Zai was the designated driver.
"Do you think Valin will be okay enough to get home on his own?" I asked.
"I'm not worried," he replied quickly.
The one thing these brothers have in common is the blatant nonchalance towards one another.
"You didn't talk as much as usual tonight," I commented.
He didn't respond for several seconds before finally saying,
"I had a lot on my mind."
He did say he had a surprise for me back home.
I felt slightly dizzy, and my chest warmed as I gazed over at him.
"Oh... you know what, Zai... you're a really, really handsome, beautiful man!"
He laughed, saying,
"And you're drunk."
Am I drunk?
"But you're not wrong," he added smugly.
I pouted and said,
"When someone compliments you, you say thank you!"
He looked even more amused when I said this, but didn't respond.
"Did you even have fun?" I inquired softly.
"Yeah... because I was with you..." His response touched me, and I felt my face growing warmer.
"Maybe I really did drink too much... I haven't had bane in a while," I muttered.
"Oh... even though you're a stuck-up Infaniyan, you've had it before?" he remarked.
I poked out my tongue at him and said,
"Yes! I... had friends in Secondary school that had that stuff all the time, I've even smoked inspiration and had elixirs with them..." I admitted, proudly.
"Wow... and I thought you were a good girl."
For some reason, the tone of his reply made me feel a bit worried that I had revealed too much.
"Are you... disappointed in me?" I felt a little more sober when I asked this.
"Not sure yet..."
We arrived back home, and after he parked the car, he added,
"It doesn't change anything, so stop worrying." Then he poked my forehead, saying, "Let's go inside."
We entered the house, hand-in-hand. It was dark.
"I thought RJ would be here before us." My remark made Zai chuckle.
"That's just proof that you don't know him well."
What does that mean?
He suddenly scooped me up and carried me upstairs so fast I heard thunder and felt the whole room shake.
My head was spinning so much that I could barely remember what we were just talking about.
As I gazed up at him, my head cleared, and I placed my hand behind his head, tangling up my fingers in his hair.
As expected, Zai pressed his lips to mine while slowly moving his hands under my clothes.
This is nice...
Finally, now that the distractions of the day were gone, we could safely get lost in each other.
And being alone for once got rid of a lot of anxiety about whether anyone could overhear us.
The next morning, I got some surprising news.
"We're moving?!" I shouted after Zai informed me of the details.
"Yeah. They gave me the keys yesterday. Don't worry about the furniture, but you should get packed; the moving truck will be here at noon."
"Moving?" I repeated quietly in disbelief.
"I already said yes," he replied, then he kissed me lovingly and whispered, "You should get dressed too."
I rushed to my room at that moment.
Thanks to Zai teaching me to control lightning, I was able to have all my clothes put away in less than a minute. I'm still in shock that a new house was his surprise. I made sure to put the laptop RJ gave me away carefully... I should say bye to him; it's going to feel weird not seeing him every day.
I checked all the rooms in the house, but he was nowhere to be found; at least Valin was sitting in the living room, playing a game on his phone.
"Hey, little bro... did Zai tell you, we're moving out today?" I greeted, trying to get to the point as soon as possible.
"You're leaving?!" He threw his phone aside and looked up at me with teary eyes.
"Um... yeah..." I wasn't expecting him to get so emotional, but Val is the dramatic type, so maybe I shouldn't be so surprised. "We can still hang out sometimes if you want."
He sighed and wiped away the tears.
"No thanks," he replied curtly.
The heck?!
"I thought you were sad, that I'm leaving..." I noted, hoping he'd clear up my confusion.
"I'm going to miss you walking around the house in only a T-shirt, cooking and cleaning for me."
...
"Oh... so you don't want to hang out?" I questioned.
He went back to his phone.
"What's in it for me if we do?"
I laughed, then flopped down beside him on the couch.
"Nothing, I guess... At least you can sleep well now that I'm gone!" My comment made him frown again, then he said sadly,
"I rarely sleep... but when I do... it's even easier when I can hear you and imagine that I'm the one in the room with you."
Yep, it's time to move... definitely... how can I not read him at all?!
Is this what he was thinking the whole time?!
"Snowe... why are you making that face?... Wait, did I say something wrong?"
