Going Alone

The air was thick with tension. Jack chewed on his lip and slowly brought his head up. I bobbed my head to the song that was playing in my head. Suddenly, he brightened.

“Let me give you a tour!”

“Uh… sure!” I needed to get out of this tension.

Jack hopped up off the couch and led me back to the front door, then opened a door to his right..

“This is the closet.” He motioned, “But, we don’t keep things in there.”

“I can see.” I laughed.

He skipped across the living room, while telling me that this was the living room, and to another door.

“This is the only bathroom.” He flipped the light on, “It gets stinky.”

I leaned over him and closed the door slowly, “Then let’s not go in there.”

He shrugged and walked towards the kitchen, then made a sharp left. He motioned to the door, saying it was Alex’s and that I should never go in there, since it’s super messy and filled with peanut butter jars. I didn’t press the matter. Then, he led me to his room. It was small, but so was his house.

The walls were a light brown color, and the floor was a blonde hardwood. The room couldn’t have been more than 10 by 15 feet. There were clothes strewn on top of and over everything. The bed held a guitar and some comic books, while his TV was on, but held only static. I turned to him quickly.

“I need to either clean up or get out of your room.”

“Why? I think it looks lived in.”

“It looks sloppy, and it’s giving a panic attack.”

“Oh, uh, well, let’s go back out into the living room.”

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“So, what’s there to do now?” I asked, leaning back into the couch.

“Well, we haven’t played Halo yet.”

“Uh, no, I’m good.” I laughed nervously, “Um, hey, does Alex stay in his room all day?”

“He does that a lot recently.”

“Why?”

He shrugged, “I don’t really know. He’s done that ever since we got back from moving you in.”

I nodded slowly, “I think I should go home. Bagel needs to be fed.”

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As always, Bagel was happy to see me. I smiled at him and clipped the leash on his collar and walked back outside. We jogged down the stairs to the grass out front, and he quickly did his business. I rubbed his head and we jogged back up to my apartment.

“Are you hungry?” I asked him, and his tail wagged even harder.

Laughing, I poured a scoop of food into his bowl and then laid on the couch. I picked up my ringing cell phone, checking the caller ID before I flipped it open.

“Hey Alex.”

“Did you do anything with Jack?”

“Um, no.” I slowly said, squinting my eyes.

“Then why is he so happy?”

I propped myself up on my elbow and glared at my kitchen cabinets, “Well, isn’t he always happy?”

“Not this happy.”

“I think you’re delusional.”

He sighed, and I could tell he ran his fingers through his hair, “Something’s off with him, and I think you’re the cause of it.”

“Well, I’m not.” I sighed, angry that Alex would accuse me of messing around with Jack, “I won’t ever do anything with Jack, okay?”

“Do you promise?”

“Yes, okay Alex?” I rolled my eyes, “I promise. I have to go.”

I quickly shut my phone and flopped back onto the couch. I glared up at the ceiling until Bagel came and jumped onto my legs. He crawled up on me, careful of my stomach, and started licking my face. Laughing, I pushed him off.

“Bagel!” I giggled.