River's POV
I woke up the next day around 9. When we got home last night, Cove and I cuddled while watching movies until she fell asleep.
I got up, showered, then changed before going to wake up Cove.
"Cove baby, wake up." I gently shook her arm. She stirred a bit in her sleep, but didn't open her eyes.
"C'mon, get up so we can go eat breakfast."
I shook her arm a little harder, causing her to let out a small whine. When she didn't make any move to open her eyes, I pulled her out from under the covers.
"River," she whined.
"Baby come on."
She huffed but opened her eyes and sat up slowly.
"Okay, let's go downstairs for breakfast."
I took her arm and pulled her up from the bed. She tiredly followed me to the kitchen.
"What do you want to eat?" I asked as she sat down on a stool.
"I think I chose last time, your turn," she mumbled tiredly. I nodded and got out two bowls, two spoons, some milk and a few boxes of cereal because I don't know which kind Cove likes.
"Open your eyes baby," I laughed when I noticed her eyes closing again. She immediately opened her eyes and adorably rubbed them with her fists.
"Which cereal do you want?" I asked. She pointed at the Cocoa Puffs and I handed it to her, along with a bowl and spoon.
"Ugh, you're finally up." Azalea groaned as she walked into the kitchen. She's already dressed, has her hair done and everything.
"Damn, how long have you been up?" I asked. She shrugged and sat down on a stool next to Cove's.
"Since like 4, the time difference is really messing with my head. Pass me the Cheerios?"
I gave her the box of Cheerios and my bowl. She gave me a appreciative nod and opened the box, then frowned.
"River did you put this back?"
"Probably, why?"
"It's empty." She tilted the box forwards and it is in deed, empty.
"Oops," I whispered, grabbing the box and throwing it away.
"Mine's empty too, why aren't you throwing these away River?" Cove scolded. I shrugged and also threw her box out.
"It's a bad habit, sorry."
"Jeez man, when the last time you had Maggie go grocery shopping?" Azalea asked with a disapproving sigh.
Maggie is my parents' maid. She does some of the larger house chores and occasionally goes shopping. She also cooks for large gatherings that my parents occasionally hold.
"Months ago, she's been off work since the beginning of this school year. Her daughter died in August."
"Oh man, Cassidy right? She was so young and talented, what a shame." Maggie is super close to my family, we've met her children and even grandchildren on several occasions.
She's been working for my parents since before I was born, so I basically grew up with her.
"Yeah, Cassie had leukemia. We tried to pay for her treatment and even paid for her to go see specialists, but she was already too far gone. There was nothing we could do about it."
"Oh man, did I miss the funeral?"
"Nope, Maggie didn't want to have one. They just had a burial with her immediate family."
"Oh," was all Azalea managed to reply.
Suddenly, Cove's stomach growled loudly, instantly lightening the mood.
"I think she speaks for all of us, let's order some food."
We all ended up getting something from the same restaurant. I ordered deviled eggs, Cove ordered an omelette, and Azalea got a smoothie.
"You both got eggs," she commented when the food arrived. I nodded while sitting down and starting to eat.
"So since Maggie isn't here, I need to go grocery shopping. It'll only take a few hours, Cove can you stay here with Azalea?"
Cove looked at me hesitantly but nodded. I rubbed her thigh comfortingly before standing up.
"Okay good, I'll be back in 3 hours tops."
Cove's POV
And just like that, he left. On one hand I don't want him to leave, but on the other, grocery shopping does sound really boring.
I turned to face Azalea and suddenly felt super self conscious with my messy hair and pink sweets with a tank top. She's already dressed and looks amazing.
"I'm going to go change really quick," I said softly. I practically ran upstairs once she nodded, busying herself with trying to turn on the TV.
I decided to take a shower in order to delay the inevitable, but quickly encountered a problem when I already got in. There's only men's stuff in River's shower.
Of course I just had to chose the one bathroom out of the 15 in this house that doesn't have women's products. Okay, maybe 15 is a bit of an exaggeration.
I looked around for the least man-ish smelling body wash. In the far corner there's a unopened bottle called "leaf cucumber water."
I don't know what that implies, but it will have to do.
After 10 minutes, I stepped out of the shower and changed into a white crop top with a yellow butterfly and a yellow plaid skirt.
I then put my hair up in a loose high curly ponytail. My wavy hair gets pretty curly when I let it air dry.
