“So, what are you studying at college?”
“Education.”
My brows raised. “Really? Education?”
“Yes.”
A typical person would have heard the hidden question behind those two words, but I was starting to realize that he couldn’t hear it. I tried to think back to that one semester where I did a placement at a special needs school and what they had taught me. The main thing was that the autism spectrum was a spectrum for a reason—no two people on the spectrum were the same. There were traits that most of the people had, but how they dealt with it and with what level was different.
I’d already concluded that JJ didn’t like to be touched, although he didn’t seem to mind his dad touching him, but when Vi had hugged him, I could sense he struggled. And yet, yesterday, he said he liked it when I touched him. My lips spread into a grin. Maybe I was special. I was a princess after all.
I cleared my throat and tried to think of how to word the unspoken question in a way that he would answer it. “Why are you studying education?”
He halted at a crossing and pressed the button. We waited until it signaled we could walk across and then moved. “To get a degree in education,” he replied, moving the figure to the other hand. His hand nearest me grazed against my forearm, and I could practically feel that whisper-soft touch everywhere.
“But why do you want a degree in education?”
He turned his head, not fully focusing on me but letting me know he was paying attention. “I want to teach children who are like me.”
“Like you?” I shook my head, silently cursing myself as I added, “Who are the children like you?”
“Autistic children.”
My heart beat faster in my chest as I spotted Mr. Chung’s Chinese takeout halfway down the street. Although I’d only spoken to him a handful of times, I was starting to feel something I’d never felt before. “That’s...I... Wow. That’s amazing that you want to do that.”
He didn’t reply, not that I’d expected him to.
We walked side by side until we made it to the door. I opened it up and let JJ follow me up the stairs and to the apartment. It was practically empty now apart from my two suitcases sitting by the door.
When Jeffery had told me JJ would help me to their place, the first thing I did when I got back was pack everything. Not that I’d unpacked properly in the first place, but it didn’t harm to re-pack it all.
“I only have these two suitcases,” I told JJ as he moved into the apartment behind me but didn’t close the door.
A beep from the watch on his wrist echoed around us, and he looked down at it. “We need to leave now to make it home in time.”
I swallowed and bit down on my bottom lip. My skin was on fire from being in a small space with him, and I had no idea what was causing it or how I could get it under control. “Right.” I pulled up the handle on one suitcase, handed it off to JJ, and grabbed the other one. “We could call Uber Dave and drive over there?”
“No.” His voice left no room for argument. “I only get into a car if Dad is driving.” His knuckles turned white as he gripped the handle on the suitcase harder. “He follows all the correct driving procedures.” His green eyes bore into mine as his chest moved up and down on fast breaths. “We can walk.”
“Okay,” I whispered and waved my arm out in front of me. “We’ll walk.”
He clipped his head in a single nod and marched out of the door and down the stairs. I could tell he was trying to move slower to keep at my pace as we exited the building, and my stomach fluttered at the sight. How could something that small have butterflies swarming through me?
We walked the next fifteen minutes in complete silence, not that I could talk much anyway because he was obviously in a rush. Him slowing down had lasted a couple of minutes, and I didn’t have the heart to ask him to slow down again. Besides, a girl could use a little exercise once a month, right?
JJ pulled out a small bunch of keys when he stopped in front of the door to his house and opened it up. He yanked my suitcase inside with me behind him, not stopping as he continued up the stairs until he was at the top.
The hallway split off into two. On the left, I could make out two doors, and on the right three. JJ strolled toward the three doors. The first one sat ajar, and I could make out the bath and shower cubicle. A few feet down were the other two opposite each other with a note taped to one.
He stopped in front of it, staring at the note so I did the same.
JJ,
Show Ella her room and where we keep the towels. Show her the bathroom too. I’ll be home at 5 p.m.
Dad.
I wondered whether this was a usual thing to leave notes for JJ, but when he nodded at it as if his dad had physically spoken the words, I realized it was. He pulled the note off the door and folded it in half and half again.
“This is your room.” He pointed at the door on the right and spun around, walking down to the other end of the hallway. He pointed to another door. “This is where we keep the towels.” He moved closer to me and stopped in front of the door that sat ajar. “That is the bathroom.”
I smiled wide. He’d followed the instructions to a T. “Fantastic. Thanks, JJ.”
He halted in front of the door opposite my room. “You’re welcome.”
We stared at each other, and I was sure he wanted to say something else from the way his lips twitched. He didn’t though. Instead, he twirled around, opened up his door, and stepped into his room, the click of the latch clattering like a bomb exploding in the small hallway.
Chapter 10
Confession #82: My Mother-In-Law spotted my dildo. I told her it was a hair tie holder. Problem solved.
My new room was bland.
Clean lines, beige walls, and a queen-size bed sitting in the middle of the cream carpet. Some people would screw their noses up at the sight of it, but it relaxed me. I didn’t like to have unnecessary things on the walls and trinkets lying around. I wanted organization, and that’s exactly what I would get here.
I spent the next couple of hours unpacking my things and hanging them in the small walk-in closet that sat opposite the bed. The room was small, but it would do for its purpose.
