Page 96 of Aftersome
“I’m not inept, Doe.”
Rolling my eyes, I glared daggers into his back.
“I know you're not, but I’d rather hold your arm than have you trip and fall.”
Once he was fully out of his vehicle, he began walking to the front of his house. I carefully closed his car door and followed after him.
“I’m a hockey player, I don’t trip and fall,” he called out from in front of me.
I scoffed, but silently where he couldn’t hear me.
“Right,” I said. “So, what exactly am I allowed to help you with then?”
He unlocked his front door and just when I thought he would step inside first, he made room for me ahead of him.
“I’ll let you know.”
Giving him a strange look, I walked past him and into his house where I was greeted with the scent of Mal. Though it was pitch black, I knew immediately it was somewhere I could feel comfortable.
Safe.
Seconds later, the lights were on and Mal was closing and locking up the door behind him. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust but when they did, I found myself in awe again.
One word.
Simplicity.
That’s how I would describe what I was seeing as I roamed my eyes over everything that was in my line of vision.
“Welcome home.”
I could feel his eyes heavy on me but I was too busy taking it all in.
So this was where Mal hid away.
“Do I get a tour?” I asked in a hopeful tone, but he looked less than thrilled to do so as I glanced over at him.
“Let me wash up first,” he promised, causing me to smile.
“Okay. Um, do you… do you need help?”
As soon as the words fell out, I wished I could have taken them back.
“Do I need help washing?” His lip quirked as my face grew red. “No, Doe. I think I can handle it.”
Jesus, I’m such an idiot.
“Of course, I guess I’ll just wait down here then?”
He smiled back at me and soon motioned his head for me to follow him.
“Come on, I’ll show you to the living room.”
He took off down a hallway where we eventually veered off to the right and ended up in an open living room.
A large gray sectional sat in the center of the room, while an oversized TV took up most of the space on the wall. It was your average living room, but what really puzzled me was the fact there were no pictures on the wall.
No decorations.
