Page 17 of After the Storm

“I don’t know. Orange, maybe?” He shrugs and my first thought is about the color of his bedroom walls. It’s just a color, but it feels big. It feels like I see a glimpse of him I hadn’t before.

“Why did you stop surfing competitions?”

“I think everyone expects some crazy answer, like an accident or something. Really, it just came down to being good but not the best. If I wasn’t going somewhere with it, there was just higher risk than reward. I still get to do what I love working at the shop and doing lessons.” He shrugs.

“Wanna tell me what happened?” he asks, pushing himself up to sit on the island counter across from me. It worked, he distracted me and got me to calm down enough to be able to form a coherent thought.

I try not to put too much thought into the way he has gotten to know me better than most people do in the short time we’ve been friends. I nod before following suit and pushing myself up on the kitchen counter across from him.

“Tyler knows you were at my house. He knows you spent the night,” I whisper quietly. Once I say it out loud, I become aware of the fact that this isn’t just about me anymore. Roman has lost his privacy, too. This is exactly why I didn’t want to tell anyone. The people around me shouldn’t have to suffer the consequences of my bad decision.

“How?”

“He said he saw you walk me in and never saw you come back out.”

“So he’s watching your house?”

“I guess so. I don’t know. He said he doesn’t like other guys being at my house and that I ‘need to fix it.’” I hold my phone out for him to read the messages. He reads the conversation before standing and wrapping me in a hug.

“I don’t think you should be at your house alone for a while.”

“I don’t really have a choice.” I shrug. “My mom is out of town a lot.”

“Then stay here.”

“I can’t just stay here every time my mom is out of town. It was one thing when I was twelve, now it would just be weird,” I respond, shaking my head.

“Then I’ll come stay with you when she’s gone,” he says, matter-of-factly.

“What? No. You can’t just uproot yourself for a week every time my mom has a trip.”

“Yes, I can. We’re friends, remember? I feel like keeping you safe is definitely in the job description.”

“She comes home tomorrow, we’ll just see how things are, okay?” I suggest and he nods against my shoulder, still hugging me.

“Yeah. We can see how things go,” he agrees quietly.

Chapter6

Roman

Six years ago…(Ages 17 & 18)

I’m standing in the kitchen making small talk with Audra. Every time I make her laugh, I swear to God I can feel it in every inch of my body. Her green eyes are glistening in the dim light from above the stove and I can’t tear myself away from this, from her.

Every time I’m graced with a little bit of her time, I soak it up. It’s a gift to bask in her light, and I’m damn sure making it last for as long as I can.

It’s my senior year of high school, so I’ve got nothing to lose by staying up all night to learn more about the pretty brunette sitting on my kitchen counter. When school rolls around tomorrow morning, it won’t matter that I can’t keep my eyes open. Not if it means we get to have these moments together.

Audra on the other hand is a junior and while the workload is still winding down for the other classes, she’ll still have work to do tomorrow. I know that I should shut up and let her get to bed but it’s addicting. Talking to her, getting little pieces of her, it’s sodamn addicting.

“Favorite movie?” I ask, handing her a pack of gummies from the cupboard after taking one for myself. She shakes her head.

“Come on, at least give me a genre. You can’t compare romance with horror,” she says like it’s the most obvious fact in the world. Maybe it is, but I can’t think straight when she’s all smiles looking at me.

“Right, of course. Favorite kids movie?”

“ThePrincess and the Frog.It’s only the best princess movie ever made.” She rolls her eyes playfully, like I’m dumb for even asking, and I love it. I love that whenever I ask her something, she answers like I should already know the answer.

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