Surrendered: A Collection of Five Works

by Unknown

  He went to the bathroom and brushed his teeth, combed through his messy brown hair, and washed his face. He looked into the mirror and saw how truly messy he looked. He then walked to the kitchen and wondered what to make for breakfast. He wasn’t in love with Kim or anything, but he definitely wanted to impress her with his cooking. He got eggs, bacon, and hash browns, and started to cook. He really hoped Kim enjoyed scrambled eggs.

  He put the food on a black tray and walked to the bedroom with it. He set it on the nightstand and knelt beside the bed, where Kim was asleep. He put his warm hand on her shoulder.

  “Good morning, it’s time to wake up now. I made you breakfast.”

  Kim groaned and rolled to the other side, now facing away from Devin. He walked around the bed and crawled in next to her. He moved very close to her and held her tightly.

  “I made you breakfast.” he repeated, before kissing her on the forehead, like always.

  “Okay” she groaned. She sat up and brushed her hair away from her face, and yawned. Devin thought he was absolutely gorgeous, even when she had just woken up. He could see why Marcus was so overprotective.

  She looked over at the tray.

  “You didn’t make me coffee?”

  “I didn’t know you liked coffee.” he said.

  “The coffee pot is there for a reason.” she said angrily.

  “I’ll go make the coffee. Dang, woman!” he turned to leave.

  She definitely isn’t a morning person. Devin thought.

  He went downstairs and walked over to the counter. She failed to mention that she had a Keurig, so he had no idea what kind of K-Cup she wanted. He didn’t want to have to go back to ask her, so he picked one that read Breakfast Blend. He waited for it to be done and then carried the hot cup back to her room.

  When he walked into her room, she saw the coffee and smiled a big smile. He sat the coffee down on the stand and sat on the bed beside her. He kissed her on the cheek.

  “Are you a little less grumpy now?” he asked.

  “Yes.” she smiled and kissed him back on the cheek.

  “Ooh, I would have never expected that.” he joked.

  “Well, you’ve given me so many, you would think I owe you one. Don’t ya’ think?”

  “Oh, I definitely do think.” he kissed her on the cheek.

  Devin thought about asking to take her out for lunch. He didn’t know whether she would be up for it. She seemed to be feeling a little bit better today, but he didn’t know whether she was feeling good enough to go anywhere. He thought harder about it and then changed his mind.

  “So,” Kim said, out of nowhere. “There’s this really good coffee shop 5 minutes from here, and I haven’t had any good donuts in a while. You wanna go?”

  “Of course I do. I’ve been craving sweets lately.” he replied. “Go get ready. I’ll wait for you.”

  Kim finished what was left of her coffee, took a few bites of scrambled eggs, and hopped out of bed. She walked out of the room and walked to the bathroom. She shut the door, so Devin figured she was taking a shower.

  “Pick me out an outfit!” she shouted.

  He walked over to her closet and slid the door over to the side. Her closet was huge, like one you’d see in a movie about rich women. He ran his hand across all of the clothes. There were so many pretty things she could wear, but there was one specific one that stuck out to him. It was a black sundress with pink and white flowers all over it. He loved it. Picturing Kim wearing it put a huge smile on his face. He thought that the shade of pink would bring out her skin tone. She was a shade darker than tan, and she could pull off almost any color with that skin tone.

  He pulled the dress from the closet and hung it over his arm. He walked to the bathroom with it and knocked three times on the door.

  “Come in!” she called.

  He opened the door and the smell of brown sugar and vanilla filled his nose. He didn’t know that Kim was still in the shower.

  “You didn’t bother to tell me you were in the shower?” he asked.

  “Why would I? It’s not like you can see me.” she said

  “If I wanted to, I could.” he walked over to the shower and jokingly knocked on the curtain three times. “Hey.” He held up the dress. “I think you should wear this.”

  Kim peeked her head out of the side of the shower and before she could say anything, he kissed her on the cheek and left the bathroom. She stood there smiling until he shut the door.

