My lover's promise

CHAPTER 5

I got off the bus and started walking to my home. Its just 3 blocks down from the bus stop. As I was walking I thought about Kelly and Maverick. They are indeed siblings from the way they talk and they act they are similar. I wonder what Kelly meant by his brother being worried about me. As I continued walking I realized that my mom would be off to work by this time. So when I get home, I need to close and lock all doors and windows and start making myself some dinner. 

 “Hey! Darling! Nicole”! A voice called out my name and I instantly I knew who it was.

 “Hi Mrs. Boyle.” I turned around smiled. Her smiling face turned to worry. 

 “My god! What happened darling?” She asked.

 “Oh, we were playing volleyball in our PE and I didn't have time to move when the ball was coming at me.” I answered. 

 “Oh, i see. Are you alright, darling?” she asked with an innocent look in her face.

 I couldn't help feel annoyed and amused at the same time. I mean, look at me, my nose is broken! Do you think I'm okay? Oh wait, Of course, it’s not her fault I shouldn't be a b***h. I thought to myself.

 “Yes! I'm alright! This is nothing, Mrs. Boyle. No need for you to worry.” I answered with a very awkward smile. 

 “Then why don't you join us for dinner, I’m just finishing up with my meatloaf. Prix loves my meatloaf, he says it’s the best meatloaf He's ever tasted,” Mrs. Boyle offered.

 For some reason, I think her words came out wrong with me. Probably because I'm a little bit green minded. But aren't we all?

 “So what do you say,” she asked. 

“Oh, okay sure, i guess”. I answered.

 We went in to her house and believe it or not it’s my first time to get in their house. It was simple and modern at the same time. She pulled me into the living room where I found Prix playing a videogame. 

“Prix! Nicole is here, please welcome her.”

 He nodded and proceeded to play his game. He didn't even look at me. 

 “Darling, I'll be in the kitchen for a while, why don't you stay and bond with Prix? I'll call you guys when I'm done cooking. Okay?” Mrs. Boyle said. 

 “Oh, are you sure that you won't be needing any help? I'll go with you.” I offered. 

 “No! No! No! You're our guest so you should just relax,” Mrs. Boyle insisted. So I gave up and sat to the nearest couch from Prix. 

 “Soooo, you like videogames, huh?” I asked, hoping we could have a conversation. But he ignored me, didn't even look at me nor spoke to me. It's as if I'm invisible. He just continued playing. Okay, this is awkward. I know, I should look at the photos around the living room. That would be interesting, since I don't think we will be talking at all. I stood up from the couch and went to the closest picture on the wall. It was Prix's picture when we were kids. I smiled as I remembered the times that we would play hide and seek in my house. Then all of a sudden, there was silence from the room and I notice that Prix paused his game. 

 “Do you know it’s rude for guests to be snooping around the host's house? Are you a thief? Are you casing the house so you could find what to steal?” He blurted. 

Wow! This time, I felt insulted. I aint a thief yo! I thought. He looked at me with dead expression from his face. He wasn't even concerned with how I look. 

 “What?! Are you accusing me of being a thief? What the f**k is wrong with you?! Look here buddy, we might have a great time when we were kids but let me tell you something. I don't take shitty insults from anybody. I maybe poor and bad at sports but when you mess with me, I don't back down easily!” I snapped at him. 

 His whole body was calm but his eyes shows fear. I took a step near him. He was sitting down so I leaned down so that we're eye level.

 “Next time, you insult me. I'll break your nose and I'll be sure of it. I said with a serious face.” He gulped, nodded, turned his chair and went back to his videogame. 

 Yeah! That's what I thought! I proudly said to myself. Like I said, I'm not someone that you could easily bully. However, I find it weird that Prix didn't say anything. His usual cold demeaning eyes, were replaced with fear. Did I go too far? I thought.

 “Dinner's ready everyone,” Mrs. Boyle announced from the kitchen.

 I looked at him and went to the kitchen by myself. I didn't wait for him to get up. When I arrived at the kitchen, I saw that Mrs. Boyle was still transferring all the meatloaf in a bigger plate.

 “Oh! Mrs. Boyle, let me help you! I offered.

 No need darling, I can do it.” 

Then I looked at the dining table and found that the table isn't set yet.

 “Mrs. Boyle let me help you, I'll set the table. Where are the plates and silverwares?” I asked.

 “No! You are our guest. You should just relax. Maybe I shouldn't have said the food is ready. Please call me Natalie,” Mrs. Boyle said. 

Wow! Natalie, such a cute name. I thought. 

“Don't worry about it Natalie. It's my pleasure to help.” I answered. 

 “I'm so sorry about Prix, he isn't usually like this, Natalie said.

"He usually helps me out but for some reason he is distancing himself from us. I don't know what to do.” She confessed.

 “Maybe, he needs time. You know being teenager is such a complicated time.” I told her while looking for the plates. 

She looked at me and said: 

 “Then why are you less complicated? You and your mom has always been close.” I flinched at her words.

 “To be honest my mom and I are close but lately we have been having some misunderstandings.” I said. I never really had a best friend to share my problems with but somehow I knew that I could trust Natalie. Maybe my confession would help her feel better. I thought. Then I let out a sigh and looked at her. 

 “You see, my mom and I, we sometimes have arguments. My mom makes me do a lot of things that she thinks are good for me. But she never once asked me if I feel okay about it. So, I kept that sadness by myself until eventually I exploded and I told her how much I hate it and how I hate her for being so controlling. And I said some hurtful words that I know I won’t be taking it back. The thing is, we do love our parents, it’s just sometimes parents do seem to get out of the line. Parents seem to not be trusting with us and always snooping around. Don't get me wrong, it's the parents’ job to make sure their kids are doing well but like I sad, sometimes it’s just too much. I paused... 

"So your son and I are basically just complicated teenagers. No one is perfect, Natalie. We're all just trying to be good people and at the same time figuring out who we are. We're just not good at expressing ourselves.” We stared for a moment then she cried.

 “Darling, I don't know what you're going through but I know that you and your mom will fix it soon. Oh my god, I wonder if my son feels the same too. Thank you for telling me, for a long time I always thought that I'm not doing enough and maybe that's why he is distancing from me. You see, I don't have a lot of friends”.

 She hugged me and I hugged her back. 

 “There is no way to know that Natalie. There could be a lot of reasons. I’m sure you will figure it out. You're the mommy after all. You will know.” I said. 

 She smiled and we continue to finish the task at hand in a comfortable silence. Mrs. Boyle is really kind, but I can't help wonder, what does she mean with, she doesn't have a lot of friends? She's been here for a long time, surely some would be her friends right now, I thought to myself. I start to set the table. I put the plates, the forks, knives and spoon on the table. And Natalie placed the meatloaf in the center of the table. We stared at the table for a brief moment, admiring our work when Prix came in and turned his gaze to the food and sat down. His mom looked at me and signaled me to sit down with them. Okay, this is awkward, I just threatened Prix from the living room, and I told Natalie of my feelings. Natalie shared her thoughts about Prix a while ago. This dinner is indeed a roller coaster ride.