Something New
801 Words
Letting the matter go, Lewis proceeded to look around at what he could see of the studio unit.
“Sweet place you got here,” he praised appreciatively. “It’s got ‘hangout spot’ written all over it.”
“Over my dead body,” Seb immediately replied. “I’m sure I’d only end up mothering you slobs if you come and go here at will. No thanks.”
And yet, even though he had already said as much, Seb didn’t take a seat until he’d taken some cold drinks from his fridge and a bunch of snacks from his stash. Sure, the two had just eaten dinner, but there would always be enough space in a growing boy’s stomach for junk food.
Using Seb’s laptop set on the coffee table, the friends had decided to stream a recently released movie they both wanted to watch.
Normally, Seb would have used earphones for this, but since he wasn’t by himself, he used the speakers but kept the volume reasonably low. They had to rely on the subtitles to follow what was being said whenever the actors’ speaking voices got too quiet.
After the movie ended, the two hung out for a bit more until Lewis decided to head back to his own place.
Before leaving, he observed, “You’re a much better neighbor than the one I have.” While Seb was still too taken aback to respond, Lewis shrugged. “But I guess I’m just as bad. I would have played that movie at full volume since it’s nowhere near midnight yet.”
“Oh. That.” Suddenly feeling self-conscious, Seb looked away and shrugged as well. “I’m just a freeloader,” he explained. “So I don’t feel entitled to do stuff like that.”
“Yeah, but you’re, like, pretty much the stepson already, right?”
Seb snorted. “I highly doubt it would ever progress that far.”
“You never know, dude,” Lewis said, elbowing Seb teasingly in the ribs. “You said it yourself, none of the other guys your mom has dated ever went this far. In your shoes, I’d prepare myself to have brand-new family members soon.”
“…I’ll do that when it actually happens.”
After Lewis finally left, Seb closed and locked the door after him, thinking as he did, ‘But even then, I probably still won’t believe it would last.’
Diligently, Seb went about cleaning up the living area before preparing to go to bed. He really wasn’t sure just how soundproof the walls were, but since earlier, that still hadn’t stopped him from paying attention now and again, just checking if his airheaded neighbor was still crying.
Not that he’d admit it to anyone, but the only reason he hung out with Lewis here and not outside was because he didn’t want to leave Ainsley alone for too long.
On his bed in the far corner, looking up at the dark ceiling as he waited for sleep to arrive, Seb muttered to himself, “A new family member, huh?”
“…”
Stepsister…?
Seb didn’t even have to think about it for long before deciding he wasn’t a fan of the idea.
The only thing was, he couldn’t put a finger on exactly why.
***
The moment George saw his daughter come down to where he was waiting in his car, he knew something wasn’t right.
As was her usual habit, Ainsley was still wearing the shirt and pajama bottoms she had slept in. Her long hair was tied high up in an extremely messy bun, and she was just about dragging a small bag of stuff she planned to bring along for a weekend stay at her dad’s place.
But her face was noticeably drawn. It didn’t seem like it was just because she didn’t get enough sleep.
When she got into the car, George thus greeted her with, “You don’t look okay, honey. What’s wrong?”
Ainsley didn’t try to deny that anything was the matter, but her answer was vague.
“A lot, really… Just… young people stuff.”
For the moment, George was simply relieved that it didn’t have anything to do with Ainsley’s mother. The original plan had been for her to spend this weekend with their daughter, but she had flaked out at the last minute.
Not that Ainsley or George wasn’t already used to her doing that by now.
“Well,” George replied with a joking huff. “This old guy is here if you want to talk about it. Can’t promise I’ll be able to relate though, not being young anymore and all.”
Ainsley finally smiled. “It’s okay, Dad.” Trying to look more determined, she asserted, “I got this.”
- Writer
