Complicated Love

It was so awkward sitting in the living room with Magenta and Ric. The silence was crippling until Raven broke it by coming down stairs complaining of a hangover and desperately needing help on her maths homework and revision.

I was happy to oblige to help on the condition; I didn’t have to go into her bedroom to help her. She laughed although I think she was slightly offended by my obvious distaste in her obsession which her brother apparently had also.

Both Raven and Ric were off school for study leave, except Raven was doing her sixth year exams and Ric was on his fifth year exams. Lucky for him he had done all his exams on the first week of study leave whereas Raven had two more to do; maths which was the next day and art which was scheduled for Friday.

We sat alone at the dining table in the kitchen as I attempted to explain how fractions worked and how to figure out percentages. I was a little surprised that she was only doing intermediate one level considering she was in her last year at school but I tried not to judge.

“Wait a minute. I’m confused.” Raven said, holding up her hands as if there was a heavy weight flying towards her.

I sighed internally and waited for her to ask me to explain something I’d already repeated countless times.

“So we work out forty percent of three hundred and fifty pounds by dividing forty by one hundred and multiplying it by the three hundred and fifty?” Raven asked with a puzzled look on her face.

“Yeah that’s correct.” I smiled and she typed it into the calculator. “You do have to show your working to gain the marks. Just putting the answer alone won’t be enough to get a pass.”
Raven sighed and began to show her working.

I sat back and stretched, glad to be finished repeating myself. “Is that all you needed help on?”

Raven bit her lip, making herself look guilty. “Do you know anything about interest and higher purchase etc?”

I jutted my jaw and sighed. “I do but why don’t you just tell me what you need help with all at once instead of springing it on me like a jack-in-the-box?”

Raven chewed her lip again then handed me her revision work book.

“You’re stuck on all of this?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. I was really regretting my decision to volunteer to help.

“Right you two. Lunch time.” Magenta said behind us. I hadn’t even noticed she was in the room with us as she made sandwiches.

It was rather strange to be sitting down with Raven, Ric and Magenta whilst having lunch, I’ve never had that at home before, we must have looked like a scene from a movie playing happy families.

After lunch, I continued to help Raven with her maths revision. Ric disappeared upstairs and Magenta started doing house work although it must have been hard when she couldn’t use her walking stick.

It took all afternoon to go over the topics Raven needed help on but despite my internal complaining I was glad of the distraction. Until I was distracted from my distraction; Ric entered the kitchen and took the milk carton out of the fridge and took a giant swig.

I couldn’t stop myself staring at him; he was probably the cutest guy I’d ever seen. His muscles were defined under his t-shirt and his eyes looked so deep I was sure I would get lost in them if I stared for too long.

“I really wish you wouldn’t do that.” Raven said, breaking my trance.

Ric looked over to us, his confused gaze on Raven. “Do what?”

“Drink out of the carton. I use that in my cereal.” Raven said, her tone condescending. “It’s disgusting.”

Ric rolled his eyes then smirked, “You’ll never want to use it again.” He then licked the rim of the carton before putting the lid back on.

“Ew! That’s uncalled for, mum!” Raven shouted.

“Very mature sis.” Ric said and polished off the milk and put it in the bin. “Have fun.”

By the time their tiff was over, I had fallen back into my trance of staring at Ric.

"Do you have a thing for my brother?" Raven had a suspicious frown on her face but there was a smirk showing through.

“Course not.” I said; trying to sound shocked. “Now tell me; ‘calculate the amount in the bank at the end of three years. If one thousand pound is invested at four percent per annum, compounded annually’.”

Magenta hobbled into the kitchen and sat down beside us. “Girls I’m ordering Chinese tonight for dinner, so decide what you want and I’ll phone it in.”

A little while after tea, Raven left to go and meet her friends and Tony was still at his girlfriends from yesterday. Magenta was on webcam to her husband who was stationed somewhere in a military base but was under orders not to give anything away.

I realised now that it was time for me to apologise and thank Ric for what he did for me today, but I had no idea how to say it. I slowly walked up the stairs to Ric’s bedroom, where Magenta said he'd be. I hesitantly knocked on the door and waited for him to answer.

"Come in." His voice came from the other side of the door.

I slowly turned the handle and entered the room. I had no clue what to say.

He was sitting on a beanbag eyes locked on the TV screen in front of him which had a lot of shooting going on, “Crap.”

His bedroom was painted sky blue and had laminate flooring. He had a built-in wardrobe like Raven did in her room and there was a white, two seat sofa beneath the window which he could be sitting on but he was sitting in front of it.

I stood in the doorway, not knowing what to do.

“Shut the door.” Ric said, his eyes still on the screen, his hands button bashing the controller in his hand.

I walked over to the sofa and sat down wordlessly, I couldn’t speak, never mind not knowing what to say.

"Do you want a go?" He asked but didn’t turn to look at me.

"What?" I asked shocked, I didn’t expect him to speak.

"Do you want a shot on the game?" He asked again, this time looking at me.

“What are you playing?” I asked, looking at the screen to give me a clue.

