Uncover Me

4-

"This kiss in the parking lot is turning me to stone. You take the sweetest thing and claim it as your own."

When we get to Susie's, I see why she was so frantic. Her house is a mess. It's like a bomb of pizza boxes and carry out had gone off.

"Upstairs is worse." She whispers.

"Oh my god, Susie." The shoes by the front door are splayed our everywhere. "What the hell happened?"

"Uhm. Kevin and Mia came over." I facepalm myself. The siblings Kevin and Mia were notorious for livening up any party or get together and they acted like animals. Especially when any alcohol was involved. Which I'm pretty sure there was a lot.

"Where's your mom?"

"She left on a business trip two days ago. She's gonna be back tomorrow."

"Alright. I'll start in the kitchen, you get the living room. And open some windows!" The mess in the kitchen is worse than the one I'm the living room. Beer cans and bottles litter the floor, while small plastic cups which I assume once had Jell-O shots in it, covered the countertop along with Asian food carry out boxes. So my earlier guess had been correct. It did look like a tornado ran through the room.

By the time I'm done, I've filled two full trash bags and the kitchen room looks as spotless as it did before. When I go to the living room, I'm surprised to find it clean.

"Susie?"

"I'm upstairs!" I pick up random clothes on the floor and put them in the basket which is in the bathroom. I immediately back out once I notice the dried puke mess which was left on the floor.

"Susie! Your bathroom is a mess!" I yell, disgusted.

"I know!" She wails. "It's nasty!"

"Did Kevin and Mia already leave?"

"Yeah. Yesterday." She admits.

"And the mess is still here?" I'm not being mean or judgmental, I'm just wondering how the house was left in such a state or why my friend wouldn't clean it herself.

"I went with them. I only got back when I called you."

"Lovely. Well, you can clean the bathroom and.. did your cousin already eat? I can make something."

"Uhm Mom told me to get pizza or something." She looks sick at the thought.

"I'll find something to make."

The doorbell rings and Susie gives me an 'oh shit' look.

"I'll get it." I assure her. "Just make sure the bathroom is clean and that you leave the window open for ventilation. I skip down the steps to answer the door.

The face I'm met with is not an unfamiliar one. In fact, Susie's cousin, Colton, and I had been very close until he left a few years ago due to his parent's divorce and I haven't seen or heard from his since. But now he's all I can see.

His whole appearance as changed from that brooding teenage boy look to a young man wanting something good in life. His once pale skin had certainly taken a liking to the sun he'd been receiving while in Texas and it gave him an almost otherworldly glow.

Colton flashes me a soft smile. "You gunna let me in or leave me standing on the door step?" He joked, the smile never leaving his face. It made my stomach do a strange little flip flop.

"Uhm.. yeah." I open the door wider so he can slip through. Past him, I can see a taxi pulling out of the drive as he pushes his feet out of a pair of brown cowboy boots. I stare at them as if I've never seen such footwear before. 

"Where's Susie?" Colton calls from the kitchen.

"Upstairs." The reply sounds vacant to my own ears. "She'll be down in a sec." I offer with a more friendly tone.

Colton glances at me with an unreadable look. It's awkward as hell for me, not only because I don't know what to say, but because we haven't talked or seen each other in almost four years. A lot has changed. And even if we were close before, doesn't mean that we are now. The realization makes me sad.

It also makes me wish Susie would've told me sooner so I could've had some mental preparation for seeing him again after all these years. And in case anyone is wondering, yes, I did have a crush on him. But every girl did who knew of him. He was practically the dream guy with kindness in his eyes and love in his heart.

But as I'm studying Colton, there's a roughness to him that's foreign to me. I don't know what it is. I don't know who he is. Perhaps I can reconnect with him and regain a friendship I once thought lost.

And it's not like Susie never talked about him all the years he was gone, it was just whenever she brought him up, I'd shut the conversation down. To be honest, I was angry at Colton for choosing a different life. More hurt than angry, but it was still there. Eventually I accepted that he needed his own way to deal with the loss of his parent's marriage and how their splitting up must've affected him greatly. Even now, as I watched him mindlessly rummage through cabinets, my heart went out for him.

"You want to find something for me to make?"

"I can cook my own meals, thank you." Colton's  voice is dismissive. My heart sinks. Let's face it,  inside I was still that 13 year old girl with a crush on someone three years older than me.

"Colton! You should be nice to Ella." Susie scolds, seemingly coming out of nowhere. There's a faint smell of bleach and perfume when she passes by me to wrap her cousin in a welcoming hug.

His green eyes meet mine for a brief moment before looking down at his cousin with a genuine smile. "You're still shorter." Colton says, amused. Susie lightly punches him in the arm.

"Taller than when I was 14!"

"Still, shorter."

I feel like an intruder, watching a family moment take place that I should have no part in. On the outside looking in. It's a depressing thought.

While they're having their happy family reunion in the kitchen, I slip out silently through the front door.