Let's Restart
Chapter 1
I hadn't been to Colby since I broke up with Eli. Seeing as I ended things with him, I figured I should begin them there too.
It was three in the morning when I got to his apartment. Or what I hoped was still his apartment. God, that'll be embarrassing if it's not. Three in the morning and all… The only reason I was doing it now was because Eli's so nocturnal. Unless he's changed. I mean, I haven't seen him since winter. I had just finished my junior year and summer was just beginning. No telling what changes he's gone through. I know I've gone through my own.
The second I knocked on the door, I wanted to turn and run. I vowed that if he didn't come to the door, I would do just that. Then he had to go and answer.
Eli blinked in the darkness, seeming confused. He was dressed in an undershirt and boxers, his cute X-Men ones that I bought him for his birthday one year. Still, he just stood there, rubbing his eye. I was getting some kind of stench from him, but I wasn't sure what it was. Without saying a word, he finally took a step back, offering me entrance.
Slowly, as if unsure, I walked into the apartment. Eli still just stood there for a moment before moving to close the door, locking it behind him. Then he started for the bedroom, still not speaking to me. I paused, not sure if I should follow. Though I hadn't thought of it before, he could very well have another woman over. Which would be acceptable, considering the fact that we are broken up and have been that way for awhile now.
I heard the bedroom door close and Eli was back with a pillow and a blanket. In the darkness, I watched as he laid down on the couch. Then he looked at me. Nodding towards the bedroom, he made eye contact and held it. Finally I got the hint and went in there.
It looked pretty much the same, except for the fact that stuffed animals now littered the room. Thisbe's, more than likely. God, I hadn't seen her either. I hadn't seen anyone. My mother called regularly and my father did randomly, but besides them, the only person from my old life I spoke to was Maggie and that was because she lived with me.
Slowly, I took off my shoes before getting into Eli's bed. I think that's what he wanted me to do, sleep in here. I guess he figured that I didn't think that I would want to stay in the same bed with him. That was a safe bet on his part, considering the fact that I told him that I couldn't be around him anymore, that last day I saw him. That we had gone too far too fast and crashed. I had to save myself.
I laid in Eli's bed for awhile, trying to go to sleep, but I couldn't. I had come over to talk, not…this. I eventually pushed off the bed and went back to the living room. Eli was still on the couch, sleeping. I tried to find my voice, but it was harder than I thought it would be.
"Eli," I whispered when I located it. "Eli. Wake up."
He stirred slightly and I took in the fact that his head was shaven now. Not to mention he was trying to grow a beard. It made him look more grown up, more manly. Sitting up, Eli just stared at me, clearly confused as to why I was waking him up again.
"I want to be with you. That's why I came."
Eli held up the blankets, offering me my old place, on top of him. I didn't want that side of him. Still, it was something. Slowly, as if unsure, I climbed into my spot and Eli wrapped the blanket back around us. Then he settled down, closing his eyes again. I almost woke him back up, as this was not what I had come over for, but I didn't. Instead, I just cuddled against his chest, trying to be that girl I was a year ago, and went to sleep.
"Oh my God. Did we have sex?"
Frowning, I opened my eyes to see Eli staring down at me. "What?"
"Did we?"
"No."
It was now morning and the sun was coming through the blinds. I blinked a little, shifting on his chest. Eli pushed the blanket off me, making me stand up.
"Are you serious? What are you doing here?"
"What?"
Eli frowned, also getting up. For the first time I realized what I had smelt. Alcohol. Eli had been drunk. That made a lot of sense.
"Why are you back in Colby?" Eli put a hand to his head before heading to the kitchen. "I need an aspirin. Did we sleep together or not?"
"No, Eli. I have no idea what you did before I got here though, so fess up if you want."
He ignored that as I followed him to the kitchen. "Then did I call you or something?"
"I came to talk, because you're normally…you used to be up at three. I got here and you were apparently sleeping or something, because you just let me in and we slept on the couch."
