II
Kate's Perspective.
I began placing the items Six thoughtfully purchased for me onto the kitchen counter, placing the plastic bags into a recycling bin, as my mother walked in.
She gave me a sly grin, turning to face the sink to wash her hands.
"What?" I asked innocently.
"It's about time you started talking to him." She started, slightly confusing me.
"What do you mean?" I asked. She gave me a strange look.
"Don't you remember him coming over when you were little?" She asked. "Perhaps you were too young to remember." She added, beginning the food preparation.
I took a moment to try to remember what she was talking about, but nothing was coming to mind.
"I remember Humphrey always being over but-" I halted; realization in my eyes. "He was the one who would walk with him from school!" I realized. I brought my hand to my forehead. "That's right.. And he would talk with dad, but never stayed long." I added, which brought further questions to mind. "I don't seem to remember why." I added, staring into space.
My mother looked at me again.
"I do." She said, looking back to the pot on the stove. I waited a moment for ehr to continue but she didn't.
I had a look of "Well?". She gave me another sly glance.
"I remember him telling me once that he was afraid of you." She said. That response confused me more than it added context.
"Why would he be scared of me, I hardly remember even talking to him." I said.
My mother smiled slightly, before looking at me.
"I think he had a crush on you." She started, looking back to her task. "He would get nervous whenever you talked to him; he'd fumble around with his hands. One time, he brought you a pink flower on Valentine's Day. I remember you let him put it over your ear and you gave him a hug." She continued, smiling with a giggle. "His face was so red." She added.
I had a content smile as I thought about him.
"I don't know why I can't remember this.." I said with a sigh.
"Don't worry, dear. I wouldn't expect you to. You two didn't hang out much." She said.
I still had a slight smile as I imagined what my mother explained. She noticed.
"Maybe he still does." She said, bringing me out of my thoughts.
"Still what?" I asked obliviously.
"Has a crush on you." She said softly, with a slight giggle.
My cheeks went slightly pink as I thought about that.
"Six? No way.. I mean, we've never hung out or anything. Besides, that was years ago." I said; gently.
She looked at me again.
"You did today." She said, "Speaking of, how was it?" She asked curiously. My mother and I are rather close, as I'm comfortable enough talking about this stuff.
"Oh-" I started. "Six is such a nice guy. He was always looking out for me, he even let me wear his sweatshirt- crap!" I said, bringing my arms up into view. "I forgot to give it back!" I exclaimed.
"Don't worry dear, I'm sure you'll see him at school tomorrow. I was wondering where you got that from., it looks comfortable." She said, pointing at it with a cooking utensil.
"Oh believe me; it is." I replied, bringing the sleeves up to my cheeks. I realized that it smells heavily of him, and to say he smelled nice was an understatement. He had a musk that felt so tough; so manly. I smelled this earlier in the car, but didn't think the sweatshirt would as well.
My mother noticed my action, and slightly laughed.
"Enjoying yourself?" She asked humorously. I took my hands away and blushed.
"It just smells like cologne." I lied.
"Hah-" She scoffed. "Whatever you say." She said with a grin. "Anyway, what else did you two get up to?" She added.
I smiled as I reimagined our interaction.
"He and I actually got along really well, we cracked jokes, talked about school.. And he said that he has a really hard time sleeping." I said, adding that last part with a gloomy tone.
My mother nodded slightly.
"Ever since he lost his mom, he has become very distant." She started; with a saddened expression. "He stopped coming over to see dad, he barely attended school; the only one he still spoke to was Humphrey." She finished, before halting her action, looking at me seriously.
"Kate, I know a lot of this is new information.. But-" She paused. "He's been a big part of your father and I's lives. Your father basically became his dad, and it hurt us when we learned what he had gone through. Your father, -when he found out what Six's father did-, had so much hate toward him. The only reason we attended the funeral was to be there for Six. Even after what his father did to him, he still cried, and cried when he died." My mother explained, as her eyes started becoming bloodshot.
I listened carefully as I learned all of this. I almost was scared to ask:
"What- what did he do to him?" I hesitantly; quietly asked. My mother gave me a discerned look.
"Kate, he beat Six, almost every day." She started, looking to the floor. "He abused him, both mentally and physically. He ripped away his hobbies, he shattered his dreams. Six still, -after what his father would do to him-. Told him what he loved, what he cared about. His father used it against him.. and it ruined him." My mother paused as a tear rolled down her face. She closed her eyes.
"Six was forced to sleep in the garage; in the cold." She added. "Your father would pick him up from school and bring him to different restaurants, letting him eat whatever he liked before dropping him off at home; oblivious to what went on inside.. Every. Day. Six never told us."
Suddenly, Winston walked into the kitchen, freezing in his tracks as he saw Eve crying.
