"Colton, what are we eating?" She asked.
"I made my fresh pasta and sauce for pasta."
"Yum!" She exclaimed. "His food is so good!"
Colton brought the pot of sauce and spaghetti over to the table. He sat next to me. I put the towel he gave me over my neck.
"Can I see your bowl, Rachel?" Colton asked. I handed it to him. He filled it slightly with sauce. I was curious to what he was doing, putting the sauce in first. He then asked me to grab the garlic bread from the counter in the kitchen. I got the platter of bread and sat back down. Suddenly, more water poured down my hair, onto my face and clothes. Colton dotted my nose with sauce. I stood up quickly. Hanna broke out in laughter, as did Colton.
"Why did you do that!?" I shouted. He shrugged.
"I was going to pour the sauce on you, but I didn't want to stain your clothes. There is a towel and a clean shirt in the bathroom." he said. I stomped off to the bathroom. I dried my hair with another towel and put my old shirt in the sink and put on the new t-shirt. Of course, the shirt that he left me was his. I was so frustrated with every interaction I had to have with him. I went back out to the dinner table and sat next to Hanna this time. I gave Colton a dirty look. We ate dinner, peacefully. His food was actually so good, but I couldn't let him have that ego boost. Hanna told Colton about what we did outside. When we had all finished, Hanna ran upstairs and played in her room with her toys, while Colton and I cleaned up.
"I'll wash, you dry." He said. There was a moment of awkward silence between us. "I'm sorry that I dumped water on you." He said as he submerged a dish in the water. "I've been such an asshole to you."
"I'm over it. Now that I think about it, it was kind of funny." I said, lightly nudging him with my elbow. We finished the dishes and found Hanna walking down the stairs, rubbing her eyes.
"Hanna, it's time to go to bed. Let's go put your pajamas on and brush your teeth." Colton said.
"Okay." Hanna jumped on him, to hug him.
"Goodnight squirt." He said, squeezing her back.
"Goodnight Coltey. Goodnight, Rachel." She said, hugging my legs. She ran up the stairs to the bathroom.
"I'll finish putting her to bed." I told Colton. He nodded and went back into the kitchen to finish up.
I walked into Hanna's room surprised to find her lying in bed waiting for me to say goodnight and shut the lights off.
"Did you brush your teeth?" I asked.
"Yes, Rachel."
"You know, you're quite a good listener." It amazed me at how much independence she displayed at her age.
She smiled. "Goodnight Ray Ray."
"Ray Ray?" I questioned.
"That's your nickname. Colton's name is Coltey."
"Well goodnight, Hanna banana."
She giggled.
I shut the light off and closed the door. Colton was waiting outside of the door. I started to walk away to go downstairs, but I felt a pair of powerful arms stop me. "Let go, Colton." I said. He did as he was told. I didn't understand what his deal was.
I sat down on one of the chairs. In the living room. "I made brownies; do you want any?" He asked.
"Maybe." I said. I wasn't sure if he put anything in them. He brought the plate of them to the living room where I was sitting. "What did you put in them?" I asked.