SEVEN
The two of them gaped to see me at the back of Gideon. The chubby guy who's holding a phone and the red hair tall guy.
I was supposed to smile but my lips couldn't turn up and it just remain in straight line. Somehow I felt awkward.
"G-Gideon... who's that?" the chubby guy asked and slowly put down the phone. The red hair tall guy was already in front of me, offering his hand. "Hey, miss. I'm Scott."
Gideon pulled him away and pushed him to the sofa, right beside to another guy with a magazine on hands. "Don't ordered anything without consulting others, flirt." he said to Scott.
Scott shrugged his shoulders and put his arms to the guy beside him. "Because our little Jimmy wants to eat pizza." he sounds childish while pinching the cheeks of Jimmy.
Gideon grabbed the magazine from Jimmy. "We have a girl visitor for pete's sake, Jim." he whispered but still I could hear it. I just realized the magazine's cover photo was actually a woman with only undergarments on. So practically, this house were filled with pornographic.
"What's your name, miss beautiful?" Scott winked at me.
"Dama—"
"Naomi." Gideon cut me off then he threw his bag pack to Jimmy, and put down my tote bag on the ground. He then disappeared to kitchen.
"Whoa, you have the same name with my great grandmother." the chubby guy said to me. He looks so adorable.
"Brandon, go get our clothes on the laundry shop." Gideon commanded as he took of his clothes and tossed it to the chubby guy, Brandon. He had no choice but to conform. Scott and Jimmy was laughing at him. I don't know in which part. If it is from his great grandmother thingy or from being under to Gideon.
"Sit down, Naomi." Scott tapped the space beside him, giving me a smirk.
I gave him a small smile and sat down beside him.
"Are you two dating?" Scott asked me straightforwardly.
I chuckled. "No, we're not."
Scott just smiled and did not bothered himself to ask even though he was obviously curious about the relationship between Gideon and me. Suddenly, Scott put his arms on my shoulder. "We're already living in millennial year, and it's kind of rare to see a beautiful girl like you with that outfit. You don't seems like a party girl. Unlike us spending our time on just anybody's house partying and drinking wines. Men love to see idiots. Yah know, party girls I mean."
"Party girls are not idiots." I stated.
"Ohh," Scott reacted, feeling the hot through my words. But, I don't mean anything bad. I was just stating the fact.
"I have my friends who likes to go to party. But none of them comes home messed up."
Jimmy nodded at me. "Let me guess, you are just a plain girl out there carrying some books or worse Bible and being a laughingstock of your neighbors." he said with a chuckles. Even though the first sentence I've heard from him was kind of harsh, it was still good for him to talk.
"Shut up, Jim." Scott clenched his jaw. Oh, so he wasn't Jimmy. He's Jim.
"I'm just joking."
"Not a good joke." Brandon said while opening a pack of chips. Did he already picked up the clothes? "Gideon never bring a girl in our house. Especially he never dated anyone so what does it mean?"
The three shouted in chorus, "End of the machismo!"
Brandon has the loudest voice, Scott laughed between the shout, and Jim just uttered the shout but still smiling. But I don't get what they mean? End of the machismo?
"Triple shit to all of you!" Gideon shouted, still busied himself washing dishes.
I stood up to walk toward him. I stopped right beside him but I'm facing the three men. "No more swears to the four of you. If I heard one of you cursing again, I will show no mercy." I threatened them.
"Whoa!" Scott reacted with excitement. "What no mercy do you mean, my lady?"
I don't gave him a respond and turned to Gideon. I whispered, "What does machismo means?"
Gideon didn't looked at me. "Just shut up, Dammy."
"Guys," I called for their attention. "Pizza actually had a lot of calories. It's bad for your health. So instead, I'm gonna be your cook."
Everyone just stared at me, like they don't trust my skills.
"But we already ordered pizza." Brandon stated.
I nodded. "Don't worry about your pizza." then I winked at him.