The body wash smells just like you think it would. It's not a bad smell, just very natural and earthy.
I brushed my teeth and checked my phone, then finally decided to go downstairs. There's no more delaying this encounter, it can't be avoided.
"Hi," I whispered when I saw Azalea laying on the couch. She's watching a unfamiliar rom-com, it seems very dramatic from what I can tell so far.
"Hey," she answered. Her voice is smooth, confident like. Who wouldn't have confidence if they looked like her?
"Where's your accent from?" I accidentally blurted. I did not mean to say that aloud.
"Italy," she chuckled.
"But I thought you're from France?" I said as I sat across from her on the couch.
"I'm from Italy like the rest of my family, me and my two older brothers moved to France a little over a year and a half ago."
"Oh, that makes sense. Is River the only one in your family that lives in America then?"
"Yes, his Dad met his Mom when he came to visit America. They fell in love, got married, and had him. The rest of our family married in Italy though, so we all live there."
"Oh, so River is mixed?"
"Yep."
"Cool."
We got silent after that and I pretended to pay attention to the movie, even though I have no idea what's going on.
When the movie ended a few minutes later, Azalea turned off the TV.
"Do you want to do something? Go somewhere? We don't have to wait for River to get back," she asked.
"Sure," I agreed. I feel bad that she got here yesterday and hasn't done anything interesting yet, this is supposed to be a vacation.
"Alright, where to?"
"Maybe downtown? I can't drive yet though, I just turned 16."
"That's alright, I can drive one of River's cars. He leaves the keys in the garage, not very smart if you ask me."
I giggled and nodded in agreement as we stood up. That's when I noticed the giant height difference between us, she has to be at least 5'10.
"Let me just go grab a few things, I'll be right back," I said before running upstairs. I grabbed my small black purse, stuffing my phone, wallet and a extra hair tie inside before going back to meet Azalea.
I then finally took the time to fully look at her outfit. She's wearing simple ripped black jeans with a small chain at the side and a black crop-top. I guess she takes after River with the all black.
Where I live, when it's fall it gets hot during the day and cold at night. We have hot summers and snowy winters, so it's a perfect balance.
I don't think we'll be out for more then a few hours, so we'll be fine without jackets.
"I should text River," I said, half to myself as we got in a random car. Azalea found the key behind a piece of wood that's leaning against the wall, VERY secretive of you ask me.
"Good idea, don't want him calling my brothers and having them come help search the whole city for me," she joked as the garage door closed behind us.
"Your brothers seem pretty protective," I mumbled while shooting River a quick text.
Azalea and I are going downtown. I don't know when we'll be back but don't worry, we're not ditching you.
"They really are, my whole family is. Especially since I'm a girl, they think I can't protect myself," she rolled her eyes.
"Don't worry, you look like you can break someone's nose with just a touch. I wouldn't mess with you, even if I had rippling muscles on all 4 limbs."
"Thanks," she laughed. At that moment, River texted back.
Okay have fun, I'm glad you're getting along. And take your time, stay there as long as you want.
"He said have fun and to stay as long as we want," I summarized.
"Good," she whispered in reply.
We soon arrived downtown. I actually don't come here a lot, I usually stay around where my house is. It would take 45 minutes to get downtown from where I live since it's a bit south of River's house.
"So, do you want to explore? Get something to drink? Go shopping? Buy souvenirs? Whatever you want to do," I said as she parked in a parking garage and we walked to the entrance.
"How about we just walk around for a little, you can show we some shops."
I nodded, "I'll lead the way." We headed towards the first store that I want to show her, it's almost like a mini museum about our town.
When we got inside, she started to look around. This place has a lot of information about our town history, and there's even a small souvenir shop attached.
"Fun fact: Thomas Lemberg, the town founder named this town after he had a dream where supposedly the spirit of his dead horse told him that naming the town after himself would bring it good luck and fortune," Azalea read one of the posters out loud.
"Well that's a little narcissistic, I bet $10 he didn't even have a dream and just wanted an excuse to name it after himself," she joked.
"Yeah me too, but to be honest if I ever make my own city, I'd probably name it after myself as well."
"True, do you want to go get some food next?"
"Sure, are you hungry for lunch or.."
"Just a snack," she finished. I nodded and we silently walked across the street to where all the food vendors are.
We passed soft pretzels, hotdogs, slushees, cotton candy and burgers before Azalea halted.