Eli got a soda before downing it and a few pills. Once that was over, he faced me. "Then why are you here, Auden?"
"I thought…I just wanted…to…talk…"
"About what?" Eli pushed passed me, now headed towards his bedroom. I went after him.
"You know…like…are you dating anyone?"
"Why? Saved yourself yet?" He went over to his closet and pulled out a shirt.
My breath caught. "Eli, I didn't mean to make you…I mean…"
"It's not just about me, Auden. It's about your sister and your step mother, and my parents, and all your friends here. God, you just cut them all out of your life. I get me, I get that. I know that you couldn't be with me, God, if I didn't know that, but that little girl did nothing to you."
"Neither did you, I just needed-"
"Needed what? What about what all of us needed?" He pulled on his shirt, though his back was to me. Then he pulled on a pair of dark jeans. "Give me that belt near your feet."
The command shocked me for a moment, my brain trying to process it. When it did, I gave him what he asked for, trying to hold back the hurt that was on my face. Eli saw it though and sighed.
"Auden, you're the one that screwed us over."
I looked away from him as he came closer. "I haven't seen you in months. You'd think that you'd be happy to see me."
"I just…why are you here? To get back with me?"
"I don't know. I didn't think that was an option."
"Then why?"
"Because…Eli, you're the last person in Colby I saw. I figured that I should start where I ended."
He put on his belt while watching me, sighing occasionally. Then he slipped on his shoes.
"I have work. Come on."
"Come on?"
"What? You want to stay here?"
"No, but-"
"Then come on. I have to get to work, you can come."
"Why?"
"Heidi's across the street. I know you want to go in order of last appearance, but I don't think that my parents are really that important. Jake either. Go see Heidi and Thisbe."
"You can't just tell me what to do."
"You coming or not?" He left the room and I went after him. "Good."
The ride in Eli's truck was very awkward. On the driver side visor was one of…Clayton's ultrasound pictures. Eli didn't seem to notice my unease as he pulled out. When he noticed me staring at it, he reached up and untacked it.
"You wanna look at it?"
My voice had fled again. "No."
Eli shrugged, pinning it back up. Then he headed towards the boardwalk. It was then that I realized that my car was staying behind and I was either going to have to walk back or come back with Eli. I hope we're still on good terms later. Well, not that we're necessarily on good terms now, but you catch my drift.
"Heidi's not here yet. Huh." Eli got out of the truck and started for the bike shop. I stared at Clementine's for a moment before following him. Jake was behind the counter when we walked in.
"Okay, Eli, so I did what you said and talked to her, but- Auden." Jake jumped down from his stool, moving to hug me. I froze up, but did let him hug me. Jake held on for too long, but when he did let go, he was already back to the task at hand. "Anyways, Eli, she turned me down."
"You?"
"I know!"
They went off in the back so I just took Jake's spot at the counter. He had a Victoria's Secret catalog out on the counter which I shoved aside. I mean, he's at work. Come on. Sighing a little bit, I leaned my elbows heavily against the counter, staring at the door. About twenty minutes later, it opened.
"Eli, I wanted to drop Thisbe off for- Oh." I smiled a little as Heidi and Thisbe came into the shop. It was a nervous one though. Thisbe stared hard at me, as if trying to figure out if I was her sister. Then I remembered that I had dyed my hair darker and cut it. I must look different to her.
"Auden?" She asked.
"Yeah."
"Oh." She ran to me suddenly, coming around the counter to be picked up. "Hi!"
I lifted her up, giving her a kiss on the head. "Hi. Did you get the birthday present I sent?"
She just cuddled into my lap, not speaking. I was afraid that she would get upset and cry, but instead, she just snuggling against my chest.
"I can't believe you're back," Heidi said, coming closer. I think she wanted a hug too, but I pretended to be concerned with Thisbe. Eli and Jake, having heard what was going on, came out of the back room.
"Eli, Auden's here," Thisbe told him, speaking a lot better than she had in December.