Panic appeared on his face, then he started murmuring to himself, and I got up from the seat and said,
"No, don't worry about it."
"I just realized I shouldn't have said that! Don't tell Zaikel!"
Now it feels even more wrong!
"Also, what did you expect?! You walk around half-naked all day, and cook for me. Rarely wear a bra! And you're super sexy! You're like the most beautiful woman I've met in my life."
I tried to erase his words from my mind completely after that,
"How about we just change the subject, and I make breakfast one last time before I leave?" I replied.
"Oh... okay..." He sighed heavily and added, "It's too bad... you're wearing pants today." His voice sounded extremely disappointed when he made this comment.
I tried to push past the awkwardness and prepare a traditional breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast. Zai came downstairs, and the three of us ate together.
It was tense! Should I tell Zai? But Val is impaired in a way... when it comes to social awareness, and he was just being honest as always... maybe I should let it go?
"What's wrong, Snowe?" Zai asked once he finished eating.
He added cheese to the remaining bacon and eggs, folded everything into bread, and turned it into a sandwich.
So he was done before me, who was eating everything separately.
"Uh... I'm just excited about the move..." I mumbled.
"Oh? Excited huh?... What did you say to her, Valin?"
His tone sounded threatening, and Valin began sweating and looking around the room before answering,
"I... just told her the reasons I'd miss her."
He really came up with the most acceptable way to answer honestly.
"I see... well, you'd better learn how to hold your tongue and show respect when you speak to my wife from now on," Zai muttered, his voice tinged with malice.
Val slouched down in his seat and replied,
"I will... I'm sorry..."
I guess I didn't need to say anything.
"And Snowe... You know how I hate lies. We'll talk more later."
I'm in trouble too?! The doorbell rang, and Zai opened it.
Then, he showed the movers where our boxes were and helped them pack the truck.
This is really happening... I felt a little sniffly saying bye to this house, the one that sheltered me when I was in need and was full of people who helped me heal.
But it's time for me to go.
The new house was secluded, on a hill, but there was a clear view of the ocean.
"How..." I mumbled in awe. The house was slightly smaller than the old one but just as beautiful, and it had a garden, making it lovelier. "This view... it's like a painting."
"You said you liked the beach." Zai replied, then he handed me a key and said, "Unlock the door, and look around. I'll help them get our stuff inside."
The inside was massive, with a high ceiling and dark hardwood floors; the doors were painted black, but the walls were white.
There was already white leather furniture, a fluffy pastel pink carpet, a television, and a bookcase in the living room.
The stair rail was an eye-catching rose gold, so I headed up the carpeted stairs.
There were three bedrooms and a bathroom that had a tub large enough to fit five people. Only one of the bedrooms was furnished; it looked like both mine and Zai's room, evenly split down the middle, even the comforter was half black and half pink.
And on the wall above the dresser on my side were pictures we had taken together. This actually did make me cry. He did so much for me... no wonder he kept saying he was busy on the days I had to work and using his phone more often.
I had given up on the idea of him cheating, but this house goes far beyond what I was expecting. I thought he just got bored with waiting for me and picked up a hobby, but he was actually making sure we had our own home.
When Zai found me upstairs, I held onto him for a long moment before I could find the words.
"I guess you like it?" he asked.
I nodded and squeezed him.
"Good... now tell me, exactly what happened this morning," he demanded coolly.
I felt myself go stiff; I wasn't expecting him to ask so soon.
"Oh... Well... You know, Val, he talks without thinking... said something careless about... hearing our nightly activities." I felt myself blushing just remembering because that moment was so awkward for me.
"I see..." When he didn't say anything else, I panicked and added,
"But don't be too harsh on him, you know he can't help it!" I defended, and that's when Zai's eyes turned cold.
"I'm aware... Snowe... I'm sick and tired of you trying to guard people from me." His voice was raised slightly, and I could tell he was annoyed.
He had never spoken to me that way before.
I didn't know how to react.
"I'm going to bed," he added, walking away from me and lying down on his back with his arms folded.
Zai kicked off his shoes and yelled, "Join me!"
I clumsily rushed over, and he cuddled me, and grumpily muttered, "Fine... I'll spare the asshole if that's what you want..."