"Cinnamon buns sound good," she said, pointing to a small table.
"Yes! Okay c'mon," I replied. The delicious smell is practically making my mouth water, why do they have to smell so good?
"I take it you like them," Azalea laughed as we walked over. She politely ordered two and I insisted on paying.
I don't care how rich they are, she's my friend now. Or at least I think she is, are we friends yet?
"Where to now," Azalea interrupted my thoughts.
"Just follow me," I whispered and started walking. The place I want to take her next is about 5 minutes of a walk.
Worn out wooden gates greeted us when we got there. Azalea gave me a doubtful look, but I ignored it. The beauty is in the inside.
I opened the gates and walked into the beautiful garden. Flowers of every shape and color cover every inch of the ground, the only spot left untouched being the gravel pathway running through the middle.
There's several large oak trees that provide a bit of shade to protect people from the blazing heat.
As we walked further in, the amount of plants got scarcer. Now many people plant things back here.
"This is pretty," Azalea mumbled as we sat under a tree towards the back.
"Yeah, it's a community garden too so anyone can plant anything. At the edge there's a bunch of fruits and other edible plants, the farmers collect and sell them but you can pick a couple. My mom and planted some strawberries once when I was younger, I think they died."
"Not much of a green thumb huh?" Azalea laughed:
"Nope not at all, but I still love them. And I'll keep trying until I get good at it. "
"I love the dedication you have, wish I could say the same about myself."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not a very dedicated person, I give up on things too quickly."
"Like what?"
"Classes, grades, passions, hobbies, relationships."
"Girls."
"You like girls?" I asked surprised.
"Yeah, always have, always will. No offense but men are sh*t."
"I guess so," I giggled. We became silent for a few moments after that.
"So Azalea, what's it like to live in France?" I broke the comfortable silence with a question that I've been meaning to ask for a while now.
"Well, it's beautiful to start. Every building was made with such care, the streets are clean, the air is fresh. People walk a lot so there's not a lot of air pollution."
"Oh, sounds incredible."
"It is. You know you don't have to call me Azalea right? Most of my family calls me Lee or Zay. River calls me Az, but I told him that if he ever calls me that in front of other people I'll cut his fingers off. Family doesn't count though."
"Oh."
"Can I call you Azzy?"
"Sure you can, no one else calls me that so you'll be special."
"Yay. I would tell you my nicknames but I don't really have any, Cove is a very simple name."
"That's okay, I'm sure I can come up with one, just give me a second."
"Okay," I nodded. A few moments later, she spoke.
"How about Bean."
"Bean?" I repeated. Where'd she get that from?
"Yeah, Bean. Cove sounds likes Coco, and then there's Coco beans. Bean is much simpler then Coco Bean and I like it more."
"Cool, I like it too. It might take some getting used to though."
"That's fine, Azzy might take me some getting used to too. We have time."
"Yeah."
"You know, River has a nickname too."
"He does!" I've never heard him be called anything other then River, and boss.
"Yeah, our family calls him Riv. I'm surprised you haven't heard anyone say it yet. I usually call him that, but I spared him in case he didn't want you to know it. It's too late now."
"Oh, well now I know. I like Riv, he better get used to me calling him that too from now on."
"Okay," Azalea chuckled.
"You know, they sell some seeds just around the corner, we should plant something," I blurted.
"Okay sure, I pay this time though."
When we got to the cart, the amount of packets to choose from overwhelmed me. There's fruits, vegetables, mint leaves, spices, poppies, and a bunch of other random flowers.
"I think we should do a flower for now, it'll be more likely to survive," Azalea suggested.
"Yeah, I think so too."
Even with narrowing it down, there's still a bunch of choices. Poppies, orchids, daisies, roses. Out of everything, one packet stands out the most.
I saw Azalea looking at the same one. Wordlessly, I grabbed it and placed it on the top to be paid for.
"Ah yes, one of my favorites. Great choice, I think you'll love it," the vendor said as Azalea paid $2.75 for it.
"We will, thanks," she said as we walked back to the garden. I grabbed us some shovels and a small pre-filled watering can from the front before we went back to our previous spot.
"I think we should put it right on the side, it will get just enough sunlight while still having shade. And, it will have protection from the rain," I advised.
"So much for not having a green thumb," Azalea chuckled. We then went right to work, wetting the soil and digging up a hole.