"Uh.. what's going on?" He asked carefully. Eve wiped her tears away.
"Six." Was all she said. Winston gave a heavy sigh and crossed his arms.
"Yeah.." He said quietly, before retreating back out of the kitchen.
I had absolutely no idea. I'm not upset they hid this from me, but I'm glad they told me now so that I don't hurt him by accident. My eyes were welled, so I wiped them away before the tears ran. I couldn't believe that someone as thoughtful; as caring as Six would have had a father as cold, and as damaging as that.
"We love him, Kate. He is so hurt, just be careful." Eve said, composing herself. I simply nodded, lost in his thought. "If you like him, be there for him. He doesn't have many he trusts." She added.
I was lost for words. My mother was talking about a boy unlike she's ever. It was alien.
"I'm going to go to my room for a little bit. I'm gonna text him and see how he's doing." I said, walking out of the kitchen. "I also need a bit to process all of this." I added, walking up the carpeted stairs to my room.
I entered my room and closed my door, turning on a dim lamp next to my bed. I sat down and let out a sigh. It's a lot to take in, for sure. I had no idea there was so much going on in the background. I laid on my back and stared at my rotating ceiling fan. I thought back to what my mother had said; about him having a crush on me when we were younger. I thought that was cute.
I pulled my phone from my back pocket and opened my contacts. I scrolled down to see his name.
I stared at my screen, unsure how to start. I decided on a simple 'Hey', to get the ball rolling. He responded rather quickly.
"Hey Kate, what's up?" He wrote.
"Just wanted to say thanks again for hanging out with me today. I had a great time. :)"
"I had a great time too. :) How's that sweatshirt lol" He wrote. I smiled, since he didn't seem to mind.
"It's sooo comfy. :3 I might have a hard time giving it up." I said back.
"Haha well if you like it you can keep it, I don't mind ;)" He wrote.
"Noooo it's yours. I'll gladly keep it for a few days though lol" I said back, rubbing the soft sleeve on my cheek.
I really liked his smell, I couldn't seem to get enough of it. It made me feel warm inside.
"What are you up to?" I wrote, smiling as I saw him typing back.
"At the gym. Probably gonna be here for about a half hour, then I'll head home. How about you? How's the cold" He wrote back. I smiled at the gesture of his care.
"Strong boy :) gonna eat dinner then probably going to watch Netflix and chill out, don't have much else to do. My cold is pretty minor now that I'm in the house, thanks for asking". As I pressed send, I heard my mom yell up the stairs that it was time for dinner.
I connected my phone to the charger and set it next to my bed and walked out of my room. As I walked down the stairs the smell of food was prominent; a tender scent.
Six's Perspective.
I had a hoodie on that I had in my car, this one was a dark grey. It's usually a lighter color but since I've been sweating it's taken a heavier look. I sat on a padded bench, looking down at my phone. I had my recently purchased AirPods in, as I listened to a personalized AC/DC playlist, thanks to Siri.
A bead of sweat raced down my nose, but I quickly wiped it away before it dripped onto the padded floor. I had my MMA gloves on because I've been practicing my form on a punching bag. Thankfully this gym has heavyweight bags, because the lighter ones swing around like mad when I get into my zone.
"Strong boy :) gonna eat dinner then probably going to watch Netflix and chill out, don't have much else to do. My cold is pretty minor now that I'm in the house, thanks for asking". Is what I read from Kate.
I put my phone back into my pocket and skipped through a few songs to find one that felt right.
After finding a suitable song, I resumed my assault on the bag in front of me. There were very few people in the gym at this hour, considering it's also nearing closing time.
Time Skip (30 minutes)
The engine in my car roared to life, as I let out a small sigh of relief after changing my clothes from working out. My gym offers showers and changing rooms so I gladly take advantage.
I turned my lights on and drove out of the parking lot onto the mostly vacant streets.
I sat stopped at a red light, lightly tapping the steering wheel, listening to the very quiet radio station. A few cars zipped by, as I tracked them with my eyes. My focus suddenly stopped on a spider against the far passenger side of the windshield.
I'm not arachnophobic, but the sight startled me slightly. It was facing my direction, seemingly curled in a small ball. It definitely wasn't tiny, but it wasn't all that big either. I stared at it inspectingly, noticing that it seemed to have almost a glow.
"Huh.." I said quietly, squinting as I watched it. Suddenly the stop light turned green, so I drove through the intersection. I took my eyes off of the spider for those few seconds to make sure I wouldn't run into anything and looked back to where it was to see that it had vanished.
"Shit. Where'd you go." I said, scanning the dash for it. As I continued driving, a flashing neon sign at a bar grabbed my attention. It was the shape of a spider and above it read: "Oh sh*t, a Spy!".
