Reconstructing Amelia (unedited)

Chapter 90

December 22nd, 2019

I think Cato was feeling overwhelmed by the gala. He'd come home from work rather grumpy and hadn't been in a good mood at all. He'd been snappy with the triplets about the most trivial of things, and he'd even argued with Xander about not coming into work with him. I'd tried my best to stay clear of him for most of the afternoon, slightly fearful of how he might react if I bothered him.

The timer went off for the lasagna Eli and I had made earlier and I headed towards the empty kitchen. I grabbed the oven pads and grabbed the dish from the oven.

"Boo!" Eli shouted, jumping out from behind the counter.

I jumped in surprise, letting out a startled shriek. My fingers slipped and grazed the bottom of the piping hot dish. I quickly shoved the lasagna onto the counter. "Merda!" I muttered, putting my mouth against the burn. I hurried to the sink and turned on the cold water, holding my fingers underneath the faucet.

"Mia, I'm so sorry," Eli apologised profusely, rushing to stand by me.

"Don't scare me like that," I scolded. "You scared me half to death!" Eli only grinned.

Xander came running into the kitchen, making me whip around in surprise my eyes wide and my heart still racing. I relaxed once I saw who it was, but both of them had already seen my reaction.

"Sorry," Eli mumbled quietly.

"I heard the scream, are you okay?" Xander asked, studying me.

I nodded, turning back around and holding my fingers under the water.

"Did you burn yourself?" He put his hands on my shoulders as he peered down to look but I immediately tensed up. "Hey, relax," he whispered. "It's just me,"

"I know," I felt a tiny blush creep into my cheeks. I didn't mean to be so jumpy, Eli had just triggered my panic response.

"Did you burn yourself?" Xander repeated as I turned off the tap and dried my hands on a towel. My fingertips were red and slightly blistered but they felt numb at the moment.

"Yes," I answered. "But I'm fine, honestly,"

Xander shot me a look. "You screamed," he pointed out flatly.

"I jumped out and scared her," Eli explained, looking guilty. "Her fingers slipped and touched the pan,"

Xander smacked him on the back of the head. "Christ, Eli, really? Don't scare her like that," he chastised.

Eli nodded, though he was grinning. "You have to admit it was a little funny," he said with a wink.

"Just a little," I agreed, even though Xander was frowning. "Just not in the kitchen again, okay?"

Eli's eyes lit up with a mischievous glint. "Again?"

"No," Xander interrupted quickly. "No more scaring your sister,"

Eli scowled. "Fine,"

"Go upstairs and get some band-aids," Xander told me, patting my shoulder. "Landon's almost here,"

I nodded, heading up to my bedroom, rummaging through my bathroom cabinets and pulling out a small box of bandages before taping them around my fingertips.

The doorbell rang loudly from downstairs and I heard footsteps hurrying to answer it.

"Amelia, you ready?" Cato stepped into my bedroom, glancing around for me.

"Yep," I said a little too forcefully. I hoped he couldn't sense my discomfort.

He eyed my fingers. "Are those band-aids?"