“ ’Halo3’. It’s awesome.” He held the controller out for me to take.

“I… I don’t know how to play.” I said, still not taking the controller.

Ric stood up and sat beside me on the sofa, then proceeded to show me which buttons did what.

“I’ll put it on two players so we both can play. I’ll beat you but that’s because I’m awesome.” Ric said and smirked. He handed me the extra controller while changed the settings on the xbox.

Ate first Ric’s hypothesis was correct but once I got the hang of which buttons to press and understood the map, I started killing him more.

“You’re cheating!” Ric accused after I sniper-shot him in the head.

“Now who’s awesome?” I said, and shot him dead again.

“You’re cheating. That doesn’t make you awesome.”

I laughed, “It does if you can’t figure out how to cheat yourself.”

I wasn’t really cheating, for one thing I barely knew what I was doing and for another I kept looking at the wrong section of the screen, I kept thinking that Ric’s person was mine and that I was actually the one loosing.

"Maria?!" I heard Magenta calling me over the shooting and explosion.

"Yes?" I answered, my eyes were glued to the screen as my fingers began to button bash.

"Morgan is on the phone for you!" She called back.

"Ok!" I said and paused the game, hoping that Ric couldn’t un-pause it with his controller. He then handed me a cordless handset.

"Hello?" I said.

"Hey hun. Listen, I'm working kind of late tonight so you'll just need to walk back to my house. Alright?"

"Uh… yeah… that’s fine.” I said, hoping my voice didn’t give away the fact that my heart sunk.

“Ok, hun. I shouldn’t be too late tonight. I'll be back around nine or something. Bye" She said and hung up, not giving me to chance to say it back to her.

My breathing got unwittingly heavier as my distress grew.

Ric -hearing my panic- paused the game, obviously taking advantage of my break to undo my hard work. “Are you alright?”

I was hyperventilating and couldn’t stop. Ric took my hands in his and said, "Listen, breathe, breathe, please relax you’ll be okay, just breathe.”

"I have to walk back to auntie Morgan’s tonight because she has to work late." I spoke through the panic.

"What?!" he practically shouted.

The tables had suddenly turned, I was suddenly the one trying to calm Ric down.

"You have to walk back? Walk?!" He said standing up ignoring my hands on his wrists trying to stop him from getting angrier. "You have to walk to Morgan’s. And you're ok with it? You almost got raped today!" He almost shouted, pacing back and forth in front of me.

"Keep your' voice down." I said standing up and walking across the room to close the door. "I don't want anybody to know."

That seemed to catch his attention. He stopped pacing and turned to face me slowly with a look of sheer shock and anger on his handsome face. “You… you didn’t tell Raven or even my mum?”

“No.”

“Why?” He still stood in the middle of his bedroom.

“Because I don’t want nor need any more sympathy from anyone.” I said, hoping Ric wouldn’t ask me for more details.
“Um ok.” He sounded a little confused but didn’t press. “I’m walking you.”
“What?” I raised my eyebrows sceptically.
“I am going to walk you back to Morgan’s, you’re not going alone. When are you going?" Checking his watch.
I checked mine also before I answered. "In about five minutes."

Not long later, I was slowly walking down the street with Ric beside me. We never said a word to each other. I didn’t know what to say.

I realized we were close to the alleyway and started to walk faster. I knew there was a slim chance the guys wouldn't be there at this time but I didn't really want to take that chance.

I felt a hand touch my shoulder. I instantly I whizzed around to hit whoever it was. My right hand was caught in the air, and Ric was holding it. I suddenly realized that it was him who touched my cold shoulder.

I stood there like that staring up at Ric and the words came pouring out. "Ric. I'm so sorry."

"It's ok. I know you wouldn't have meant to hit me if you did." He said letting go of my cold arm and gave me a smile.

"Thank you." I said feeling tears come to my eyes and my lip beginning to tremble.

"Come here." He said, pulling me into a hug.

I started to cry as I hugged him back, he pulled me closer and didn’t say anything. I felt his warm breath against my dark brown hair, and his hands began to rub my back. Strangely, I felt safe in the warm embrace. And I was entirely grateful.

When I had calmed down, Ric brought me home and waited with me until my aunt arrived home. And when she did, I went straight up the stairs and called my best friend Chelsea and gave her the low down of the day’s events.

Eventually, we got to talking about mediocre things and a little gossip. “Guess who was asking about you today…” The tone in Chelsea’s voice gave away the ‘juicy’ gossip she was waiting to share.

“Leo?" I asked, not at all impressed or bothered. I no longer cared for him the way I used to.

"You guessed it. He asked if you were alright." She said, realising I didn’t want to talk about him.

“Leo wouldn’t have helped me out, never mind him helping a total stranger unlike what Ric did for me today.” I said and involuntarily sighed.

"Do you like him? Is that the vibe I'm getting?" She asked, her tone turning cheery and joking.

"No!"

"I think you said that a little too quickly there Maria." She said; her tone still all cheery and happy.

"Think what you want to think Chelsea. I've got to go." I said rolling my eyes, already tired of her happiness. “Night night.”