  Then, Devin went to Kim’s shoe closet to find a pair of shoes for the outfit. He was no fashionista, so this task was hard for him. He searched and searched, making a complete mess of the place until Kim walked in. She cleared her throat, bent down, and picked up a pair of black and pink flats that matched the dress exactly.

  Devin turned around to examine her outfit, but when he saw her, his jaw dropped. She looked absolutely astonishing in the outfit he had picked out. He was pretty proud of himself and his work in the area of styling.

  “Do I look cute?” she smiled, and then did a little twirl.

  “Yes, I’m drooling like a thirsty dog.” he chuckled.

  “You know you’re still in your pajamas, right?”

  Devin looked down at his Nike shorts and laughed. He stood up, giving Kim a shy smile before walking out of the room.

  He sorted through his bag and thought about what he should wear. He thought about dressing fancier, but he didn’t want Kim to think he was trying to rush things. He pulled out a pair of cargo shorts and a black Hollister collared shirt and then changed into them. He looked at himself in the full body mirror and thought about how good he looked.

  He walked out into the hallway and smiled at Kim, who was now waiting patiently for him.

  “How do I look?” he smiled.

  “Handsome.” she kissed him on the cheek and ran away. That seemed to be their thing.

  They both put their shoes on and headed out to the car.

  “Whose car are we taking?” Devin asked.

  “Mine.” she said.

  “Nope. Why would you drive? The man always takes the lady out to lunch. It would be weird if you drove.”

  “You sexist pig!” she joked.

  “You sexy girl!” he joked back.

  They climbed into Devin’s black mustang and buckled their seatbelts. The drive, which was supposed to be 10 minutes turned into a 25 minute drive because Devin wouldn’t stop making wrong turns. Little did she know, he was doing it on purpose to make her mad. She was cute when she was mad.

  When they finally got there, they went up to the counter and ordered their coffees. Kim ordered a caramel iced latte and a glazed donut and Devin ordered a black coffee and 4 different donuts. He was super hungry. When they were done ordering, they sat down. Looking at Devin’s plate, she realized that Devin ate almost the same kind of donuts that her brother used to eat when they ate at that place. It kind of made her freak out a little bit inside. She started to get sad again until she felt Devin kiss her on the cheek and saw him run away after.

  She flashed him a quick smile and then walked to their table and sat down. They talked, flirted, and ate their donuts. They talked about almost everything until Devin thought about how he wanted ice cream.

  “Do you want to go get ice cream?” he asked her.

  “Duh! Let’s go!” she stood up from her chair. They walked out to the car and got back in. They drove to their destination, arriving later than usual because of the multiple wrong turns Devin had made. They stood in line for about 5 minutes before ordering. Kim ordered two scoops of rocky road and Devin ordered two scoops of chocolate chip cookie dough.

  Just like my brother. Kim thought.

  They enjoyed their ice cream over a great conversation about their favorite songs and types of music. Kim liked pop music and Devin enjoyed rap, the same thing as her brother. Kim loved the song “How Deep is Your Love”. She listened to it at least 3 times a day, if not more. She just loved it so much. Devin on the other hand,
his favorite song was “Sorry Not Sorry” by Bryson Tiller.

  They talked about almost everything under the sun. Devin loved spending time with Kim, and little did he know it, she loved spending time with him too. They had known each other for two days and he had already managed to get her mind off of Marcus and keep a constant smile on her face all day. Devin thought she had the most beautiful smile known to mankind. He barely knew her, but what he did know was that there was a huge chance that this was true love. He felt like they needed each other, which they did. He planted a quick kiss on her cheek, but this time, he did not run away.

  “What was that one for?” she laughed and smiled, showing off her dimples.

  “Because you are beautiful.” he replied, giving her another kiss on the cheek.

  She turned and gave him one back. They sat and finished their ice cream cones before getting in the car, making a few wrong turns, and going home.

  When they got home, they sat down on the couch.

  “Do you want to watch a movie?” Devin asked.

  “Sure!” Kim said, excitedly.

  “What kind of movie?” Devin questioned.

  “Well, I like scary movies, but it’s too bright outside.” she said.

