Wrong Arrow

11 : Over Night

Pearl and Vaeri separate ways.

The moon shines bright and the stars twinkle in rhythm.

“You should try walking at the park at night. It’s different in the morning.” Zach utters without thinking to much of it. Ten seconds goes by and he changes his mind. “On second thought, don’t do it.”

They arrive inside the familiar neighborhood.

“Ever considered buying a bike for yourself? You’d get home faster if you did.” He utters knowing she can’t hear him.

He fastens just pace and goes in front of her. With his gaze fixated on her, he proceeds to walk backwards.

“You don’t talk much when you’re alone do you? My last client wouldn’t stop talking to himself. He’d stare in the mirror and practically praised himself. Just between the two of us, he wasn’t that good looking.”

From a distance, Pearl could see the light inside the house have been turned off.

But that doesn’t stop her from hoping her parents might still be around.

But she meets disappointment in the end.

She opens the door with the extra key, pushing it open before flicking the lights on.

“Mom? Dad?”

The darkness of the house brings a shiver down her spine.

When silence meets her, she lets out a sigh. For the past few days, her parents have been very busy.

They’re barely at home. They’re working- that she tried to understand. And the least she can do, is do well in school.

Pearl closes the door behind her and familiarly glides down the hallway. She stops by the kitchen for a drink.

Zach isn’t too far behind. He’s leaning against a wall, arms crossed across his chest as he observes her.

Pearl ties her hair back, exposing the skin of her neck.

“What should I make for dinner?” The girl asks herself as she scans the inner fridge.

Zach temporarily looks away with the shade of crimson circling his cheeks. Clearing his throat, he pushes himself off the wall and stands on his toes, peering at the fridge.

Pearl takes out a bunch of containers and places them on the island.

Zach scrunches his nose. “You should know eating meat isn’t healthy. Why can’t you prepare yourself salad like the other girls? No wonder you always look tired.”

Meat after meat. Even yesterday she had meat. Earlier this morning for breakfast, she had meat.

Is meat all this girl takes?

His eyes have furrowed slightly, showing annoyance.

But then he shakes his head and takes a deep breath. “What’s the use? It’s not like you can hear me.”

Cupid walks across the glossy tiles and rests his bottom on the stool. Across from him, Pearl’s enjoying her dinner.

“I still think this is unhealthy.”

Pearl gets up and brings out a huge coke from the fridge.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Are you planning to give yourself early diabetes?”

All these nagging goes to vain. Pearl continues to consume everything. From the chicken, to the bacon to the beef. She leaves nothing behind.

A disgusted look plasters all over Zach’s face. “You haven’t even changed your clothes yet.”

Pearl then leaves the counter and heads upstairs. Zach doesn’t follow her, merely staying out.

Five minutes later, he picks up the faint steps of feet coming down the stairs. Pearl, all clad up in an oversized shirt and shorts, appear. Her hair’s tied up and Zach can pretty sure tell she had just out from a shower.

The girl pauses for a few seconds and looks away to the wall. Zach follows her eyes only to see nothing interesting. Only a picture frame of a plant with a huge bee on it.

Pearl then goes back the table to clear her things. She spends the next twenty minutes in the kitchen, cleaning things up. At some point, Zach had evacuated ti the living room.

He was getting sick of the bleach smell she was using.