Babe didn't respond, just opened the door and, with some difficulty, managed to climb into the passenger seat without upsetting her ankle too much. She buckled and crossed her arms, glowering at the dashboard.
Apaixonar: The act of falling in love.//OxO//Romance//CLOSED
Henry grinned as he started to drive along the old roads. "So, when did you move here?" He intentionally left the radio turned down, so the silence was only broken by their conversation.
"A week ago." Babe grumbled, slouching lower in the seat. "We took a couple days to unpack and get used to the new house."
Henry nodded, focused on the road. "Where did you live before?" He had every intention of continuing the interrogation as long as he could. He did, after all, have a lot of questions that needed answers.
"Brooklyn, obviously." Babe said, referring to her accent. She tucked a loose chunk of hair behind her ear, watching the scenery outside her window. "Downtown, to be specific."
He nodded again. "Sounds nice. Why'd you move?" He risked a glance over at her, checking the look of her ankle and her face. He looked back to the road, happy that it was nearly empty of any traffic.
"We needed….a change." Babe said with a shrug. There was an odd pause, and she was once again fiddling with something in her coat pocket.
Henry nodded, slowing down when he reached a few mailboxes. "Do you live around here?" He pulled over and waited for an answer, wondering if he should walk her up to the door. With her ankle, he probably should. Just to make sure she made it all the way. He caught the movement around her coat pocket, but decided he'd done enough prying for one night.
"Uh…yeah. Right down this street, at the end of the culdesac. The large house on the end with the goose in the yard, probably." Babe said, sitting up and pointing. As he turned down the street, she turned to look at him. "I know exactly what's going through the goddamn head of yours, and I'm gonna warn you now. If you walk me to my door, I'm legally required to invite you inside for a snack or something."
"In that case…" He gave an evil grin, parking the car at the end of the culdesac and grabbing her bag before she could. "I would be happy to walk you inside." Henry quickly ducked out of the car before he could risk being attacked or losing his hold on the bag she would need the next day.
"Jacobs!" Babe shouted, shoving open the car door and hobbling out best she could. "You bring my bag back, you fiend!" She leaned against the car to try and gather her balance, before hobbling after him. There was, indeed, an actual goose on her lawn, very alive and very large, and very unbothered by the noise. "Alfonso, help me out!"
Henry laughed and went up to the door to lay down the bag before doubling back to Babe. "Need help? I'm really no fiend, just someone who wants to make sure you sit down with an ice bag and a blanket." He stuck close to Babe, not going to let her far. However, he'd seen her reaction when he'd grabbed her wrist, and he didn't want a repeat of that. No more grabbing her unless she was alright with it, and he was very confident she would never, ever be alright with it.
After about two steps, Babe made a face and reached out to Henry. She paused for a split second, and when he didn't pull away, dragged him closer and latched onto him for support. "I don't like blankets. They're weird and choke me in my sleep."
Henry stayed close, letting Babe lean on him as much as she needed. He snorted at her remark about blankets, wondering what other odd little habits she had. Once they reached the door, Henry paused before knocking, one hand poised next to the door and the other supporting Babe. "Do you need a cover story or anything?"
"I'm an accident prone person." Babe said, looking like she was prepping herself for something. Loud conversations, and music from somewhere on the second floor, could be heard through the door. "I fell while changing a lightbulb at Tune In, and since I knew you from school, I let you drive me home. After some arguing, of course."
"Naturally." Henry grinned, lifting her bag from the doorstep and knocking with his foot. "Out of curiosity, how many siblings should I be prepared to meet?" From the sound of it, there was a whole circus locked inside the house.
"Six. All boys." Babe said with a grin, as the door was pulled open by a short and curvy woman in an apron.
"Oh, thank god! Listen, Babe, I have to head off now, but-" The woman stopped, looking down at Babe's visibly swollen ankle, then up at Henry. "Again? Let me guess, another light bulb changing incident? Every damn time."
Henry laughed easily, glancing over to see Babe's reaction. "I've barely known her for twenty four hours, and she's already hurting herself. She'll definitely need some ice." He kept a smile on his face, wanting to make sure Babe got the ice she would need. He was also interested in meeting her brothers, maybe recruiting more of her family to play for the team.
Babe rolled her eyes, but was laughing. "I'm telling ya, those light bulbs are out to get me."
The woman shook her head, smiling, and grabbed a purse from next to the door. She stepped past them, stopping to look up at Henry. "You make sure she doesn't 'forget' to take care of, got it?" And then she was off towards the car in the driveway.
"It's like nobody thinks I can take care of myself." Babe said, making a face.
"I will!" Henry called after her, helping Babe into the house. "Babe, if we left you on your own, you'd probably find a way to lure in rabid grizzly bears to chase you through a child's playground." He glanced around the house, checking for any brothers or a freezer for frozen vegetables or ice.
"Kitchen's this way." Babe pointed out of the living room they had walked into. She let go of Henry in the hallway, casually stepping to the side as a twelve year old boy with paint all over his clothes bolted past, out into the yard to call something at his mother. "That was Hugo."
Henry nodded, going ahead of Babe to the kitchen and freezer. He opened it, scanning it and grabbing a bag of frozen corn. "Catch." He threw it gently, straight to Babe's hand. "Must be tough, having so many brothers."
Babe caught the bag just as she hobbled into the kitchen. "I guess? I mean, they're all super talented, so it kinda feels like I'm racing to keep up." She joked as she hopped up onto the counter, crossing her injured leg over her knee and setting the bag, with no towel, on top of the bruising. "Hey, there's a bottle of lemonade in there, like the big not-quite-a-gallon things? Could you grab it?"
"Sure. But serious, you're amazing. On the ice, you get out there and you could beat up the professionals." He said, opening the door again to grab the lemonade. Once he had it out, he set it on the counter next to her, still taking in the details of the house. He could tell a lot about a family from what was on their fridge, from pictures to magnets and handprints. Right now, since they hadn't been here long, the house was somewhat undecorated.
There was, by way of decorations, the following in the kitchen. A fire extinguisher hanging on the wall, in plain view with a big red arrow on the wall next to it, pointing at it. There were a few drawings on the fridge already, including one entitled 'Satan', with a picture of the goose from the yard and signed by Babe in the corner.
Babe grabbed a glass from the cupboard to her right, and filled it up before sliding it to Henry. She then proceeded to drink straight out of the bottle as Rico rushed in looking kind of frantic.
He took the glass, raising an eye at the goose picture. And the fire extinguisher. Who needed to make fire safety so obvious? Henry looked up at the sound, seeing another boy coming into the kitchen quickly.
"Babe! I need-you know, your shirt? With the uh…" Rico waved his hands wildly, trying and failing to speak.
"My mesh one?" Babe asked, raising an eyebrow. "My room, up on the shelf in my closet. Right side, under the hat box full of photos." He nodded gratefully, and then he was gone again.
Henry watched the exchange, thoroughly confused. Their interaction was interesting, however. They understood each other pretty well. "Rico?" He questioned. (I don't know if he's met Rico yet so I'm just guessing he'd know the name…) He leaned back against the counter and took another sip of the lemonade.
"Yeah, my twin, remember?" Babe said, nodding. "He was at the tryouts, and you saw him at lunch." She remembered him showing up to tryouts, and the argument that had followed. Rico had understood though, after she'd explained things.
Henry nodded, remembering seeing him before. "And he needs your shirt." He said it like a joke, but he was honestly questioning that. At least the family seemed pretty close knit. He'd never had the experience of siblings, being an only child. The hockey team was the closest thing he'd ever had to brothers.