Chapter 3: Settling In
I woke up to my door being opened so suddenly. Hunkering down even more under my blankets, I nestled into them more so I didn't have to get out so soon.
"Get up mister princess!" I heard Tess yell.
Without the time to think about a response, the warm blankets were yanked off of me!
"Ugh, why can't I get like ten more fucking minutes of sleep?!" I groaned while turning to face the other direction.
"Remember, we have to furnish this house", Tess replied. I felt her presence on my bed by it dipping a bit.
"I know! I know!" I grumbled and sighed.
"You okay princess?" Tess joked with a bit of concern behind her voice. She gently put her hand onto my shoulder.
I didn't want to really respond with the truth, "Yeah, I'm fine, I'm just tired". I sighed a bit heavily.
"Okay, well, Hannah is getting us breakfast and coffee. Come down when you're ready", I imagined Tess smiling softly since my head was turned. I heard her walk out of my room and shut my door partially.
In all seriousness, I really did not want to get out of bed. I felt sad, more than ever. It's been like this for awhile, to be honest. Ever since a whole bunch of stuff happened all at once, including my ex breaking up with me, I fell apart everywhere. I was too depressed to do anything, but I hid it from my best friends. Wanting to "get better", I did more destruction than trying to help myself. I did drugs, I drank, I hooked up with random guys and girls constantly, you name it. Even went with cutting myself a couple of times. I curled up more on my new bed by the thoughts of the past. My grades slipped a bit too far once. Tess was the first one to notice, and who finally took action when she saw the scars while I was in the hospital after doing too many lines. When the other two came into my hospital room, I just broke down and everything came out. That's why Tess is always looking out for me. I'm always appreciative of her, but there are times when that major depression tries to sneak back into my life.
I guess this is one of those times, I thought to myself unhappily.
Luckily, the inviting aroma of the food that had just arrived at home, pulled me out of my quick depressive episode. I sighed deeply and got out of my bed slowly. Since all of the bedrooms in the house had bathrooms, I decided to take one. I pulled out my toiletries container from one of the many suitcases I had brought. I also pulled out the one beach towel between us from the same suitcase. Setting down the towel and container onto the bathroom counter, I undressed from my pajamas and threw them outside of the bathroom. After opening the container, I pulled out my shampoo, conditioner, and body wash and arranged them accordingly in the shower. I turned on the shower and turned it to the right, only to find out that it was too hot!
"Gahh!" I kind of shouted from the slight pain of the really hot water touching the tip of my fingers.
I quickly moved the dial of the shower to the middle, which cooled down the water a bit. It felt better, so I closed the door and stepped into the shower. The warm water felt really nice while I was cleaning myself.
After I was done, I turned off the shower, stepped out, and dried myself off with the towel. Wrapping myself up with the towel, I started to dig around in my suitcases for an outfit. I pulled out a plain, black T-shirt, a pair of cream shorts, a pair of black underwear, and a pair of cream socks. I also opened my small jewelry box to grab my silver chain and a dainty diamond pendant. After quickly getting dressed, I rushed downstairs to grab my portion of breakfast.
"There's the princess", Tess teased me after swallowing a piece of her breakfast burrito when I walked into the kitchen. I heard Raymond snicker.
"Yeah, yeah I'm here", I rolled my eyes and then smiled.
I grabbed a breakfast burrito, two hash browns, a chocolate and vanilla donut, and my mocha iced coffee. Since I was the last one downstairs, the food was a little bit cold, but it wasn't any less delicious.
"Once you're done eating, we'll get going to our first stop. Let's make an ideal list first", Hannah remarked while pulling up her notes app on her phone.
"We already have the fridge, the beds, the TVs, the washer, the dryer, and planters, so we don't need them", Tess stated while throwing away her garbage.
"We definitely need a coffee machine", I joked a bit, even though I was serious. I took another drink of my iced coffee.
"Yes, yes Princess Carlos. You'll get your fancy coffee machine", Tess ruffled my hair before I could protest. I fixed my hair quickly.
"We do need a nice dining table set", Hannah pointed over to the big, empty space where there was a small chandelier just hanging by itself.
Hannah typed out a fancy coffee machine and nice dining table set into the notes app.
"I guess when it comes to couches, chairs, and benches, they'll just have to correlate with each other when we pick them out", Raymond piped up.
"That's true", Hannah agreed, while I just nodded because I was finishing my coffee.