A beetle crawled onto my shovel and I grabbed it in my hands, letting it crawl around.
"Put that thing down! Better yet, kill it." Azalea ordered as she slowly backed away.
"Why? It's just a beetle, and it's not a thing. I'm going to name it-"
"No, do not name that thing!" Azzy interrupted me.
"Bubblegum," I finished, completely ignoring her.
"Bubblegum? You're naming that little beast bubblegum."
"Yeah, isn't she so cute?"
"CUTE? Are you serious?"
"I'm going to take a picture of her," I once again ignored her and pulled out my phone, snapping a quick picture.
(Sorry about that)
"Cove, please put that thing down."
"I'm going to send it to River! He'll appreciate my bubblegum."
I sent River the picture along with a text saying "This is bubblegum, gummy for short."
"Coco Bean!"
I looked up at Azzy surprised, I thought she didn't like that name.
"Okay now that I finally have your attention, please put Bubblegum down. You have your picture, you sent it to River, you even named it for f*ck sake. Now please, please, please, put Bubblegum down before I kill her."
"Fine, jeez women." I pouted the whole time as I stood up and walked to a nice leaf that I can put Bubblegum on.
"Goodbye Bubblegum, I'll miss you," I said my goodbyes as I carefully put Gummy on the leaf, taking a few more pictures of her before walking away.
"Don't give me that look," Azzy groaned when I got back. I didn't say anything as I crouched down and resumed digging the hole.
"Cove I'm sorry. That thin-"
"Bubblegum."
"Bubblegum, deserves to live a nice peaceful life somewhere away from us. She'll be okay."
"Fine I guess, it's not like I could've taken her home or anything."
"Right! She'll be right over there, living her best life in the sun."
"I guess so, c'mon let's finish."
We promptly finished digging the whole and we made sure it had lots of water. We even put some nutrients that Azalea went to buy from the cart.
"You put the seed," I whispered while opening the packet. She put her palm out and I squeezed the seed onto it.
Once she put the seed in the hole, I covered it up with the nice, rich dark soil.
"Pat it for good luck," Azzy instructed while giving the dirt 3 pats.
"Okay." I gave the dirt 3 pats as well before standing up. We then started walking back towards the exit.
"I'm going to check on Gummy really quick," I announced as we got closer to the gate.
"Gummy?" Azalea asked.
"Yeah, Bubblegum!"
"Oh lord you even gave that thing a nickname," she sighed. I ignored her once again and went to the leaf, only to see Gummy nowhere to be found.
"Bubblegum?" I desperately searched around for her, but came up empty handed.
"Cove it's okay, let's go. Bubblegum probably went back in the dirt, it's fine."
I huffed but silently follow Azalea out of the garden. Bubblegum just went home, she'll be happy in her home.
"So, what do we do with our flower?" Azzy asked, successfully distracting me from grieving the loss of Gummy.
"The people will water it, we just need to come check on it about once a week to make sure it's getting enough sunlight."
"Okay, we can do that."
"Yeah, soon enough our beautiful Camellia will be growing," I said as we got closer to the car garage.
"Yes, I'm excited."
We went in the garage and got to the car, then climbed in. As I closed the door and put my seatbelt on, my phone chimed.
What is that! Baby, please put that down. It could be poisonous or something.
I laughed at how frantic River sounds before replying.
That thing is Bubblegum, Gummy for short. She's just a harmless beetle, and don't worry because I put her down. I actually lost her, I think she went back to her house.
Sure. I mean, I don't think beetles have houses but she probably went... somewhere.
River that makes me sad! She has no place to go, I should've brought her home ð
No no no, I'm not saying that. I mean she's probably happy wherever she is.
Whatever, we're pulling into the driveway now. See you soon.
Just like I said, we drove up the driveway and parked in the garage. The car has a small button that you can push to make the garage door open.
River greeted us as we walked inside. He's changed into a different black shirt and some sweatpants.
"River guess what?"
"What?"
"I have more pictures of Bubblegum, sit so I can show you!"
He grumbled and was about to protest until he saw the hopeful look in my eyes.
"Okay fine, I'm coming."
I cheered while sitting on the couch and opening up the photos app on my phone.
"You're so whipped," I heard Azalea chuckle as she went upstairs.
"Only for you Cove," River muttered as he sat down and listened to me ramble for the next half hour.
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