"I know," he told her, his frown still present. "I've got Thisbe, Heidi, so you can-"
"How long are you staying for, Auden?" Heidi asked, ignoring Eli. He clearly didn't like this, but didn't speak out on it.
"I don't know. I have an internship that starts in July."
"For what-"
"Auden, come on." Thisbe jumped down from my lap. "Wanna play? We can go home?"
I smiled more. "You talk so well now, Thisbe."
Eli snorted, but still didn't try to talk again. Thisbe just nodded, clearly wanting me to follow her though.
"Bye-bye, Eli. Bye-bye, Mommy. Bye-bye, Jake." She grabbed my hand when I stood up, attempting to drag me out of the store. "Say bye-bye, Auden."
I shook my head. "Heidi, can I take Thisbe for a little-"
"Yes, of course," she said, still just staring at me. Thisbe ran over to Eli, hugging his leg quickly before dragging me out of the store. "Come on, Auden."
"Where do you want to go?" I finally just picked her up as we made it to the street. "Huh?"
"Home, to go see my dog."
"You have a dog?"
She nodded, wiggling in my arms. "Auden, I want down. I'm not a baby."
"Fine," I said, shocked by this. I sat her down, but Thisbe immediately grasped my hand again, not wanting us to go without contact for too long. "What's your dog's name?"
"Ralph."
I frowned. "Ralph?"
She nodded. "Vinny and Eli gave him to me for my birthday."
That sure beat the hell out of my Scooby doll. "Oh. That's nice. You see Vinny a lot?"
She stared up at me for a moment. "Vinny lives here."
"Here? In Colby? Since when?"
"I dunno." She swung our hands a little. "Auden?"
"What?"
"Where have you been?"
I frowned a little bit. "At school."
"Weren't you at school before? You still came."
"I was, but…things got in the way." I squeezed her hand softly. "Let's not talk about it, okay? What have you been doing recently?"
"Eli teached me how to ride a bike."
I would have told her it was taught, but she was already speaking so much better than I was expecting that I didn't want to ruin it.
"Really?"
"Yep! And Jake is showing me how to skateboard, but it's hard."
"I bet," I said as she jumped over a puddle, using my hand as support. When we got to Heidi's, I was thankful that among all the changes that had happened recently, her locks were not among them.
"Ralph," Thisbe yelled as we walked through the door. Then, I was suddenly pounced upon by…this huge beast. He almost knocked me over.
"Down, Ralph!"
I was expecting a puppy, but for some reason, I had come face to face with a full grown dog. Closing the door behind me, I pushed the dog back, frowning down at him.
"Ralph likes you," Thisbe told me in earnest as the Golden Retriever mix began to inspect my shoes.
"Thisbe, I thought that Ralph was a puppy," I said as the dog now moved on to greet his little master. Thisbe, who was shorter than him, just patted his head.
"No, silly," she told me. "Puppies are baby dogs. Ralph is a grownup dog."
"Oh," I said, deciding not to tell her my real reason for confusion. "So…is Vinny your boyfriend?"
"Ew." She pushed my leg. "No! That's nasty."
"Is it?"
"Yes." She walked further into the house. "Auden, come see my room!"
"I've seen it."
"Daddy and Ms. Vicky painted it for me."
"Who?"
She glanced back at me and Ralph, who was rolling on Thisbe's discarded sandals. "Daddy's girlfriend."
"Oh."
She still saw my confusion, so she said, "Your mommy."
What had happened while I was gone? Did they all grow this much in my absence? If so, how? It didn't feel like it had been that long, but had it? It had nearly been six months, but the changes were enough to qualify for six years.
"Oh. She's here a lot?" I asked as I came to her bedroom. The brown and pink had given way to orange and hot pink. My mother did this? Who was she now? Ms. Vicky apparently is not the same Dr. Victoria West that I always knew.
"Not really." She pointed out her bed, which had The Hulk sheets. "Eli and Vinny bought those."
"I can tell," I said, the bed sheets seeming out of place in a clearly feminine bedroom. "Have you see Hollis recently?"