"So after we get all of our furnishings, we'll be heading to the grocery store because we literally have no food", Tess smiled.
"Yup!" I replied with more pep in my step from my iced coffee, "By the way, I'm finished". I threw away my trash.
"Great! Let's go gang!" Tess exclaimed, grabbed her purse, and walked out of the front door.
The rest of us grabbed our bags, except for Raymond he only has a wallet, and followed Tess out of the door. After Tess locked up our new home, the four of us went inside Tess's car, and off we went.
The first store with furniture that we stopped at was the RH Outlet. It was just a couple blocks away from our neighborhood. We walked inside, and to be honest, it was like all the other designer furniture stores. Yes, the furniture was cool, but I guess we had to be there.
"Yo! I think we found the table and its matching chairs!" Tess beckoned the rest of us over to her after twenty minutes of searching.
It was magnificent! The rectangular table had a soft tan color on top and a deep mocha color for the legs. It was perfect for the kitchen.
"I love it!" Hannah beamed.
"I'm game for it", Raymond agreed.
"Let's get it", I smiled at our group.
Tess walked over to one of the employees to get her attention for our sale. The employee brought out her scanner to scan the barcode for the set of pieces of furniture. I overheard her ask Tess what size she wanted. Of course, since there was not a huge space to fill, we went with the seventy-two inch one. The employee also took out the mobile payment system, which Tess whipped out her card. After paying for it, the employee said that they would bring it to our house in the next couple of days.
"Okay gang, since we didn't find anything else, onto our next stop!" Tess beamed while we headed out of the building. The three of us laughed and cheered.
Once we were buckled up, we headed out for another store.
The next store we arrived at was the west elm store. I was familiar with the brand, so I didn't mind helping out here. After half an hour of searching, and with an employee's help, I found the couches for the family room on both the first floor and the basement floor. They were both going to be the sleeper and storage chaise couches. One olive green and the other couch was going to be a light tan.
"What do you think about the sitting room that's by the front door?" Hannah asked me while I was still looking around.
"Do you think this set of mocha, leather couch and chairs would do it?" I asked everyone else.
"Yeah I can see it", Tess nodded in approval.
"Same here", Raymond agreed, while Hannah just smiled.
"Let me go tell our employee friend then", I grinned and went to find the employee.
It didn't take me long to find him. He was finishing helping another customer with a cute bedroom set.
"We've got the couches picked out!" I beamed after tapping the employee that was helping us on his shoulder.
"Awesome! Let me scan the couches and furniture set real quick", the employee pulled out his scanner.
"Okay", I smiled and went to go find my friends.
I found the three of them at the register. Hannah, was buying pillow covers and pillow inserts?
"Hey guys", I grinned as I approached them.
"Sorry I found some pillows for the couches", Hannah smiled sheepishly.
"You're fine", I eyed some of the pillows in one of the bags, "To be honest, some of them are cute"
"Thanks", Hannah replied with a smile.
The employee came over to us, well over to me, to get me to pay for the couches. I pulled out my card from my bag, and put it in the mobile card reader.
Hopefully my parents, or any of our parents, don't see this. I thought with a hint of anxiety.
After paying for everything, the employee let us know ahead of time that the couches and the furniture set would be dropped off to the house, at least by the end of the day today. If not, they would be at the house tomorrow. I thanked the employee and the four of us headed out of the building.
"Where to next?" Tess asked us with curiosity.
"Well we still have to get Carlos's fancy coffee machine", Hannah smirked after putting the bags of pillows into the trunk.
"Yeah, yeah let's just go to Target", I rolled my eyes and smiled, while getting into the car.
"We can also get our groceries there as well, in the meantime", Tess grinned while starting the car.
We had arrived at our last store, Target, in a good amount of time. Tess and Hannah went to go get the groceries for us, Raymond went to go do his own thing, and I went to go find my coffee machine.
I did need this, I pondered while wandering down different aisles. It didn't need to be that expensive, but I'll be fine with whatever there is.
I had found the aisle with the coffee machines. It didn't take long for me to sift through each of the machines, in all honesty. I had found the one for our kitchen.
"Ninja Espresso Machine, Luxe Café Premier Series", I read the name of the machine to myself.
This is perfect! I exclaimed in my head.
"Now I'm going to need Raymond's muscles to carry this to the register", I muttered to myself while pulling out my phone.
Me: Raymond I need help carrying the coffee maker to the register.
