Elias had an ideal design of how a home should be. According to him, when you entered from the front door, the path should lead you to the living room. The living room should include at least two comfortable sofas and a coffee table with a vase of daffodils. The house should have two floors, and the staircase should be placed on the corner of the path leading to the kitchen, and the bedrooms should be located on the upper floor.
It's safe to assume he has built the home he always wanted.
Louisa has offered me a seat on the blue sofa that temporarily became the center of everyone's attention. I wanted to hide in the softness of the cushion, but being a 6.5-foot man didn't allow me to do that (it was one of those moments I think, what the hell did I eat to be so tall?).
The untouched teacups rested on the coffee table, pouring the scent of tea leaves into the air. A couple of biscuits stayed fresh on a porcelain saucer that had a pretty drawing of a blue rose. Everything in the living room was organized with matching colors: blue sofas in a room painted with beige, light and dark green plants in the corners, and a small statue of a woman dressed in gray on top of the table near the light cream flower vase. And for some reason, even the people sitting on the sofa wore matching outfits, except for me.
On the sofa in front of me sat Levi Seymour, leaning to the corner with his legs crossed. He was a brunette with hypnotic blue eyes that were filled with hope at the moment. It would have been a surprise if Adeline Hailey didn't sit on the armrest, with her strawberry blonde hair tied into a messy bun as the sharp gaze of her hazel eyes was fixed on me. Louisa stood near the corner where the Chinese evergreen plant lay, taking a glimpse of us silently. Elias leaned onto the headrest, sitting beside me, his hand fixing his flannel shirt.
The silence between us was rising up as none of us knew how to start a conversation. I would have liked it if they didn't stare at me like they were trying to eat me with their eyes.
"This is like the first time we met," finally Adeline hollered, unable to bear the awkwardness. Just like the first time we met, she was the first to speak up.
"It is?" Levi said, helping Adeline to build a small talk.
"Of course! Like the first time we met. You idiots are too shy to speak up."
I could hear the small laugh that escaped Elias's lips. "It feels like a decade ago. I never thought you guys would stick around for this long."
"Neither did I. Can't believe that happened 21 years ago," Adeline added.
"It was a small neighborhood after all," I found myself muttering.
"But we survived middle school, high school, and uni together," Levi said, nibbling on his biscuit. "What do you think about these? Obey, I made them myself," he asked, pointing at the saucer.
"They're nice," I could feel my smile getting weaker.
"Really?" Levi beamed. "You know what? I finally opened the restaurant I wanted. Can you guess its name?" He offered me another biscuit, which I only took out of politeness.
"Veritas Vino?" I guessed as a certain memory crossed my mind.
"That's correct!" Levi glowed the moment he heard my reply. "That's exactly what I named it."
"I can't believe you remembered that stupid name," Adeline groaned. "You're just helping him to be more delusional."
"Fiat voluntas tua, Adele," Elias commented before I tried to reply.
"Non mea refert quid dicis, falsus ingenii," Adeline said back with her cocky grin.
"Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus." I couldn't resist the urge to say it like I did all the time back in high school. We all joined in with a group laugh, remembering those times, except for Louisa.
"Guys, don't be unfair like that. You know I don't speak Latin," Louisa said as a dejected look fell onto her face.
"Guess what, Luv, we don't know how to either." We continued our laughter as Elias said that, and Louisa stood there looking more confused than she might ever do.
.....
I couldn't seem to trace how the time passed quickly. The sunlight that poured out of the windows was getting dimmer and dimmer. I listened to the conversations of the others, occasionally joining in if they asked me a question, which happened after every five minutes. It had been a few years since I heard all of their voices in the same room. It was not uncomfortable as I thought it would be but rather felt quite familiar.
Louisa would always go to the kitchen the moment she noticed the saucer getting emptier and would bring something to nibble on when she came back before we heard the crying of her daughter. "Milly might have woken up. I'll go check on her," she had her warm smile drawn on her face when she left.
I considered her leaving as my cue to leave as well. I'd stayed over at Elias's house for way more time than I should have.
"Well, today has been going great so far," I said, getting up. "But I guess it's time for me to leave." I tried to sound polite as my hand reached for my suitcase.
"Well, yeah, you need to take your rest after a long flight, and—" Levi paused, his expression changing. "Where are you going?"
"To my house, of course," I said, stating the obvious.
"No, you're not," what surprised me was that all of them said it at the same time, like they got synced for a minute or something.
"Why not?" I watched as their expressions changed into a panicked one.
"Erm, well... you know—I thought it would be great if you could stay at my house," Elias stuttered, his tone fretting.
"No," I said immediately.
"But—But why?"
"What do you mean why? How the hell am I supposed to live in your house? It's not like you're living alone." I was perplexed at the sudden change of mood.
"Well, what about mine? I can teach you how to make pissaladière," Levi said with a stressed smile.
"I don't want to," I sighed. "And now, if you guys excuse me..." I said, with my head turning in the direction of the front door.
"Hold on." Adeline held my hand firmly. "I'm not going to beat around the bush." Her voice was getting serious, and if she hadn't changed throughout the past five years, it wasn't a good sign. "We prefer it if you don't go."
"Wha—what? Why?"
"Because the road changed its places."
"Is this supposed to be some sort of a joke?" I asked, shaking her hand away from mine.
"No," they synced again.
Through their silence, a sea of thoughts devoured me, thinking of all the possibilities to stop me from visiting my home. But all of them were just a branch of the same thought. A thought that slipped into my mind every moment I forgot about it. The evocative eyes that once blinded me. The mirage that trapped me in a vibrant maze.
"Don't tell me," the words slid under my lips.
"We're not going to," Adeline sighed. "But you should know."
A sudden rush of emotions overpowered me, burning the self-control I had within, my hands slamming against the table, the trembling of the teacups and their worried expressions. I promised myself to not act like this. I can't.
"I'm going," I could feel my expression darkening, unreadable and hurt.
"Obey..." Elias's voice came out like a desperate whisper.
I didn't stand to look at them because I knew their stare would crush me. I felt pathetic and weak, like the walls were trying to swallow me. I avoided them the same way I did last time, walking out of the living room with my head held down.
Elias stepped forward, trying to reach for my hand. But Adeline stopped him, and I didn't turn to look back at them.
When I walked out, I could feel the cold breeze against my skin. The sun had disappeared, spreading darkness to the surroundings. I wanted to get away, even though I knew there was nowhere to run off to. I didn't have anything: a car, some money, or at least my home. All I had was the suitcase I left behind in the living room and myself.
I felt like a fallen tree, expired from serving its purpose as the beauty that once belonged to it faded away.
I didn't want to feel that way.