"Yep!" She jumped at the thought. "Him and Eli fought last time though, so he can't come anymore. Not until they both get timeouts."
I frowned at that, but didn't want to use her to get my gossip. That was low, even for the scum that hadn't seen her in six months, namely me.
"Ralph sleeps here," she said, pointing to the dog bed in the corner. "Ms. Vicky bought him the dog bed because she said that laying with dogs gives you fleas."
Again, all I could do was frown, trying to picture my mother picking out a gift for my half-sister. I couldn't fathom it.
"Do you like…my mom?"
"Ms. Vicky's nice," she told me, pushing Ralph off her bed when he clambered up there. "She buys me books. Eli reads them to me, sometimes."
"Does he?"
"And Jake." She jumped onto her bed, looking at me expectantly. When I sat down next to her, she said, "Vinny can read, but not as well as me! I'm amazing."
"Are you?"
"Yep. Eli says it's because I'm a girl, but Ms. Vicky yelled at him for that."
Glad to see my mother's hatred of Eli's still the same.
After spending a considerable amount of time with Thisbe and Ralph, I eventually met up with Heidi for lunch. Eli was noticeable absent, which upset Thisbe at first, but then Heidi told her that she could see him tonight, as Heidi had a date.
"Unless you wanted to do something, Auden," she said, still just staring at me. Honestly, Heidi's staring was starting to creepy me out. I mean, yeah, I hadn't seen her in a couple of months, but she's acting like I was dead and suddenly got resurrected. I just took some time off from everyone, that's all.
"Oh, no, that's fine," I told her, ignoring Thisbe when she stole one of my fries. We were where everyone in Colby seemed to eat, Last Chance. I was facing the window that showed the coast line, where I could see tourist already flooded the beach even though June had just begun. "I'm sure I'll have something do tonight."
"Eli and me are gonna go see a movie with Vinny."
"Are you?" I took a sip of my drink, now taking my turn in eyeing Heidi. She offered up no explanation for Vinny's sudden residence in Colby, but I couldn't be sure if that was because she didn't know, didn't want to discuss it, or just didn't realize that I didn't know.
"Yep!" Thisbe smiled at me. "Jake can't come because last time he threw popcorn a got throwed out."
"Thrown, honey," Heidi said absently as her phone went off. It was just a text though, which she took her time replying to. Then, when she looked back up, her eyes were on me again. Thisbe, who was sitting next to me, giggled a little, thinking this was a game.
"So how was the end of your junior year, Auden?"
"Good," I said slowly, wary of her undertones.
"That's good. I asked your father, but he didn't seem to know. Your mother either." Then she made a pinched face, as if she had made a mistake. "Oh, sorry. Robert told me that you didn't know about-"
"Thisbe told me."
"Did she?"
My half-sister nodded. "I told Auden about how Daddy and Ms. Vicky painted my room."
"They didn't paint it. They bought the paint. Eli and Jack painted it."
"Who's Jack?" I asked, thinking that it was some new guy from the shop. Heidi glanced at me, her gaze no longer so harsh and creepy. Thisbe was the one that answered though.
"That's her boyfriend," she told me.
"Oh, that guy you were seeing back in November?" I asked, not acknowledging December's existence.
"No, we broke up." She said this quickly, as if I of all people could possibly pass some sort of judgment. After what I did in December and the past few months, I don't think I can judge anyone anymore. No one in Colby at least.
"Oh."
I tried to pretend that I didn't care that I wasn't privy to this information, knowing that I honestly only had myself to blame. I mean, after all, I did cause all this by disappearing. And Heidi had been the most vigilant of everyone when I first took off; making sure to leave messages on my phone, emailing constantly, having Maggie relay messages, ect. Eventually, though, even she lost interest, which had been the plan from the beginning. I need space from all of them, not just Eli. I couldn't get my feels hurt now, after I my plan went off the way I planned.
The subject was quickly changed however as Heidi's phone rang this time. She excused herself before walking outside, leaving me alone with my sister.
