"Ha," Curtis says.
I turn around, and his eyes are on his book. I could get changed in the same room as him — it feels excessive to go to the bathroom, close the door and get changed there — but then I remember his eyes on me that first night. Yeah, I don't want to drop the towel and have him judge my backside. Not that I'm insecure about my body, but Curtis has a way of making me feel a prickle of insecurity about everything.
So I disappear into the bathroom.
A couple of minutes later, I get comfortable in my bed, wrapping the blanket around me. I turn off my lamp, and all I can hear are the turning pages of Curtis's book and his occasional sips of tea. I close my eyes, but like yesterday, I can feel the light of his lamp behind my eyelids. So, like yesterday, I keep my eyes open and wait for him to finish.
"You know," I say a moment later, "nice favours like bringing refreshments warrant a thank you."
Curtis jumps at my words, head whipping to my bed, and I remember he can't see me watching him, can't see my face at all.
"Did I scare you?" I ask, a smile in my voice.
"I thought you were asleep."
"I can't sleep until you turn that lamp off," I say.
"You said that yesterday."
"Even if I were reading something interesting, I'd be a considerate roommate and turn the light off."
He scoffs.
"Hey. I am considerate — I brought you that tea."
"You're going to hold that tea over me for the rest of the trip, aren't you? It's just a cup of tea." Curtis keeps his eyes on his book as he flips a page. I don't know how he can read and talk at the same time. "You can read something too. You can read your fanfiction."
I sigh, wishing I'd never brought that up.
"Why are you so embarrassed to talk about it?" His brows raise. "It's not kinky shit, is it?"
"I'm not embarrassed to talk about it," I snap. "I just don't want to talk about it with you."
We're silent for a moment, and even though I hate facing the wall, I turn on my side and do it, anyway. "I'm going to sleep now," I announce.
Of course, that's a lie. I can't sleep when I'm thrumming with annoyance, when I'm facing the wall and feeling claustrophobic, when Curtis's stupid lamp is still on. I close my eyes and lower my breathing, but I'm still awake.
An eternity passes until I hear the rustle of the book being placed on the bedside table and total darkness replaces the lamplight. Curtis's sheets whisper and he tucks himself into bed. Quietly, he says, "thank you, Liam."
7
Curtis: Beach Soccer
The following morning, we eat breakfast around the kitchen table; the room filled with bright morning light. Some of us eat toast, others cereal, and there's a platter of fruit to share. I nurse my green tea.
We're chatting about going to the beach today. Erin looks at the weather forecast on her phone. "The good news is that it'll be sunny today. The bad news is that the water will be freezing."
"I'm sure it won't be that bad," Liam says, sitting beside me, at the head of the table. He's leaning back in his chair with his long legs sprawled out. I have to tuck my legs in to make sure we don't touch.
I don't know what to make of him bringing me tea yesterday. It was so strange, just like the other odd interactions these past few days. If he brought Kennedy tea, I wouldn't bat an eye — just like I didn't when he offered Bonnie lollies at the service station or handed around lollies last night while watching the movie. But doing some nice for me? That doesn't make sense. I was certain something was up, that he was only pretending to be nice in front of Kennedy, but Kennedy wasn't in the attic bedroom last night. It was a confusing mystery to fall asleep to. When I woke up, I still hadn't solved it.
"Oh, yes it will," Kennedy says. "I'd like to see you try to swim. I'd bet you'd get pneumonia."
"I'll just dip my toes in," Liam concedes.
"We can hang out on the beach, and tan," Bonnie says. "That's the main thing."
"By tan," Erin says, "I hope you mean applying a hell of a lot of sunscreen."
