Bella

It was morning time and I had just finished eating breakfast with the two siblings. Emory had warmed up waffles in the toaster and Acel had poured the three of us glasses of orange juice. Emory was doing dishes, identical to the way she was when I arrived yesterday. “When are you two going across the street?”

I laid my head onto the kitchen table and sighed. “I don’t know,” I mumbled. “Does he usually take this long to pack a simple bag?”

Emory laughed lightly. “It’s Acel we’re talking about, Bella. He takes long to do just about anything. Whether it’s showering, brushing his teeth, or sleeping, Acel will take a million years to do just about anything. Why don’t you just go upstairs to see what’s taking so long? I won’t mind.”

I stood up from the wooden chair, nodding my head, despite the fact that she couldn’t see me do it. I was all but tired, though I wasn’t going to admit it out loud. Emory and I stayed up watching movies until five in the morning and didn’t hesitate to wake up four hours later.

I walked through the living room, which oddly smelled like the vanilla candles at my grandmother’s house, and scampered up the stairs. I had learned not to step on the second to last step closest to the bottom, as it was rickety and creaked whenever it was stepped on. I turned down the upstairs hallway and made my way to Acel’s room. His door was wide open and he was standing next to his dresser in blue boxer briefs and white socks.

“Can I help you?” he asked. Acel raised his arm above his head, ruffling his brown hair around his head. His hair was like a conglomeration of Mickey Avalon and Orlando Bloom’s. The scars across his torso had begun to heal and I was glad for that.

I shrugged and walked into his room, flopping onto his bed. I stared up at the ceiling and said, “Are you always half-naked? It seems like you never have any clothes on when I’m around.”

“Who is to say that I like wearing clothes? I wear clothes because it’s unacceptable to society to not wear clothes. If I could walk around naked freely, then I would,” he informed me. “Does that answer your question?”

I hummed. “I guess so. When do you want to leave? I want to be back in my bed with all of my teddy bears,” I mused. For a minute, there was just the sound of our breathing and the clanking of Emory downstairs in the kitchen. “Have you ever thought about what it’d be like to die?”

“I try not to think about such things. You shouldn’t either. Focus on the better things of life.” I sat up to see Acel pull a t-shirt over his head. “But yeah, I’ve thought about it. There was a time where I was,”—he held up his hand, pressing his forefinger and his thumb together—“this close to dying.”

“Oh, is that true? Tell me about it.”

“I’d rather not. I’ve put that behind me. Those were darker, more depressing times. I mean, it wasn’t anything brilliant. I was just three seconds away from putting a bullet to the brain before Emory caught me,” he said, quite casually. Acel stood in front of me and cupped my face in his hands. He pressed his lips to mine lightly before saying, “Smile, Bella. You have much better things to think about that’s not death. Okay?”

I smiled softly. “Okay, Acel.”



It was quite pointless of Acel to get dressed if he was just going to undress himself once we got into my house. Of course, I didn't expect him to get fully undressed. “What is it that you think you’re doing?” I was underneath my covers, cuddling with one of my teddy bears.

“I’m getting naked. Isn’t that obvious?” He finished pulling his boxers off and stuffed them into his bag. “I told you. I’m more comfortable when I’m naked. You should get naked, too.”

I scrunched my nose up and shook my head. “Are you implying that you want to fuck?”

Acel shook his head frivolously. “No, no. I’m implying that you should get nude, too. Are you comfortable in your own body?” I shrugged and chewed on my lip. “I’ll take that as a no, missy. You should be. Those clothes that you’re wearing are just accessories. In the end, they mean nothing. This, Bella,”—he gestured to his own body—“is who I am. This is how I was created. I feel more comfortable this way than anything else.”

“Fair enough,” I said. But I still didn’t move. “I’m still not taking my clothes off. I feel as if you have an ulterior motive.”

He sighed. “When have I ever taken advantage of you? Please,” he pleaded. “I want to show you something!” Acel was giddy, and I wasn’t quite sure why. I groaned, but got out of my bed anyway. I grabbed the ends of my shirt and pulled it over my head. I was quite weary, as my wrists were out in the open and hadn’t quite healed yet. Hopeful in the idea that he wouldn’t notice, I finished getting undressed. “How do you feel in your birthday suit?”

“Cold,” I mumbled. I crossed my arms across my chest. “Your point of this is?”

Acel bit his lip and shook his head, walking towards me. He proudly wore his “birthday suit,” as if all of his private parts weren’t revealed. “You’re so self-conscious. I don’t know why. I’m not a stranger and I’m not going to ridicule. I’m not going to stare at your genitals and I’m not going to look at you like I’d ravish you any second. Just think of it like this: it’s like you have clothes on, but you don’t.”

“Your logic makes no sense to me.”

“It doesn’t have to. I’m just trying to get you to see that you shouldn’t be uncomfortable this way. Loosen up. I’m not saying the Bible is legit, but if Adam and Even never consumed the forbidden fruit, we’d all be walking around like this.” He sat on the edge of my bed. Acel mused, “We should take a bubble bath. I haven’t had a proper bubble bath since I was a kid.”

I didn’t testify. It wasn’t a bad idea; I quite liked bubble baths. “I’ll start the water.”

“Add lots of bubbles, please!”

I bit my lip and raised my eyebrow. “I’m not so sure about that, babe. My mother said not to engage in sexual activities. Well, not exactly. She just said to use a condom.”

Acel furrowed his head and brushed his hair out of his face. “Bubbles aren’t sexual, Bella. Did your mom actually tell you that?” I nodded. “Interesting…but we don’t have a need for condoms. The most sexual thing we might engage in is making out. And that’s rare for me.”

“Fair enough,” I replied. “I’m going to go start the bath water now. I still think bubbles are quite sexual, though.”