"So what movie is Eli taking you to see?" I asked her as she tried to take another one of my fries. This time I batted her hand away.
"I don't know," she told me, frowning at the fact I wasn't sharing. "Auden? Can you stay over?"
"Hmmm?"
"It's Friday."
"And?"
"Vinny and me stay with Eli on Fridays."
"At his apartment?"
She nodded. "Jake too, when he's in trouble with Mrs. Karen."
I shook my head at the thought of him still living with his mother, but didn't voice it to the newly crowned four-year-old.
"Are you?" She repeated when I didn't answer.
"I don't know, Thisbe." Really, I had nowhere else to stay, so I didn't see myself having a lot of options anyways. I'm sure Heidi would be offering up her place, but I was having a stroppy time with her just from eating lunch together, what with her constant staring and cool answers. I did not want to add staying in her house to that equation.
"You can stay with Mr. Joe and Mrs. Karen," she offered up for them. "Jake isn't staying there no more anyways."
"How come?"
"Right now, he's in trouble."
"For what?" I asked, slightly agitated that she was just out right telling me. She shrugged and I realized that she probably didn't know anyways. After all, Jake wasn't her problem. Eli was.
Once lunch was over, Heidi took Thisbe over to the bike shop while I took a walk around town. I spent about an hour do nothing, just killing time. I thought about going back to Eli's, but I was afraid that he had gone back there. That meant I couldn't even go get my car, if only because he might be pulling up as I was there. So…I went to the store.
I didn't know what I was going to buy, but I felt that if I showed up at Eli's with groceries, even he was there, he'd have to be nice to me. I had just finished buying him hotdogs, which he basically lives off (or he did before. Who knew now?), and ketchup when I saw Karen. She was there with Joseph, who was busy trying to figure out which watermelon to buy. I knew walking by the fruits was a bad idea…
"Auden?"
I was busy looking at apples when she said my name. I knew her voice before looking up, but I still took my time.
"Oh. Hi."
Karen rushed to hug me, which she probably knew I wouldn't like, but I let it go, just this once. It was a quick hug anyways.
"Joey, look, Auden."
"I see and hear," he said, still tapping different watermelons. Karen dragged me away from my cart, over to her husband. "Hello, Auden. It's good to have you back."
"I'm just here for-"
"Have you see Thisbe yet? And Heidi?" Karen cut me off, clearly not wanting to think about me leaving again.
"Uh, yeah. Eli and Jake too."
"Ooh, you've seen Eli?" This seemed to perk her up, but Joseph just sighed.
"Karen," he mumbled, shaking his head. "Anyways, Auden, tell me which watermelon sounds hollow to you."
As I helped him figure out what watermelon to buy, Karen informed me of a party in a few days.
"It's a barbeque for Steven's birthday."
So Steven's here too. The girl side of me wanted to know what he was doing down here, apparently living here, but I was able to hold my questions down.
"Can you come?" She asked as Joseph put the watermelon we picked out in their basket. Then he patted me on the shoulder before walking off, headed to the oranges next. Karen rolled her eyes at him.
"I'll see."
"I'm sure Eli will invite you," she said, winking once before grabbing both my arms and holding them for a moment. "It's good to see you, Auden. Very good."
"I…Thanks."
Then she smiled at me before running off to go catch up with her husband who had somehow gotten to the cantaloupes. Shaking my head, I went back over to my own cart, figuring now was the time to checkout. I grabbed a box of cookies for Thisbe and Vinny before leaving. Luckily, I didn't run into them on the way.
When I got to Eli's, no one was there, so I just started putting away the few groceries I had. I was about done when he got there.
"And Auden said that Ralph was a puppy, but I told her that no, Ralph isn't a puppy, he's a grown up dog."
"Uh-huh," I heard Eli say, clearly not wanting to hear about me. I sighed, sticking my head out of the kitchen.
"Auden!" Thisbe saw me first and shrieked, running over to me. Eli grimaced a little.
"What are you doing here?" He asked.
