"Show me!" she snapped.
I gestured her to open the door she stood facing, and with a glare shot my way she opened the door and stepped inside. I followed her and walked right by her and headed straight to my bedside locker. I opened the top drawer and took out Neala's debit card. I turned and extended my arm out to her so she could take the card from my outstretched hand and examine it.
Neala stared at me for a moment, then hesitantly stepped forward and snatched the card from my hand. She looked at the name and card number of the card then flipped it over to the back where her signature was. She flipped the card back and fourth a few times to triple check what she was seeing before she looked up at me.
She believed me, I saw it in her eyes. I also saw hate and anger in her eyes, but that was a normal thing whenever she looked at me.
"I'm not lying to you," I said just to clarify I wasn't messing around.
She swallowed. "I don't care. So you technically own the doll - big deal. I asked the lad in the shop for it first, he went and got it for me and then you took it away."
I blinked my eyes when Neala sniffled. She quickly wiped under her nose and brushed her hand over her eyes, but it wasn't quick enough. I caught the light build up of water that gathered in the corner of her eyes before she brushed away the evidence. I felt like I was suddenly going to walk over to her and do something crazy like hug her so I had to take a step back.
I felt... bad, and I didn't know what to do about it.
I never felt bad over Neala, but seeing her genuinely confused and upset did nothing except make my chest hurt and my stomach feel sick.
What the hell was that about?
"Neala Girl-"
"Stop calling me that, Darcy," she cut me off and wiped at her eyes again.
I frowned. "I can't. It's your name."
Neala shook her head. "It hasn't been me name for a long time."
I lightly smiled. "Of course it has, it always will be. You're my Neala Girl after all."
Neala widened her eyes, and so did I.
I didn't mean to say that out loud.
Or at all.
"I don't mean my Neala Girl, I just meant that what you will always be known as Neala Girl to me. That's all."
Neala raised her eyebrow, and I could tell she wanted to say something but she didn't. She kept her mouth closed and said nothing.
Not a single word, which wasn't like the big mouth at all.
Silence filled the room and I momentarily wished she would shout or curse at me just to take the sudden awkwardness away, but she didn't, she just stared at me.
"You aren't getting the doll, Neala," I said, firmly.
It was the only thing I could think to say that would put some fight back into her and make her stop looking at me like I was an alien from outer space. It would also kick the silence and sudden awkwardness out of the room.
As predicted, the statement worked like a charm.
Neala's left eye twitched. "I'm leaving here with that doll whether you like it or not, Darcy."
Was that so?
I snorted, "Good luck finding it."
I walked out of my bedroom and headed back into my living room where I sat down on my couch and placed my hands behind my head. I heard Neala mutter curse words as she searched for the doll and it made me smile, because all she would find in my room was clean clothes, dirty clothes, condoms and possibly even a used condom if she looked in the rubbish bin.
"You dirty bastard! Ever heard of emptying your bin every so often?" Neala screeched.
I fully smiled.
She found the used condom then.
"I swear Darcy, you're a dog!"
Ruff, ruff.
I sighed as I relaxed into my couch, I glanced around the room and noticed how shit the Christmas decorations looked. I had my tree up, but the box of ornaments to go on the branches were in a box on the floor next to the base of the tree. The light up Santa's, snowmen and other Christmas characters were all over in the corner of the room. I bought them because they were battery operated which meant no wires, and no high electric bills, but I was too lazy to even sort them around in various places in the room. I liked Christmas, it was my favourite holiday, but decorating everything was not my scene at all.
I guess you could say I was a lazy bastard.
I sighed to myself and closed my eyes and lightly chuckled when Neala stomped out of my bedroom and went down the hallway and into the kitchen.
"Darcy!" Einstein squawked.
"Shut up you stupid animal."
I opened my mouth to tell Neala to leave Einstein alone, but it turned out my bird could hold her own.
"Fuck you, Neala."
I burst out laughing.
It was perfectly timed, and used in the perfect situation.
"I hate this bloody bird!"
I loved that bird.
I had a big smile on my face when Neala stormed back into the living room. She stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips.
"Tell her to shut up!"
I chuckled, "I can't. She doesn't know what the words mean. She is only repeating things she has memorised, that's all."
"That's all? You taught a parrot to tell me to fuck off!"
I burst out laughing, "Yeah, I know."
Neala scowled at me. "You're unreal, do you know that? I thought I couldn't stand you more than I already did, but yet again you proved me wrong."
Yeah, the way she was looking from my eyes to my stomach showed how much she couldn't stand me.
"Then leave. The door is right there, I don't want you here anyway."
Neala snorted. "I don't wanna be here either, sweetheart. As soon as I find the doll I'll be on my merry way and you can get back to semi naked Saturdays with your parrot."
Oh, feisty.
"I can get fully naked right now if you want a more full on naked Saturday?"
"Spare me," Neala said with her hand held up. "I don't want the sight of your bare body to make me sicker than it already has."
My body made her sick?
"Oh, is that what that look on your face is?" I mused.
Neala straightened. "What look?"
"You keep staring at my stomach, my trousers, and my chest. I must be very repulsive for you to keep looking at me the way you do," I said, sarcastically.
Neala swallowed. "I wasn't looking-"
"It's not nice to lie, Neala Girl. You of all people should know that," I cut her off.