"Fitting, but strange." I murmured, returning my attention to the road. My worry for the spider's location was abolished almost immediately, since I assumed that it would leave me alone- which it did.
I continued to drive, only for a few more minutes before reaching my house. I pulled into the driveway, turned off the car and exited the vehicle. When I opened my door, the alert chime because the headlights were still on beeped at me.
"Yeah, yeah- I know." I murmured, twisting the knob to the 'OFF' position, before closing the door and locking the car.
I had my worn clothes in a bag to be washed, since I knew that if they weren't they'd smell by morning. I walked to the front door and fiddled with my keys with one hand, trying to get to the house key.
"Come on, you bugger." I whispered. I managed to fit it into the lock and twisted the deadbolt, unlocking the door.
I entered my home, flipping the entrance light switch, illuminating the room. I closed and locked the door behind me, also turning on the porch lights.
I lived by myself, by choice. It worked out pretty well, actually. After I lost both of my parents, I received a few letters from some distant relatives revealing that I had quite a lot of money hidden away with my name on it. I decided to use it to jumpstart my life, paying rent on a quite inexpensive- but respectable house. It was a two-story, three-bed, two-full-bath house, with a heated in-ground pool that I've never used.
Humphrey comes over sometimes and we play video games together. Sometimes he would come over and spend the night to get away from the stresses that follow him, which I totally get and am cool with. It's not like I don't have the space.
Once, Humphrey was black-out drunk, knocking at my door with a friend of ours, Hutch. Hutch didn't know where Humphrey lived, and Humphrey was too drunk to remember so he brought him to the only other place he knew.
Hutch and I both struggled to get his resistive, damn-near limp body up the stairs into a guest bedroom where I'd have to monitor him so he didn't suffocate on his vomit.
Once we got him into a bed he said slurringly:
"Noooooo Six I don't wanna have a gay threesome I'm af- *hiccup* afraid I'll like it.." Which got a laugh out of both Hutch and I.
Anyways, as I reached into the bag to put my clothes into the washing machine, that same spider quickly crawled up my arm and ejected somewhere into my house.
I let out a shocked yell.
"Jesus." I said, clutching my chest, closing my eyes. I shivered at the feeling of the spider crawling on my arm.
I quickly put the clothes into the machine and turned it on.
I walked out of the mudroom, into the kitchen.
"Don't lay eggs, I'll burn the whole damn house down; don't think I won't you little shit!" I said out into my house. I know spiders can't understand humans, but my threats are very real when it comes to unwanted insects in my house.
I told my Amazon Alexa to play some rock n' roll, and continued with my intended task.
I reached into the kitchen sink full of water to pull the thawed chicken breast out that I placed before I left for school. I grabbed a sharp knife and sliced away at the plastic heat-shrink material it was in. I proceeded to make myself pan-seared chicken breast and steamed vegetables.
I tend to enjoy cooking, especially after going to the gym. I personally have learned to take my time with certain foods that I like the most. I feel more passionate about food preparation when I'm not in any hurry.
I enjoyed my food, cleaned the few pots, pans, and utensils that I used- and went upstairs to shower.
I feel quite spoiled when it comes to my living conditions now, and I try not to take them for granted. My shower is odd, the walls are entirely glass and it is directly in the middle of the room. There are two evenly-sized countertops with sinks, and the shower glass automatically fogs up for privacy; not that I care- there usually isn't anyone else here.
I turn on the shower to let it warm up before I enter. It doesn't take long, thankfully. I remove my clothes, placing them in a basket next to the door before entering into the soothing water.
Afterwards, I put on some boxers and headed to bed. I don't expect to get any sleep tonight, but what the heck; you never know.
I turned off the main overhead light and turned on my bedside lamp. I crawled into the cold bed sheets, turning on my tv. I turned on a random Netflix show; no intention on actually watching it.
I grabbed my phone and saw that I had another text from Kate.
"Hey Six, I'm heading to bed but I hope you enjoy yourself tonight. I really hope you're able to get some sleep tonight, I'm sorry you suffer from that. :( but I'll see you tomorrow at school, okay? Goodnight, Six, Thanks for today. :)"
I smiled reading that. Kate seems to like me, which I'm grateful for. Not often do I genuinely enjoy someone's company, but I seem to have a sweet spot for her.
It was around 1:30 in the morning, so she very likely won't see my text until dusk.
"Goodnight, Kate. See you tomorrow :)" I replied.
I placed my phone on my nightstand, comfortably looking up at my tv thinking of Kate, remembering when I was young.
I smiled, remembering when I had such a massive crush on her. It's crazy to see how things change. Voices, bodies, thoughts, emotions, everything. There are some things that don't change, though.
As I continued to rummage through my thoughts, my eyes drew heavy. The sound of the tv faded, as I was swept away into a slumber.