  “That’s no problem.” Devin said, getting up.

  Devin walked to the closet and got out a bunch of blankets. He walked around the room, hanging one on each window until the room was almost completely dark. Then, he walked back over to the couch and sat as close to Kim as he could. He grabbed the last blanket, put it over them, and then proceeded to put his arm around Kim and pull her close. She snuggled right up into his side and wrapped her arm around his stomach and pulled him close before planting a kiss on his cheek. He smiled and squeezed her and then kissed her cheek back.

  They watched the movie in complete silence, with the exception of a few kisses on the cheek here and there. There were a few times when Kim got scared from the movie and jumped. That gave Devin a good reason to pull her close and hold her. Devin felt as if they were actually in true love. Devin loved the feeling of knowing that he was making Kim happy

  After watching a few more movies, it was almost time for dinner.

  “Do you want to order pizza or something?” Kim suggested.

  “How about we make food together.” Devin told her.

  “That sounds fun. But beware, I’m a horrible cook.”

  “I’m a pretty good chef.”

  Just like my brother. Kim thought.

  They walked to the kitchen and Devin opened the refrigerator. He pulled out all of the things they needed to make cheeseburgers. Kim decided that she wanted French fries too, so they got out a bag of potatoes.

  Devin let Kim slice the potatoes and tomatoes while he fried the burgers. Together, he thought they made a perfect team, which they did. The only problem was that Devin acted so much like Marcus that it almost made them seem like brother and sister. Thankfully, Kim hadn’t exactly started to realize it yet. That would probably ruin everything.

  “Can I ask you something?” Kim asked.

  “Of course.” he replied.

  “What was your favorite thing about Marcus?” she asked. The question totally caught him off guard. He stopped focusing on the burgers so that he could think about it.

  “I liked how he would always defend the people he cared about. He would risk his own life just to make sure that the people he loved were happy. That is why everyone loved him.” He said sadly.

  Kim continued to keep a smile on her face while they were cooking. He kept expecting to look over and see her crying, but she was doing a very great job at holding herself all together. Overall, she was a very strong girl.

  When the burgers and fries were done, Devin put them on plates and carried them to the dining room and Kim followed. She attempted to sit across the table from him but Devin wasn’t about to let that fly.

  “You better come sit next to me. I can’t kiss you on the cheek from across the table.” She did what he said.

  She sat down and he planted a quick kiss on her cheek before reaching for the ketchup bottle. She leaned over and gave him a kiss back. For some odd reason, Devin actually blushed. He had never done that before so he thought it was really weird. He poured some ketchup on his plate and smeared some mayonnaise and barbeque sauce on his cheeseburger bun. Those were his favorite condiments to use on his burgers. He looked over and saw Kim putting ketchup on hers. Boring.

  They strangely ate their meal in complete silence. It was odd because they were just having full conversations a little while ago. Maybe Kim was getting sad because she was thinking about Marcus. He didn’t want to disturb her so he picked up his empty plate and walked to the kitchen with it. After he put it in the sink, he walked into the living room, sat down, and turned on the TV. About 5 minutes later, Kim joined him.

  Why aren’t you talking to me?” she asked. “Are you mad at me or something?”

  “I think I could ask you the same question, Miss Chatterbox.”

  “No I’m not mad at you. I was just trying to eat my food because I was hungry. Is that a problem? You were doing the same thing.” she joked as she leaned up into him and relaxed.

  It felt good for Devin to know that Kim was feeling a little bit of happiness. She might not be healed, but maybe the healing process was going to start soon. That would be really good. That’s what Devin needed too. He needed to be healed. It was so hard to continue to look happy, but he had to keep it up for Kim. If she knew that he was sad, it would make her even more sad. What she really needed was someone to boost her spirits and help her keep her head up and Devin was going to be that person, no matter what.

  He flipped through all the channels until he saw Kim’s eyes widen at the sight of “The Notebook”.

  “That’s my favorite movie!” she exclaimed. “It’s already half over though. Oh well, let’s watch it anyways. The ending is still good. She cuddled up into his side, trying to get comfortable and after watching the movie for 5 minutes, he noticed that she was crying. He didn’t know if she was crying because of the movie or because of Marcus, so he didn’t say anything.

