Why did Josh hit him? What was with this Emily? She seemed to be everywhere. What happened to her? Would he ever tell me?
I looked over at him, wanting to ask so many questions. Instead I stayed quiet, looking back beyond the 'new' world I see.
We pulled into the driveway, the house still amazed me. We grabbed all the bags from the back, laughing as Josh tried to carry all of them at once. Though that didn't work. I opened up the door for him, the house was cool, but warmer than outside, for the sun had already set. We brought everything up to my room, setting everything on the bed. My room. Sounded so weird to say.
"We will wash them before putting them away," Josh said with a smile. He held his hand, covering the bruise.
"You should put some ice on that," I suggested, he chuckled.
"You a doctor?" he teased as I laughed.
"No, but I know how to take care of someone after a fight," I truthfully said, becoming more trusting with him about my past.
"I'm sorry," he said with teary eyes. I walked over to comfort him.
"Don't be, please," I smiled, rubbing his arm. "Show me how to wash the clothes," I said, changing the subject.
He brought me to the laundry room, it was bigger than expected. It was clean, and the colors represented the other rooms of the house. We took off all the tags off the clothes, placing them in the washer. Though leaving all the whites out. He showed me the measurements of the soaps, and the settings to put them in. it satisfied me, how it was all hand free.
"Think you can remember it all?" he teased, I lightly pushed his shoulder, laughing as he acted all offended.
"I think I can manage," I replied.
"Wanna watch a movie?" he asked, "I'm a great movie picker," he laughed.
"Alright, you pick, I haven't seen one in a long time," I laughed.
We walked over to the living room, the TV was huge, bigger than I've ever seen. The couch was a C shape. White with black throw pillows, and blankets. I sat down, sinking into the cushions. Josh sat beside me, pulling up a blanket, picking a movie. I watched as he went by them all. How could he choose if there were so many choices?
He settled on the movie 'A Dog's Purpose,' then motioned for me to come closer. I moved in, leaning into his scent that gave me flutters every breath. The warmth from his chest reminded me from last night, as he held me after the nightmare. I laid my head on his shoulder, watching as the dog Bailey met his family.
The movie was sad, by the end my eyes flooded with tears in Josh's arms. A few had formed in his as well.
"You're the worst movie picker," I teased, wiping the tears from my eyes, and hitting him on the shoulder. He laughed.
"Okay okay, maybe that wasn't the best movie to watch tonight," he agreed, he looked at me, placing a hand on my cheek. I flinched at the move but then leaned into it, as he wiped a tear away from my cheek with his thumb. His hand was warm, and soft. It felt safe, I cursed the way my body flinched to his touch.
He pulled away as the door opened, and his parents walked in. I focused on the dying warmth on my cheek, where his hand laid. I didn't want to go back to reality, but forced myself to do a reality check. How much time had passed?
His parents walked into the living room, his mother passing a glare. I shifted uncomfortably under her gaze, till looking towards Josh, his eyes showed a glimpse of anger.
"I'll go check the laundry," I said, wanting to get out of there fast.
"Do you need any help?" Josh asked, "you think you can remember everything?" he teased.
"I think I can manage," I said shyly, walking away. I felt her eyes on me the whole time, what did I do that made her dislike me so much?
I heard their distant voices from the laundry room, as I placed the damp clothes into the dryer. What were they talking about? Why doesn't his mother like me? The thoughts haunted me. What was it that was between Josh and Asher? What was the connection between this Emily? I sighed, placing in a dryer sheet, and turning on the dryer, putting my attention to the whites. What's the story behind this family? What were the scars on Josh's body from? What happened? I placed the soap along with some scented beads into the washer, turning it on to the correct settings.
"Ava?" a voice came from behind, causing me to jump. How long have they been waiting?
"Josh," I let out a breath, he stood in the doorway, his hands in his pockets, shifting his feet, "you scared me."
"Sorry, just came to see if you needed help" he let out a worry smile. What was wrong?
"Is something wrong?" I asked, turning to turn on the washer.
"No nothing is wrong," he said, it only felt like the half truth. I let it slide, not wanting to push anything. I cleaned up any mess I made, waiting for either him to say something, or my mind to ask an askable question. Turning around, he was closer now, his hands still in his pocket, his hair in a beautiful mess, as his forest green eyes looked down upon me. Here comes the flutters.
"I have to go to work tomorrow," he says. I tilt my head to the side slightly, "that means I can't take you with me." Oh.
"So I will have to stay here?" I asked, knowing the answer already.
"Yes, but my father will be here; you can go to him if you need anything," he smiled slightly. "My mother shouldn't be a problem, you will barely know she's here when she works in her office."
I nodded my head, wishing that he didn't have to go. Though, I realized I could spend my time reading in the little nook. I looked back on the time left on the machines, half an hour left. I sighed at the waiting time.
"We still have some stuff to put away," I said, where was I going with this? "Why don't you help me with it while we wait for the clothes to dry?" I suggested. A smile grew on his face, and his eyes brightened.
"Alright," he smiled, putting out his hand. I didn't flinch.
Josh had played around with some of the objects, like trying on the shoes he knew were too small, or putting on the accessories like bags, and necklaces. Laughter filled the room, as we slowly but surely cleaned everything off the bed. Along when the first load of laundry had finished. Finding a place for everything. I didn't want to move too many things, I knew the room was special. Not wanting to take that away.
When finishing up the items on the bed, the box that Josh held running over to me at the mall, laid on the bed in the same bag. I picked up, walking over to hand it to him. He put up his hand, shaking his head no. I looked at him confused, he smiled behind a soft chuckle.
"It's for you," he said. That made sense.
"Oh," my voice came stronger with surprise than I attended to. "You didn't have to get me anything."
"But I wanted to," he's too sweet. "Open it."
I took it out of the bag, and a rectangle box came out. The words 'iPhone' are typed on the side. A picture of a pink phone was on top. I looked at Josh with confusion, then back down, peeling the plastic off the box. Inside, underneath some papers, a thin pink phone laid. It was cool to the touch, why did he give me one of these?
"So you can contact me when I'm not around," I felt a smile on his face.
"I don't know what to say," I looked up to him with shock, "thank you.'' I walked over, giving him a hug. It caught him off guard, but then he gave one back. He was warm, and his scent filled me. Please don't let go.
"I'll help you set it up," he said, releasing from the hug, allowing the cool air to take away the warmth. I nodded with a smile, handing him the phone to him.
He showed me how to set it up, putting in a new email, number, dates. It was all new to me, as he showed me how to actually use it, laughing at the amount of times I asked a similar question, time after time.
"You really do ask a lot of questions," he laughed. His laughter filled the room full of joy.
"You always say that," I nudged him with my hand, laughing with him.
"Cause it's true," he gently nudged back, handing me the phone. It was warm where he held it. I smiled, placing it beside me, as he sat beside me on my bed. I laid back, staring at the ceiling.
"You like to look at the ceiling don't you?" he asked, laying beside me.
"It's oddly satisfying," I tell him, following the lines of the vines, and flowers as every pattern was unique. I placed my hands on my stomach, hanging my legs off the edge of the bed.
"We should probably go to sleep now," he said, after a few minutes of silence.
"A little longer?" I asked, and I heard him chuckle quietly. Picturing his smile made mine grow.
"Alright, only a few minutes," he said calmly, placing a hand on mine, hooking his pinkie with mine, as I placed one down on my side moments before.