Lucky's Real Life Romance Novel

Chapter 10

The days started to fly, and up until this point, I hadn't had to explain Mia and River to my dad yet, but he was finally home and awake for dinner. Mia was already at the house when my dad finally woke up. He looked at me then to Mia in confusion.

"Lulu, you want to clue me in?" He asked. I smiled at Mia who was sitting on my lap.

"This is Mia. Her and her brother, River, live next door and I go to school with River. Dad, they've been coming over for meals for days now. River will probably be over later for dinner. They're parents aren't home mostly so I took the initiative. We also carpool to school ," I answered.

"Well, alright then. I'll set extra plates, love," he said before going to the kitchen and starting on dinner. Almost as if he heard his name, River came through the door. I got in the habit of leaving it unlocked for him.

"Riv!" Mia said happily. His face had healed a lot. It was barely noticeable now, but his ribs were still tender.

"Who's at the door, Lulu?" My dad called from the kitchen. River's eyes bludged as he stared at me.

"Your dad's here?" He mouthed to me.

"Duh! He was going to be home at some point," I mouthed back to him.

"What do I do?" He mouthed.

"Stop being weird," I mouthed back.

"It's River, dad," I called back. I turned to Mia and smiled at her gently. "Mia, honey, go wash up for dinner," I said to her. She hopped off my lap and ran to the bathroom. River sighed and sat on the couch next to me.

"What do I do?" He asked in a whisper again. I tried to hide my laugh behind my hand but I couldn't. It was funny watching River so flustered for once.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh it's just...why are you freaking out?" I laughed.

"Don't make fun of me, alright? It's just... I'm kind of a fan of your dad," he admitted. I couldn't hold it in anymore. I laughed out loud. I was rolling with laughter. River was like a school girl at a boy band concert, he looked so nervous. I guess all that honor student stuff wasn't just for show.

"You're going to be so disappointed. He's so mundane it'll make your head hurt," I giggled after I calmed down a bit.

"Lulu! Dinner!" My dad called from the kitchen. Mia ran from the bathroom straight to the kitchen. I smiled and stood but River made no move to get up. I took hold of his good arm and pulled him to stand up. I hooked my arm with his and had to practically drag him to the kitchen. My dad smiled up at us from behind his glasses when we entered the kitchen. Mia was already at her seat and eating.

"You must be River," my dad smiled at him. We sat at the table but I practically had to push River into his seat.

"I'm River North. I've heard a lot about you from Lu, but even before that. I read your books all the time," River said stiffly. He was actually really nervous. I raised an eyebrow at him.

Lu?

Since when? River didn't even catch my face at him because he was too busy staring at my dad.

"Richard, nice to meet you," my dad replied. We ate and talked. River and my dad kept the small talk going while I kept my attention on Mia. After dinner, River and I washed the dishes while my dad played in the living room with Mia. He absolutely adored Mia just as much as I did. Thinking about River earlier, I giggled.

"What?" He asked as he rinsed the dish I just handed him.

"I've heard a lot about you from Lu," I said, mocking him. He nudged me before setting the dish on the drying rack.

"Since when do you call me that?" I asked.

"I don't know, it just came out," he replied. I chuckled and shook my head before paying attention to what my hands were doing.

"I told you he wasn't that big of a deal," I reminded him.

"But still, he's a big deal to me," River said. I smirked and rolled my eyes as I handed him the next dish.

"I'm probably going to be forced to socialize this weekend. Aiden and Trevor have been trying to get me to try and go shopping for new glasses with them since Trevor broke my old ones," I said.

"I think you look better without them. Plus, I thought you hated making friends," he gave his opinion.

"I'm too lazy to wear contacts all the time, and I got sucked in too deep before I even knew what was happening," I argued. I handed him the last dish before rinsing my hands off and drying them. River followed suit before following me back to the living room. My dad had Mia working on a word puzzle. I nudged River before motioning up the stairs. We went up to my room, and I pulled out my homework. I planned on using River while I had him. We studied and River ended up helping me with some homework. Mia even ended up making her way up to my room when my dad went to sleep. After we finished studying, I looked over to see Mia passed out on my bed. River sighed and stretched.

"Can I go home now?" He asked sleepily. I was sleepy too. I took a look at his face, examining for bruising.

"I think you'll be able to go without the hoodie tomorrow. You're all healed up," I noted. He stood and stretched before twisting his back.

"Can Mia just sleep with you tonight? I don't want to move her," he asked quietly. I nodded as I put my books away.

"I was going to suggest that. Just bring over her school clothes in the morning so we can get her dressed," I said. River said his goodbyes before he went to his own house. After putting everything away, I changed into my pajamas before getting into the bed with Mia to get some sleep.