Light | Andy Hurley

Andy sat quietly in an apartment that wasn't his, drinking coffee that he didn't own in a cup that didn't belong to him. He silently watched a program from a television he didn't purchase, and wrapped himself in a blanket that he did not knit, much less possess.
It was a cold, cold day. A cold, cold winter day. A cold, cold exam day. And it was dark; the only light came from the TV screen, for all the blinds and curtains were closed shut.
He craned his head towards the coffee table and glanced at his cellphone. He barely made out the time: 2:24 PM. The girls should be home soon.
Andy turned his attention back to the television screen. Sudden there was the loud noise of a key crunching its lock and a door swinging open. The cold air rushed in and whipped his face, and the bright snow from outside nearly blinded his blind eyes.
"That was so difficult!" Lola complained, her cheeks ablazed from the frost. She began turning on all the lights on her way in from the door.
"Aargh! I didn't know number 254!" Jolynn exclaimed, quite violently, as she shouldered off her jacket and stalked into the kitchen.
Andy's eyes widened. 254 questions?
"Was that the case about the man who shot himself from the roof of his mouth?"
Eww.
"Yeah, and then you had to name all the structures that the bullet traversed!"
"Oh, and what about the case with the smoker?"
"Was that one about a trachea transplant?"
"Yeah. I forgot, what was that condition of the neck called?"
"Crepitus?"
...WHAT?
"Damn! I put Crupitis; do you think they'll still count it right?"
"...Maybe if you wrote it messily enough that -"
"Well, hello there Lola, Jolynn! How was your day?" Andy said, talking to the empty space at his right as the girls continued to talk between themselves. "Mine was very cold. And boring. And hungry."
Lola finally glanced at him. "Cold? You're swamped in at least four blankets. Boring? You're watching TV; that's hardly boring for you. And hungry -"
"FYI, Darling, I'm drinking coffee."
"Whatcha have for breakfast?" Jolynn asked, setting the house keys on the kitchen counter and pulling off the layers she wore.
And Andy merely raised the coffee cup, as if in salute.
Jolynn miffed (you know, make that miff sound), and Lola sighed.
"Andy, I don't know what I'm going to do with you. Couldn't you make something yourself?"
"Yeah, but I waited. You make it better," he told her, giving her the cheesy smile everyone in Chicago knew Lola couldn't resist.
This time though, she was fighting it. Not very well, but fighting it nonetheless.
"Please Lola?"
"Andy," was all she muttered.
"Please...Lovely?"
Lola flushed, biting the inside of her cheek. How else was Andrew John Hurley going to learn his lesson unless she taught it to him?!
"Yeah. He's totally giving her the face, and she's resisting. I wish you were here to see it," Jolynn's voice rang from the kitchen.
And that's when Lola cracked.
"If you were supposed to be helping, it didn't!" she scolded.
Andy frowned a bit. "How about we go out and eat?"
"Yeah, that sounds great! Want to come Celine?" Jolynn chimed.
"Not you," Andy replied, a bit coldly.
"Oh. My B." She then turned back to the phone and told Celine, "Go call Celina. The three of us are going to go hang out! At your place. Yes, YOUR place. Okay, we'll help you babysit. Yeah, I'm serious. OkaybyeI'llseeyouthere!"
In a blur of motion, Jolynn was out of the apartment.
Lola began to walk off, when Andy pulled her by the waist to sit on the couch. Leaning his head on her shoulder, he smiled and whispered, "What are we going to eat?"
She turned to him, and returned his smile. "I don't kno-"
Lola couldn't finish her sentence; Andy had pressed his lips upon his own. She closed her eyes with a flutter, and kissed him back.
They slowly and reluctantly pulled away, and he held onto her tightly.
"Lola, how long have I been blessed with your intimate presence?" he suddenly asked aloud.
She flushed, first in embarrassment, and then in offense. "You mean, you don't remember?"
"I remember. Do you?"
"Of course. I just beginning my freshman year."
Andy closed his eyes and smiled, enjoying the memory. "Three years."
Lola shifted a little ways to face him. "Why?"
"Because I wanted to know -"
"No, why have you stuck with me for three whole years?"
"Because my growing love for you travels at the speed of light. And I'd travel the distance light travels in three years for you."
Their lips embraced again, and Lola felt the heat rise in the crook of her neck. Sure, Andy could be a romantic, but this was certainly a pleasant surprise.
Meanwhile, there was a small group of people sneaked into the apartment from the kitchen door and peeked in on their friends.
"Hey, why are they eating face? I thought they were going to eat lunch!" Celina whispered furiously.
"Shut UP Celina!" Celine's voice rang.
"Why would you eat somebody's face?!" a little, high-pitched voice rang out.
"Don't worry about it, kid," Jolynn's tone replied.
"Hey, who is this kid anyway?" Joe asked, a bit bewildered.
"Beats me. Someone Celine babysits for money," Pete answered a bit knowingly.
Celine felt a sharp and incessant tugging on her jeans, and she glanced down furiously. "What?" she hissed.
"Why are people eating faces?"
"Don't be such hypocrites," Lola began, as she and Andy walked into the kitchen. "It's not like you guys don't do so."
"And quit eavesdropping on us," Andy added, his arm cradling Lola's waist.
rest in results
Patrick turned to Jolynn, grinning, "She has a point."
Pete laughed sheepishly, having forgotten the feeling of being caught eavesdropping.
Joe looked around, a bit dazed. "It was Celina's idea!"
"Thanks Joe. Get me in trouble," Celina replied.
"Whatever, Celina. I get you out of trouble and out of your -"
"Please, don't finish that!" Celine shouted, covering the little boy's ears. Pete smiled and covered Celine's ears for her.
"Don't mock me," she told him, but smiled.
Andy and Lola glanced eat each other lovingly. "We should spend the rest of our lives together," Andy told her.
She grinned and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Yeah. We should."