Page 25 of Care: Part 1

CHAPTER SIX

Care for Home

They arrived at the mansion. The ride home was utterly silent except for the engine’s occasional roar.

Once they were back into the spacious home, Avelina awkwardly threw off the cardigan she had placed over her outfit. From the moment it hit the couch, she noticed a cringed expression on Adrik's face. It didn’t take Adrik long to walk over to the cardigan and pick it up.

"One thing I need help understanding is if Zaria is your assistant, why doesn't she help you with everything you're going to need me for?" Avelina asked him to relieve the awkward silence.

"It is easier for me to talk to you than Miss Kensley. Originally, you were not supposed to assist me at work, but I want you to. Partially, because things feel more authentic with you around.”

She puckered her lips off to the side in thought. Avelina found herself growing warm at the hidden compliment he had just given her.

Her gaze seemed to follow him as he placed her cardigan on a coat rack.

"Adrik, you barely know me. It's shocking how you can talk to me, but you can't talk to people you've probably known for way longer," Avelina said.

"I know. It is something that I cannot find an answer to.”

She focused her attention on him as he walked past her and towards the kitchen. She couldn't help but follow him like a little lost puppy. Every word that left his mouth made her so intrigued.

"You not having an answer to something is impossible," she chuckled out sarcastically.

"That's inaccurate. There are many things that I do not have the answer to. Therefore, it is not precisely impossible.”

She placed her hand on her hip as a huge smile broke out on her face.

"I was exaggerating. People sometimes exaggerate their words to get their point across more effectively," she laughed out.

"Oh, 'impossible' is used to exaggerate," Adrik told himself.

Avelina glanced over at him, her smile never leaving her face. She found him adorable. "It is sometimes used to exaggerate, not all the time.”

He seemed to catch on pretty quickly.

As Avelina began to gather all of the ingredients needed to make his dinner, she lost herself in her thoughts. One thing she noticed about Adrik was that he appeared to miss specific social cues. She also picked up on how he never seemed to get it when she said a joke. He took everything she said literally, and she had to remember to teach him the figurative side of words as well.

She suddenly thought back to Johnathan's advice and how he had suggested Avelina to tell Adrik when he hurt her feelings. Her smile quickly replaced itself with a frown. He doesn't even know that words can hurt others.

"Adrik.”

"Avelina," he responded.

"I want to talk to you about something.”

He looked beyond discombobulated.

Avelina leaned against the island that sat in the middle of the kitchen as she continued to gaze at him. One of her favorite things was studying every feature on his face. It was so fascinating to her.

"Oh," he spoke.

"It hurt my feelings to hear you say that I am annoying. Sure, I apologize a lot, but it’s not because I am stupid or lack confidence. I apologize because I truly feel sorry for whatever wrong I did," she explained to him softly.

Avelina turned back to prepping his dinner, feeling a bit better about herself. When she glanced up at him, she noticed the way he was tapping his fingers against the counter.

His shoulders had fallen as he looked off somewhere in the distance.

"I am sorry. I did not intend to hurt you; I only want to make you better.”