It was quite late when I returned home. I opened the door and turned on the lights without making any noise from my footsteps, careful to be silent.
It was strange, coming back to a home that still had someone inside. I thought I had gotten too used to living alone, but the warmth of having someone to go back to was undeniably nice.
When the lights turned on, I looked at the dining table. Anna was sitting there, her chin propped on her hands, dressed in loose clothing—shorts and a simple tee. She turned to me, a coffee mug in her hand, and waved. "You're back. I thought it would take you a while."
"You're up?" I asked. Even though it wasn't too late, it was still midnight. I thought she would have been in her room, if not already asleep.
Anna smiled at me.
"Of course I am up. I was waiting for you." She stood up from the dining table and walked over to the kitchen counter. Anna deftly prepared a cup of tea—she had already done most of the work for it—and walked over to me. Her eyes trailed my hair, then went down to the piercings, then to my rings.
"You look quite good this way."
"Thanks," I said, taking the cup from her.
"Have you had dinner?" She asked.
"I didn't. I thought I'd make some instant noodles—"
"Tsk." Anna cut me off immediately as she moved back to the kitchen counter. She gestured at the table, asking me to take a seat. "I thought you would take good care of yourself. It's too late."
This was quite surprising for me. Even though we frequently ate together in the last week or so, this was perhaps the first time I was returning this late, after dinner.
"I kept something prepared, just in case."
Anna pulled out a pot from the oven—a place where I used to keep extras before transferring them to the fridge to free up space, a habit she had clearly picked up—and placed it on the induction stove. "This will take just a minute. If you'd like to rest, you can do that, but I would recommend you change into something comfortable and wash up first."
"Uh. Yeah, I'll do that."
There was no point in denying her words. I would have also preferred eating while comfortable, so I did just that. As I entered my room and locked the door behind me, the smell of pent-up smoke filled my nose.
This smell had mostly left the room since Anna and I would keep the windows open during the day. My eyes fell on the sprawled papers and the wall. Sighing, I quickly took my clothes off and changed.
There was still a blackened bruise on my back from the time I had dealt with that Nick guy. I applied some ointment to it. After putting on a very loose-fitting t-shirt and shorts, I washed my face and hands in the attached bathroom and went out of the room.
Anna sat there at the dining table again. This time, a plate was laid out on the chair right next to her. A pot of stew and some bread were placed alongside it.
A strange sense of warmth filled me.
I took a seat next to Anna. The smell of jasmine filled my nose. Was it her perfume? Or maybe the shampoo? I had no idea…
Perhaps I would find out when we go shopping.
How strange.
How very strange.
"So, how was your day?" Anna asked. Then she chuckled. "Though you spent a fair chunk of it with me."
I had truly forgotten how it felt to live alongside someone else.
"It wasn't bad," I said. "I got some important things done."
"Can I ask about them?"
"Some other time."
Anna smiled with a 'huhu.' She placed some more of the stew on my plate, as if forcing me to eat more.
"That was very smart of you, back in the arcade."
"Was it?" I asked.
"Yes. Lia couldn't shut up; she said she found you very interesting."
My face almost instantly formed a slight frown. I did not want more people from the school to notice me more than they already did. I was having a peaceful time; more friends would lead to more commitments and problems.
"Don't worry, she isn't the prying type. It's closer to childlike curiosity than anything else." Anna yawned and stretched her hands above her head. "Oh, I watched a movie after coming back."
"Did you finish the assignment due tomorrow?" I asked.
"Heh!? There's an assignment!?"
Hah… this girl.
"What was the movie about? Was it fun?"
"Abel. Wait! Assignment, what assignment? Did you finish it??"
"The stew tastes great."
"Abel~ help me!"
Yeah.
I had forgotten what it was like to be at home.