I walked toward refrigerator, and I can't see anything. All I could see is canned foods. Luckily, I saw some vegetables that would be great for Cobb salad. I cooked a chicken breast, bacon and eggs then I assembled them with a romaine lettuce and chopped the vegetables I've seen on the refrigerator.
The pizza delivery boy came while I'm preparing our dinner.
"Is there any place here that's good for charity?" I whispered to Gideon as I was about to go to the door.
"I'm gonna talk to the delivery instead." he insisted and leave me.
Brandon helped me to arrange for the dinner. The table fits for only four people. "Don't you like to hear swears?" he asked me curiously.
"Not really, though. I knew it was a habit of any person. It's not that you're cursing to just somebody but you're cursing to a person created by God so it means you're also cursing to Him. God created us as a man, all we need to do is to be human."
Brandon nodded at me with a smile. "So you are a Christian."
"Yeah, how about you?"
"Jim and I are also Christian. But Gideon and Scott has no religion, but that doesn't mean they are an Atheist."
Sighed. Gideon told me that he was an Atheist.
We already arranged our dinner as Gideon came back.
So now, I'm sitting next to Jim, and facing Scott, Brandon on his left side. Gideon was still standing on the sink, just looking at us with no shirt on. Luckily, I wasn't attracted to a half-naked guy.
"So where did the two of you met?" Brandon asked, crossing his fingers to gesture two-person-crossing-path.
Gideon gave him a death glare and pulled a shirt back on. "On the hospital." he simply respond.
"Jared said you were rushed to hospital days ago, what happened?" Jim asked. His eyes only focused on the food.
Gideon glanced on me before giving an answer. "Not really important, though." then he turned back to us to and face the sink. "It's just a lung cancer."
Everyone was quiet after hearing him. Until Scott suddenly sobs, and Brandon hugs him, also trying his best to act crying. I glanced on the guy beside me, he was also pretending to sob. Should I laugh or not? Oh my gosh! They are all driving me crazy.
"Hey... don't act like a kiddos." I said, trying not to smile. They're so pure.
Brandon nodded at me. I looked at Gideon. he's also looking at them with a smile. "These idiots." he said while shaking his head.
Their friendship are so weird. Gideon just told them about his sickness yet they made fun of it. I don't know what to feel about this. But I still found it adorable.
"But how about you Naomi? What are you doing in hospital?" Scott asked me, and act like he's wiping his tears.
"I've undergone many biopsies." I said and gave them a smile. "It's a brain tumor."
Scott started to sob again. Brandon also did. Jim suddenly pulled me into a hug. Is he doing this on purpose?
"You all could pass as an actors." I joked then Jim slowly pushed me and chuckled.
Gideon's phone suddenly rings. He wiped his hands on a cloth before looking at the caller but then he suddenly rushed to his room after seeing the caller. He seems in hurry.
I heard Scott sighed. "This is so...hard to believe."
Now, they're seems serious than earlier.
"Yeah, right." Jim drew out a word.
"Gideon never tell us about him, just not to make us worry. He's such a martyr." Brandon said. "He always listen to us, but he never spoke."
"Tell me Naomi, do you like our friend?" Jim asked me, staring into my eyes.
I immediately answered, "No..."
"Look here Naomi, we don't know what you are doing here. You might be also a runaway kid like us but we know something for a certain, Gideon has never been like this. He never let any girl to exceed the limit of being with him, unlike what you are right now. He also never let us to talk about something regarding to him and a girl." Scott explained out of breathe.
"So tell us, Naomi, what are you doing here?" Brandon asked.
I told them about the real reason and they just quietly listened to me.
"You're going to Northwest Territory? Heck! You're just alone." Scott uttered.
"Hey hey!" Brandon suddenly shouted as he remembered something good. "David is working on Yellowknife Airport, right?"
The two agreed and they suddenly smiled.
"David could help you!" Brandon told me excitedly.
"Who's David?"
