they have the perfect ratio of blueberries to pancake per bite.

Alexander chuckles and the sound does things to my stomach, making it flutter slightly. "Glad you like them," he says.

"Who taught you to make pancakes like these?" I ask in between bites.

When I look up he has a small smile playing on his lips. "My mother. She used to make them all the time."

I nod and don't comment on the way he talks about her in the past tense. I know that if I start asking he'll either shut me out or start asking his own questions, and I'm not keen on either of those things happening. 

"When does your dad get home from his work trip?"

I place the cutlery down on the already empty plate. "He said he'd be gone for six weeks, but knowing his boss it'll probably be extended by two or three weeks," I say. I love that my dad gets to travel for his job. When I was younger, mom and I used to join him on the shorter ones. She'd home tutor me and then we'd go sight-seeing. I loved it. 

"He really leaves you for that long?" Alexander asks. There's no harsh judgement to his words but I can sense that he's not a fan.

"Yeah. I don't mind though. He loves his job," i try to explain. I fiddle with the hem of my sweater, not really looking Alexander in the eyes.

"Has it always been like this?"

I shake my head. "The trips were shorter before. Ten days tops, but then he became more and more of a workaholic which made him more and more successful as well. The trips are usually overseas and right now he's in Australia. I miss him but it's okay though. I can take care of myself, it's no big deal. Besides, this is basically every teenagers dream, right?" I try to lighten the mood but the smile doesn't quite reach my eyes. 

I look up to meet his eyes and he has this concerned look in his eyes and I don't like it. I can sense that he wants to ask more questions. "We should get started on biology," I say when he's about to ask something else. "Since you're already here and stiff." He frowns for a few moments but then he lets out a sigh and just nods.