Hanging my bag with my laptop inside it on the knob to the closet door, I took another look around. The bed was made with light-yellow sheets and a white comforter, although the likelihood of me using that was slim with the summer weather.
I strolled over to the window, my head coming in line with the bottom of the light-yellow blind that was pulled a third of the way down and stared out at the front yard. The sun was still shining brightly in the sky, the echoes of children playing in their front yards breaking through the silence of the house. A car engine blasted through the soft hum of the street, and I whipped my head around to the sound, a smile working its way over my face when it came to a stop outside the house and Jeffery exited.
I was used to being on my own and entertaining myself, but I was at my most comfortable when I was around people and could talk their ears off. Making a snap decision, I quickly changed into a pair of leggings and an old, battered T-shirt, and practically ran down the stairs.
“Ella.” Jeffery smiled wide. “Did JJ show you everything?”
“He did.” I nodded and followed him through to the kitchen where he started pulling things out of the refrigerator.
“Do you need hel—”
“Today is bacon cheeseburger day,” a deep voice announced.
My head swung to the left where JJ was standing to the entrance of the kitchen. I’d only ever seen him in jeans and a T-shirt, so there was no stopping my eyeballs from nearly removing themselves from my sockets. The light-gray sweatpants were tapered down his long legs and hugging his hips like a sloth holding onto a tree branch. I swallowed as my gaze trailed over the white T-shirt that highlighted his LA tan skin.
Holy guacamole.
By the time I’d stopped my perving eyes and came back down to
earth from heaven, he was walking across the kitchen, his bare feet slapping against the floor. That was it. I was dead. I’d obviously lost all memories on how I’d plunged from the living because there was no other way to explain all of this schmexyness.
“You can prepare the salad, Ella,” Jeffery’s said. “Or you can watch. We have a system that—”
“No.” I shook my head and stepped farther into the kitchen. “I can help. What…” I cleared my throat. “What do you want me to prepare?” I’d obviously had all my brain cells burned from the sight of schmexy-sweatpants-bare feet.
“The salad?” Jeffery answered.
“Right.” I nodded and moved over to the refrigerator. A whiteboard was clipped to the front with a chart of some kind, and when I looked closer, I realized it was a meal plan. I tilted my head to the side and frowned. Did people actually plan what they ate before the day they were eating?
Under Thursday was written “Bacon Cheeseburger, fries, and salad.”
“JJ needs to have his meals planned out,” Jeffery said from behind me, his voice lowered so that JJ couldn’t hear.
I moved my attention over to JJ who was making patties from the beef mince, his T-shirt shifting over his muscles with each movement. Hot damn.
“That makes sense,” I replied, and pulled the door open to retrieve the salad.
Jeffery shuffled beside me, his gaze batting back and forth between me and JJ. I could see that he wanted to say something but wasn’t sure how to say it. I shrugged. Dude looked like he was in some kind of battle with his mind, and not that I didn’t want to help, but I needed to do something with my hands before they reached out to caress JJ’s muscles. Was it hot in here?
We all got on with our tasks. JJ made the burgers, Jeffery cut potatoes for fries, and I washed salad while daydreaming about bare feet and glistening muscles. Before I knew it, we were sitting at the table: Jeffery at the head, JJ next to him, and me next to JJ.
“So, now that you’re staying here, I figured we’d explain some things,” Jeffery announced.
I popped a fry into my mouth. “Sure.” I chuckled. “As long as you’re not about to tell me you have Naked Sundays.” Silence greeted me, and I bit down on the crispy potato. “You don’t erm...do Naked Sundays, do you?” My brows lifted high on my forehead. “I mean if you do, that’s totally okay. You just have to be careful of cooking, especially as a woman because we have these two things called boobs and—”
“Stop,” Jeffery choked out, his face reddening. “We don’t have Naked Sundays.”
“Oh. Okay. Cool.” My gaze flicked to JJ, but he was none the wiser, chowing down on his burger like it was going to run away if he didn’t demolish it within seconds.
“What I meant was,” Jeffery started, “we have a schedule that we keep to. It helps JJ keep on track with everything and—”
“I have autism,” JJ interrupted, still not looking up.
Jeffery sighed. “What he means is that he’s on the autism spectrum, and keeping a schedule helps him assign each day.”
“I get it,” I told them, placing my hand on the top of my burger bun and squishing it all together. “I won’t mess with your schedule.”
“We need to add your schedule to the board,” JJ said, finally looking up and focusing on me. Why was his full attention enough to make me squirm in my seat?
“You need my schedule?” I repeated, like I couldn’t understand the words he was saying.
“Yes.” JJ nodded in further confirmation.
“Right. Okay. I can do that.”
JJ stood, lifted his plate off the table, and walked into the kitchen.
“Thank you again for letting me stay here, Jeffery.”
He tilted his head to the side and leaned back in his seat as I picked up my burger to take a bite. Holy mother-trucking shit. This burger was divine. Like angels had sung into the meat and added the best tasting seasoning to it ever just so you could have a slice of heaven in your mouth.