"He's our friend. Gideon, Jared and David were actually best friends before. They are already friends before they met us. But suddenly..." Scott paused and gulped. "David stand to be a witness that Gideon was the driver of the motorcycle who killed many children on the bus. So it seems like David betrayed him, and they ended up fighting with each other."
Gideon had killed people? Oh my.
"Believe it or not, he never killed anyone." Jim said as if he read my mind. "He had just been set up by his own parents."
I started to feel bad for Gideon. He had been set up by his parents by killing people through road accident. Isn't too much for a parents to do such as things to their own son?
Now, I know that's why it seems like he didn't consider them as a parents.
But could he forgive them? I hope he could.
***
"So whom do you want to sleep with?" Scott asked me.
Brandon kicked his butt. "What do you mean to sleep with?"
"Hey! I don't mean anything! I mean... who among us she wants to share room together with? That's all not doing anything." Scott scratched the back his neck.
I chuckled seeing those two. I suddenly missed Rachel and Ruth.
"Choose among us who you trust the most." Jim said while reading another magazine. It's not a porn magazine.
I stared at the three men in front of me. Scott was standing with his arms cross against his chest, Brandon was eating chips, and Gideon was not there. He's already on his room. I sighed. Who should I choose? There's only two bedrooms in their house, their sofa was too small to sleep on. So they decided the three of them will share to one room then I will share with one of them.
"Gideon." I just replied. He was the safest contestant, I knew him before them.
They're all seems not satisfied.
"Gideon has only with boxer when he sleeps." Brandon said.
"He's the worst. Just go with me." Scott was about to grab me when Brandon pushed him. "Hey Scott, don't be so aggressive."
"I'm not!"
"Do I have to pack my things right now?" Jim closed the magazine.
"You better do that, buddy." Scott said.
Gideon and Jim shared the same room. They said that these two roommates couldn't clean their own room. It's worse than Scott and Brandon's. Well, I expected it already. It seems like Brandon was neat though Scott seems not.
After Jim packed his things from their room, I immediately went to their room with my tote bag. Gideon immediately hide a book he was reading as soon as he saw me. I smiled at him. "I choose you over those three flower boys so you should treat me well..."
Gideon hissed at me. "They're just a bunch of garbage not flower boys."
"You're a bit harsh, Mr. Lucas." I sat down on the cushion on the floor, they don't have a bed.
"Are you not mad at me?" he asked.
I gave him a genuine smiled. "I'm not."
"You can be mad sometimes. God will let you to be mad just for once."
"It's not because God won't let me to. You know, I'm kind of mad at you as soon as I wake up but then I realized that I'm being an immature to be mad over just a kiss though it is obviously not a kiss so I shouldn't be mad at you. I know you had a reason after all."
"But still, I want to apologize. I said too much that time."
"I should say sorry, too. I said a harsh word."
Gideon smiled. "So there is no other complex things between us?"
"Yeah. Everything was settled."
Then we became silent. It's awkward.
An hour earlier the three insisted him to go with in Yellowknife but he disagreed. Well, I understand him. It would hard for him to be my guard and also to meet his friend that he loathed.
"I'm not saying this for you to come with me," I started a new conversation. "You need to talk with your friend and also make things up with him. He must have some reason. Even though he did wrong, he still deserve forgiveness."
Gideon just stared at me then he sighed and looked away. "Did you God said everyone deserves forgiveness?"
"Even though God didn't say it, you should know it. Everyone did mistakes."
"Do you think what David did was just merely a mistake?" his jaw clenched.
"No." I answered immediately. "It's not a mistake, but it's a wrong decision."
He furrowed his eyebrows. "What's the difference between it?"
"I think he has a reason behind it, and for this reason he decided to do the wrong one. But I don't consider it as a mistake if he decided according to his will and he thinks it is right thing."
Gideon hissed then lay down on the bed. "Just shut up, jabber."
Published Date: March 13, 2019