"I bought food. Thisbe told me that Vinny and her spend the night with you on Fridays, so I thought that I should buy you guys some treats. Hotdogs too. I was going to get ice cream, but- Stop, Thisbe."
She was pulling on my shirt, wanting my attention. "Can you ask him now?"
"Ask me what?" Eli asked, coming into the kitchen also. His arms were crossed over his chest, but I was more focused on his hair, which I still couldn't get over being gone.
"I don't know," I said, looking down at her. "What would I ask him?"
"If you can come," she hissed under her breath. "To the movie and the sleepover."
Eli frowned. "Did you want to go to the movie? It's just some animated movie that's out. I don't even know what it's about."
"No, I'm fine."
"Sleepover," Thisbe reminded, making me sigh.
"Do you want to stay with me, Auden?" Eli asked.
"I don't have anywhere else to go, Eli."
He shrugged again. "Then stay. I don't care."
We stared at each other for a moment, neither wanting to be the one to given in. Then Thisbe distracted us by running out of the room. Once she was gone, he came closer.
"Look, Auden, I don't know what you think is going on between us, but you're not going to play me again."
I pushed passed him and out of the room. "Whatever, Eli."
"Stop," he said, grabbing my arm a little too forcibly. Then I just stood there, letting him hold onto my arm while waiting for him to say something. He just held me there though, letting out a long sigh.
"Auden…"
"What?"
"…I missed you."
Then he let me go and was walking passed me, chasing after Thisbe.
Around six, we headed over to Karen's to pick up Vinny, but not before Thsibe convinced me to come. His siblings Jordan and Taylor weren't there, which was weird to me, but Eli offered up no explanation and I refused to ask him for anything. So that was that.
When we pulled up to his parents' house, Eli got out to get his nephew, returning quickly. Vinny had gotten taller since the last time I had seen him, but given the amount of changes that had gone on recently, I wasn't surprised. His hair was also getting darker and he looked more like his father now. He had a Power Rangers backpack on, which probably held his overnight stuff.
"Hi, Vinny," Thisbe greeted as he climbed into the car. Eli made sure he buckled up before getting into the driver's seat. "This is Auden."
"I know Auden," he said, smiling at me. "You're Eli's girlfriend."
He and Thisbe both started giggling about that one, but neither Eli nor I confirmed or denied this. I kept sneaking glances at the picture of Clayton Eli had taped up on his visor, trying to figure out how he dealt with staring at it. It made me feel sick.
"Okay, when we get to the movies, what are the rules?" He asked, turning down the music a little.
"No talking during the movie," Thisbe said.
"Bathroom break before previews are over," Vinny added.
"Right. And no throwing what?"
"Popcorn," they said in chorus.
"Good." Eli nodded his head a little. "What about snacks?"
"You'll buy us one big popcorn, but we have to share," Thisbe said. "We all get one soda or one box of candy. We can split it if we want."
"'less Thisbe has a cold."
"I don't," she complained, frowning at Vinny.
Eli shook his head, not saying anything to me as he turned the music back up. When we got there and got in line to get our tickets, I was prepared to buy my own, but Eli didn't even give me chance. Then, while we were in line getting our snacks, Thisbe complained about having to go to the bathroom, so I left Vinny with Eli and took her. When we met the boys back in the theater, Eli had two huge popcorns and three sodas.
"Sprite," he said, pointing to one of the seats where a soda sat in the cup holder. Thisbe sat down in that seat, which happened to be next to Vinny. I guess they both drank Sprite, because he took a sip before letting her take one. On the other side of Thisbe was a Coke, which was for me.
"How come there's two popcorns?" Thisbe asked as Vinny held the one he had away from her. "Hey!"
"Here." Eli reached over his nephew and handed me the popcorn. "The girls share that and we'll share this."
"I got us Sno Caps," Vinny said, shaking the box at Thisbe. Eli looked down at the two of them before over at me. I was kind of wishing that I could sit next to him, but I knew it was better this way, so we had both of them in our reach.