Ray: What's the magic word, princess?
Oh my god, really? I groaned and rolled my eyes into my head.
Me: Can you please help me with the coffee maker?
Ray: I was just teasing you lol. I'll be there in a second.
I shook my head and smiled at Raymond's text message.
"Damn! That's a nice one!" I heard Raymond shout to my right, with the sound of him being impressed by the coffee machine.
I turned towards where I had heard his voice. Coming towards me, I saw that Raymond was pushing a cart that had four matching end tables in it. He was also pulling an empty cart behind him.
"Thanks!", I smiled and then pointed to the empty cart, "Is that one for me?"
"No, it's for my imaginary friend named Asshole Dildo", Raymond retorted playfully with a deadpan. I rolled my eyes and then chuckled.
Raymond bent down and picked up the giant box. I heard him grunt a bit while carefully putting it into the empty cart.
"Thanks for helping me", I smiled softly at him.
"Anytime man", Raymond gave me a thumbs up and a smile in return, "I'm going to go check on the girls"
"Okay, I'll meet you three by the registers when I'm done", I started to push my cart out of the aisle.
It took me half an hour to finish up my shopping. Besides the coffee machine, I had gotten distracted and put a handful of other things into the cart too. A bag of Swedish Fish, a couple of bags of coffee grounds, three fake plants, a pair of black sweatpants, a fuzzy gray blanket for the living room, a set of ceramic coffee mugs, a water tumbler, and a couple of knick-knack decorations for around the house. When I met up with my friends at the registers, I was shocked at how much food Tess and Hannah had put into their carts. It was overflowing at the top!
"Damn, are we feeding the whole world?" I jokingly asked the girls while I pushed my cart closer to them.
"Yeah totally", Tess rolled her eyes as a joke, while Hannah just laughed.
The four of us went to the four open registers to pay for everything.
"That's a lot of stuff", the cashier gave his customer service smile. He looked like he was around our age.
"Yeah, you could say that" I chuckled while putting the stuff at the top of the cart onto the register's belt.
"Any special occasion?" The cashier came around to scan the coffee machine.
"Well, my friends and I just moved here", I sheepishly smiled.
"So you guys are new?" The cashier arched his eyebrow a bit, while bagging the other stuff.
"Yup!" I inserted my card into the pin pad.
"Well, welcome to Bloomfield Hills!" The cashier beamed a bit.
"Thanks", I smiled back and pushed my cart over to my friends.
When we got back to the car, Tess opened the trunk and Raymond carefully put my coffee machine in first. It took us a good ten minutes trying to get everything we bought situated into the trunk of Tess's car. We left as soon as Tess closed the trunk again.
"Fuck dude, carrying this for the third time is hurting my body", Raymond huffed as he set the coffee machine, still in its box, onto the counter to the left of the stove.
"Hey, I've been appreciative for your help", I chuckled while setting all of my stuff down onto the kitchen island.
All Raymond did was grunt lightly and walk out of the kitchen, to help the girls carry in the groceries. I started unboxing the coffee machine, and then plugged it into the outlet to the left of the stove. I then opened the box of coffee mugs and put them in the cupboard above the machine. Hannah, Tess, and Raymond came back into the kitchen with all of the bags of groceries. They sat all of them down onto the huge kitchen island.
"Woo that was a lot of work", Hannah huffed as she sat the last of her bags down.
"I mean you two filled two carts up to the top with groceries", Raymond pursed his lips a bit.
"Yeah, let's just get everything into the fridge and cupboards", Tess rolled her eyes.
It took the four of us like half an hour to put all of the groceries away. The cupboards on the right of the stove and on the bottom of the kitchen island were used for the nonperishable items.
"Wait, we forgot to grab dishes for when we eat!" Hannah facepalmed in frustration.
"That's what we were missing! I was thinking that we were definitely missing something", Raymond piped up.
"Why do we need dishes right now?" Tess asked.
"I was going to make us something to eat for dinner", Hannah crossed her arms, "But then I realized we don't have anything to put our food on".
"We'll get them tomorrow", Tess sighed, "I'll order us pizza for dinner tonight"
"Oh thank god! To be honest, I was kind of tired from today", Hannah threw her hands up in exasperation.
Tess pulled out her phone, "You guys down for this place called Hungry Howie's?"
"Sure, I've never heard of it. I'm down to try it out", I shrugged while eating a fruit snack packet.