“You’re welcome.” He swiped his hand down over his jaw and flicked his gaze to the kitchen door. “I think it’ll be good for JJ to have a woman around.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask where his mom was, but just as I realized it was none of my business, JJ walked in with a whiteboard. This one was different from the one on the refrigerator. It was bigger and had more written on it.
JJ sat next to me, pulled out a pink marker, and handed it to me. I frowned down at it and looked back up, concentrating on his face. “What’s that?”
“A whiteboard marker.”
I rolled my eyes. “I know what it is, but why—”
“You need to add your schedule to this section.” JJ pointed at a space on the whiteboard, and I glanced down at it again. The left side had each day, and next to that written in blue was JJ’s schedule, then in black was Jeffery’s schedule, and space for another couple of people to write.
I pulled the pen out of JJ’s grasp and pulled the cap off. “How come I have to have pink? What if I wanted purple?”
“I don’t have purple.” JJ bit down on his bottom lip, and it took all my energy not to float closer to him. “I can buy one if—”
“No.” I placed my hand over the top of his and basked in the warmth of his soft skin. “I was joking.”
His gaze flicked between my eyes, a frown marring his face. “It was a joke?”
“Yeah.” I placed the tip of the pen to the board.
“But it wasn’t funny, and the definition of a joke is a thing someone says to cause amusement.” He paused. “It wasn’t amusing.”
I took a deep breath, holding in my laughter as I looked over at Jeffery who was obviously trying to hold in his too. “Right. I tend to make bad jokes. You’ll have to get used to that.”
“I’ll add it to my list of things about Ella Magpie.” He chuckled under his breath.
I reeled back. “You have a list about me?”
His lips flattened into a straight line. “No. It was a joke.”
I bit down on my bottom lip and lost the battle with the grin that was working its way over my face.
This was going to be fun.
I wasn’t a morning person. Anyone who knew me would tell you this. I was the stay-in-bed-until-the-last-moment-possible kind of person. The one who would set fifteen alarms five minutes apart to try and trick myself into thinking I was getting a lie-in. It was a real problem being a non-morning-person. People who rolled out of bed with a smile on their face and pep in their step were obviously high on morning sunshine or something.
I was not one of those people.
So, when my alarm went off at 7 a.m.—the same as it had for the last four days so I could make it to my lectures on time—I fully intended to hit snooze on that baby and sleep until at least 10 a.m. What really happened was my body sang, “Get up, El,” and I actually listened.
I had a small smile on my face as I trudged my way out of my room and to the bathroom, and as soon as I saw it in the reflection, I wanted to punch the shit out of my own face. This wasn’t me, and all I could conclude was somebody had taken over my body while I was asleep and replaced me with a morning person.
Or maybe I was dreaming.
I pinched my arm and grimaced from the slight sting. Ow. Definitely not dreaming.
I went about my usual morning routine which consisted of brushing my teeth, having a wash, and getting ready for my workday. As today was all about my freelance business I was trying to teach the college kids about, it meant all I did was grab my laptop and notebook.
One thing I made sure to tell my students was the work uniform they could wear. We lived in an age of people earning a living while sitting on their bed or sofa in their pajamas. Wasn’t it just the greatest thing ever? I got comfortable in the spot on the sofa nearest the window, wiggling my ass, crossing my legs, and placing my laptop over my knees. I knew once I opened it that I wouldn’t close it for hours on end.
Jeffery came downstairs and left a
fter greeting me with a pepped-up, “Morning.” Then JJ came down, dressed in his usual dark jeans and T-shirt. He sat at the table on his own while eating cereal, looked over at me when he finished, and promptly left the house. This had been the usual routine for over a week now, and it felt so normal as if I were meant to be here all along.
Once JJ had left, I was home alone. I could never think about being at home on my own without imagining me setting traps for burglars and having an epic kind of day. I didn’t have time for that today though, so I hoped they stayed away. I’d been seriously neglecting my own business, and I’d only been teaching at the college for a few weeks. I obviously needed to get my balance right, but honestly, who actually managed to do that? I imagined I was sitting on a see-saw. Sometimes with no one on the other end, sometimes with someone twice my weight, but never anyone who made me balance it in a straight line. Nevertheless, I opened up my laptop, clicked on my emails and caught up with everything.
Several hours later my stomach grumbled in the most obnoxiously loud way known to man. How dare my body need sustenance. Ugh. I turned up the volume on my laptop as it blasted out my latest playlist and balanced it on the cushion next to where I was sitting. My hips moved to the beat, and I danced my way to the kitchen where I made a quick sandwich and ate half of it before I even made it back to my seat.
Once I was back in my awesome position, my cell rang, and I heaved a breath. Did people not realize I needed to not be disturbed while eating? Jeez. “Well, hello there,” I said when I’d hit the answer button.
Chad chuckled. “Hey, baby girl. Just making sure you’re still alive.”
I hadn’t heard his voice since I left New York. We'd messaged back and forth a few times, but it seemed odd not to talk to him how I usually did. I didn’t know whether it was me not reaching out, him, or a combination of both.
“I am. Complete with two legs and two arms. I may have nearly lost my eyes with the state of Vi’s apartment when I got here, but otherwise, I’m alive and well.”
Confessions Of A Chatterbox (Confessions Series Book 2) Page 10