"I thought you'd want a soda instead," Eli said with a shrug.
"It's fine. Thank you."
"You're welcome," he said indifferently, like we had no history.
The previews had just begun, but Thisbe and Vinny were already enraptured by them, staring at the previews as different cartoon characters paraded the screen. Eli settled down for a nap which was obvious by his position. For my part, I tried to watch the movie once it started, but it was hard. I mean, the plot was so basic and boring. Still, it entertained Thisbe and Vinny and that was all that mattered. They were still too young to go to those little kid movies where the plot was interesting enough for adults enjoy, but I liked hearing them and the other little kids giggle. Of course there were the crying kids and the ones that needed to be taken in and out of the theater constantly, but I think that that came along with going to a G-rated cartoon.
After the movie was over and we had another bathroom break, Eli took us out to eat. It was just fast food, but he still paid for me. While we were waiting for our food, Thisbe and Vinny went to play on the playground the place had, leaving Eli and I alone.
"So…how have you been?"
He glanced up at me from his phone. I wanted to know if he was texting a woman, but I wasn't sure how to find out. "How do you think?"
Okay… "Well-"
"Don't answer that."
I gave him a look. "Eli, I'm just trying to make conversation."
"Then let's talk about something real."
"Like what?"
He glanced outside, watching through the glass as Thisbe and Vinny crawled through the tubes of the playground. He was being very vigilant of them, which was…well…kind of sexy. Oh God, I'd been with out a guy for too long…
"Like what you really want to know."
'What do I really want to know?" I asked, frowning.
"I'm not seeing anyone, nor have I been," he told me, but didn't give me a chance to say anything as our order was called. He went to get our food while I went to get Vinny and Thisbe from outside. Dinner was quick and mostly silent, as far as Eli and I were concerned. The next time he spoke to me was when we were back at his place, settling to kids down to sleep.
"You want a sleeping bag?" He asked me as he rolled out Vinny and Thisbe's on the living room floor. Both kids were busy setting all their stuffed animals around the area, which was kind of creepy. "We've only got three."
"I can sleep on the couch."
"Auden, you can just sleep in bed," Eli told me, but I shook my head.
"Auden and Eli can share a sleeping bag," Thisbe said, making Vinny giggle. "Then they can kiss."
"Ew." Vinny pushed her a little as he put his toys on his Buzz Lightyear sleeping bag. Thisbe was already getting inside her Mario Brothers one.
"No," Eli said, frowning. "We can't."
I blushed a little bit. "I'll, uh, be in the bedroom."
Eli shrugged as he rolled out his own sleeping bag. I had brought my duffle bag in earlier and left it in his room. Going in there, I quickly changed clothes before going to the bathroom to brush my teeth. While I was in there, Eli walked in.
"Whoa, sorry," he said though he just stepped around me. "Have to take a leak."
"Eli."
"I closed the door."
"With me in here."
"You've seen it before." He didn't even look at me as he relieved himself, making me roll my eyes. After spitting in the sink, I left, about the same time Eli was done.
"So are you gonna sleep in the bed?" He asked, following me into the bedroom.
"If you want me to."
"Auden, I just want you to be…comfortable."
I glanced back at him. "Yeah, I guess I will."
"Are you going to bed now?"
"The kids are, aren't they?"
He went over to his dresser and started to pull all of his stuff out of his jean pockets. Then he dropped his jeans.
"Hand me those basketball shorts over there," he told me. "And, no, first they want to hear me tell them a story. You can skip that though. I just read a chapter of a Nancy Drew book to them or something like that."
"Do they understand it?"
"Not really, but Taylor had some, so I borrowed them. There's only so many times that I can explain what happens when you give a mouse a cookie."
"…What?"
"Its a little kids book."
"Oh."
"Yeah." Eli pulled on the shorts when I handed them to him, putting his phone in the pocket. As he was leaving the room, he pulled off his shirt, but all I saw was his back again. After standing there for a moment, I laid down in his bed and went to sleep.