  After the movie was over, Kim looked like she was just about ready to fall asleep, so he picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. When he turned to leave, she grabbed his hand and wouldn’t let him go. He took that as a sign that she wanted him to stay with her so he crawled right into bed next to her as a million thoughts raced through his head. Did she really like him? Was she just looking for someone to make her feel better? He had no idea, but he wanted to know before he let his feelings go any further. He wasn’t even sure how he really felt about her but he was sure of the fact that he was starting to love her.

  He flipped over to face her, but she was facing away from him. He reached his arm over her and pulled her as close as possible. He was confused when she didn’t move, but maybe she was already sleeping. He wasn’t sure of anything. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep

  Everything he does is like Marcus. Kim thought. But maybe I’m wrong, maybe I am just seeing Marcus in him because I miss him. God, I miss my brother so much. Why did this have to happen to him? Kim lied there thinking about Marcus until she drifted off to sleep 10 minutes later.

  When Devin woke up in the morning, Kim was still sleeping. He was about to give her a kiss on the cheek, but he knew that it would wake her and he hadn’t made her coffee yet. That would be mistake #2. Mistake #1 would be completely forgetting the coffee, which he almost did. Kim is the type to just rip your head off because she didn’t have her morning coffee.

  He walked into the kitchen and looked through the cupboards to find the can of coffee since they were out of K-cups but he couldn’t find it anywhere. What was the point of having a coffee pot if she wasn’t going to have the coffee to go with it? He felt like a pure idiot when he looked next to the coffee pot and saw the blue can of coffee sitting right there. He slapped himself on the forehead and reached for the can of coffee. He started t
he coffee and moved on to breakfast. What did Kim like to eat in the mornings? He opened the freezer and grabbed a box of toaster waffles.

  After burning 4 waffles, Devin finally toasted 4 more to perfection and put them on a plate. He smeared them with butter and grabbed the syrup before carrying them to Kim’s room. When he got there, he realized he forgot the coffee so he went back to get it. When he returned, Kim was already sitting up holding the plate of waffles. How did she wake up so fast? Devin studied her face and realized that she had makeup smeared all around her face and her eyes were bloodshot. She must have cried herself to sleep last night.

  “I brought two forks for a reason.” he joked. “Don’t hog them all.”

  “Where’s my coffee?” she groaned.

  “Right here!” he used his left hand to point at the cup of coffee in his right hand.

  She took a sip of the coffee and almost gagged.

  “You make your coffee way too strong.” she said grumpily

  Just like my brother.

  By then, Kim was just starting to realize that Devin acted like Marcus and she didn’t know how to feel about it. It made her feel like a part of him was still there, but it upset her more than anything. She just wanted out of this mess and she wanted out of it right at that moment but she didn’t know how. She was in too deep with Devin, but did she have any other choice but to make him leave her alone? She didn’t know. She burst into a fit of tears and emotions. Devin rushed over to hug her.

  “Please don’t touch me.” she said. “Matter of fact, can you just leave me alone for a little while? Please?”

  Devin didn’t want to bother her anymore, so he just left the room. He didn’t know why she was pushing him away all of a sudden. Was it because of the coffee? He didn’t know whether she wanted him to leave the house or just leave the room so he just sat on the couch and waited. He didn’t even know what he was waiting for. Was she going to make him leave and never talk to him again? Did she just want a little bit of time alone? He had so many questions, but not enough answers.

  In the other room, Kim buried her head in the pillow and started to sob. She was torn to pieces by everything going on around her and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. She just wanted to die. She wished it was her who was dead instead of Marcus because he did not deserve to die. Her feelings were all wrapped up into one big ball of emotion and she wanted to untangle it. She had feelings for Devin after just two days but she just realized that he was more like her brother than she was. She needed away from that, but how could she just let him go like that? Even if she could let him go that easily, she didn’t want to. She could tell how much he liked and cared about her and no one except for Marcus had ever cared for her that much.