"Carlos", Hannah crossed her arms and slightly looked disappointed at me.
"Yes?" I still had some of the fruit snacks in my mouth.
"We're looking at the menu to order food, and you're eating a fruit snack?" Hannah facepalmed. Tess handed Raymond her phone after she added her food to the order.
"Whattt?! I'm hungry!" I pouted a bit.
"You are literally a princess, Carlos", Tess laughed and ruffled my hair. I fixed my hair right after.
Raymond finished adding his food to the order and then handed Tess's phone to Hannah. When Hannah was done with hers, it was finally my turn. I was so hungry, so I put a medium barbecue chicken pizza, and an order of Howie's bread. I was deciding if I should add the cookie dessert, however, I just added it to the order. When Tess got her phone back, she ordered everything that the four of us wanted.
"What should we do while we wait?" Hannah asked.
"While we wait? We could break in our new living room with a movie marathon," I suggested, the thought of lounging on a cozy couch making my tired limbs ache a little less.
"Good idea! We can set everything up in the basement," Tess replied, her eyes lighting up with enthusiasm. "The couches should be here by tomorrow, but we can at least get the space ready."
Raymond nodded, a grin spreading across his face. "I'll grab the projector and the screen. Who's picking the movies?"
"I vote for horror!" Tess exclaimed, bouncing slightly on her heels. "Nothing like a good scare to celebrate our new home."
"Of course you would," I teased, rolling my eyes. "How about a mix? Maybe start with something lighter before we dive into the horror?"
"Fine, you win. We can throw in a comedy first," she said with a dramatic sigh. "But I'm definitely picking the horror film after!"
While Raymond rummaged around for the projector, I made my way to the basement, glancing around the empty space that would soon feel more like home. The walls still felt bare, but I could picture our style coming together once the couches arrived and we added our personal touches.
Hannah followed me downstairs, her arms filled with decorative items she'd collected during our shopping spree. "Let's see… we can put these plants over there," she said, pointing to a corner by the window, "and these on the shelves once we get them up."
"Sounds good," I replied, helping her place the faux greenery. "I can't wait until we actually have stuff on the walls."
"Yeah, it'll make such a difference. I think we should have a little photo wall, too—memories from our first summer living here!" Hannah's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Absolutely! I'm definitely in," I said, feeling a warmth spread through me. It was nice to focus on something positive instead of my own heavy thoughts.
As we decorated, the familiar sound of laughter and playful bickering floated down the stairs. I could hear Tess and Raymond discussing movie options, their voices echoing in the basement.
Just then, I felt a vibration in my pocket. I pulled out my phone to see a message from my mom.
Mom: Hey! How's the vacation going? Can't wait to see the pictures!
I hesitated, my fingers hovering over the screen. I knew I should respond, but a wave of anxiety washed over me. I didn't want to share the messy details of my life, not when I was still sorting through everything myself.
I quickly typed back a vague response. Me: It's great! Just settling in. Hope you're well!
With that sent, I shoved my phone back into my pocket. I couldn't keep pushing my family away, but I also wasn't ready to face any more questions. Just as I was lost in thought, Hannah nudged me.
"Hey, Carlos, do you think we'll have a chance to decorate together?" she asked, her voice softening. "Like, once everything arrives?"
"Definitely," I said, forcing a smile. "I'd love that."
Hannah grinned back, and the warmth in her eyes made me feel a little lighter. Maybe I was still working through my stuff, but at least I had this—this friendship, this new beginning.
"Dinner should be here soon," I said, shifting my thoughts back to the present.
"Perfect! I'm starving," Hannah laughed, her enthusiasm infectious.
Moments later, the sound of the doorbell rang through the house, and I darted upstairs. Tess was already at the door, a look of pure joy on her face as she opened it to reveal a delivery person holding several boxes.
"Pizza time!" she cheered, her excitement radiating throughout the room.
As we gathered around the boxes, the scents of everyone's food filled the air, making my stomach growl in response.
"Alright, let's dig in!" Tess declared, lifting the lid of the pizza box to reveal the golden, gooey masterpiece within.
"Before we eat, let's make a toast", Raymond said, raising his slice of pizza as if it were a glass. "To new beginnings and making this house a home!"
"To new beginnings!" we echoed, raising our slices in unison.
And as we took our first bites, laughter and chatter filling the space, I felt a flicker of hope. Maybe, just maybe, this could be the fresh start I desperately needed.