Her eyes

Chapter 23

By the time I'd gotten into bed I knew I would have a hard time sleeping. I was smiling into the dark like a crazy person just processing everything that had happened lately. I think for the first time in my life I was happy. I had made my first genuine friend in my 23 years. And I think I may even have a small crush on him.

                                            •••

By the time I woke up it was already 11:30am, I'd finally managed to force my body to sleep at around 3am. When I checked my phone I had a text from Archer, wishing me a good morning.

I replied with a morning x, I felt emboldened after the kiss I had given him yesterday, granted it was only for a split second. But the feel of his skin on my lips and the scent of him enveloping me, awoke a hunger deep inside of me that I didn't even know I'd had. He was just everything I'd ever dreamed of in a man.

He made me feel safe and cherished, he was kind, and witty, and he stood up for people when they needed it. I had it bad, but I honestly didn't mind.

Unfortunately it was back to real life today, I had a lot to do. I had a mountain of clothes that needed to be washed I also needed to tidy up my flat and get some reading in.

By the time evening came around I was done with most of my chores and had made some noodles for lunch/dinner. I sat down on my small dinner table that I also used as a desk and sometimes makeup table.

I was already bored, I think being around Archer for several days had made me spoiled and now everything was boring. Especially chores.

I ate my food quickly, after all I wasn't eating noodles 5 times a week because I liked them so much. I got in under my freshly washed sheets, lit some candles, put on some music and grabbed my sketch book. I was just doodling trying to keep my hands busy and mostly lost in thought.

My thought strayed towards the topic of friendships, if I'd had a genuine friend before maybe life wouldn't have been so shit. But to be fair nobody had friends in my town and if they had, it was mostly out of self interest. Everyone looked out for themselves, they would probably sell their so called friends out for a wad of cash. I sighed getting more comfortable in my small twin bed.

When I was about seven a new boy moved to my town it was the middle of summer vacation, that was also the first and last summer I had a friend, but it was also my best summer. Joe and I hit it off really well, he was actually quite smart for his age. And he taught my seven year old self about the planets asteroids, meteoroids and comets all orbiting around the sun. At the time I thought he was so cool for knowing such things.

We used to play in his backyard and dig for worms after it had rained. Sometimes we would play with sticks in the woods and pretend that they were swords. Whoever held the castle -a trunk of a tree that had long since rotted, its spiky parts at the top looked like crenellations- had to protect it.
But most times we played ding dong ditch. The rush of getting chased down the street by the craziest people of our town was the highlight of that game.

The night before primary school we had said goodnight made a pinky promise that we would be friends forever. When the first day of school came around he was known as the new kid and had by default gained overnight popularity. That same day our promises to each other had died.

We hadn't had anyone new in our class since Janet, and most kids usually avoided her because she would pick her boogers and chase you around if you didn't. All the kids wanted to get to know Joe, he quickly climbed the social ladder.

When I knocked on his door later that evening to ask if he wanted to play, his mother told me he was busy, but I could hear him whispering to her behind the door.