Chapter 12

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July 21

"Have you always enjoyed cooking?" I asked Nadia as I helped her to prepare dinner.

"I got into it when I was a girl. My mom loved it and taught me how to cook many of her dishes."

"Oh, that's sweet. I've gotta say, I've gotten a lot better since I moved in."

Nadia smiled. "I'll always help teach you more if you want. I don't mind it."

"I'd like that. Cooking is not something I really got to do or learn, so it's nice to be able to."

Shorter walked in the door as dinner was almost done. He looked beat up a bit.

"You get in a fight or something?" I asked as I finished up frying the rice. I then started placing portions on three separate plates.

"Just with some punk from downtown." He took a seat at the table.

Nadia, who finished cooking the Kung Pao, placed some on top of the plates of rice and brought them over to the table while I grabbed drinks and set those down as well.

"Thanks." Shorter said and dug in hungrily. Nadia chuckled.

The two of us began to eat as well.

"Anything from Ash? I haven't heard from him in a few days." I asked.

"Nothing yet still. They're still on their toes about Arthur, but it's been 3 months now, so they don't know if he's even gonna make a move at all. Other than that, nah, nothing." He said.

"Tch, at this point I doubt it. He's always been a coward anyway."

"That's for sure." Shorter said, taking a drink of water.

The conversation just faded into small talk about less important things until Nadia brought up her plans.

"One of my old friends contacted me about something, saying for me to drive out to where she is and stay for a while as she sorts out some stuff." Nadia said.

"That's vague." Shorter said.

"She has some private stuff going on. I might be gone for a week or two."

"That long? What about the restaurant?" He asked.

"We have enough money for a while, it'll be fine." She said. "Besides, if you're so worried, you can go run it."

Shorter frowned. "When are you leaving?"

"Tonight probably. The drive is kinda long."

We finished up dinner and cleaned the kitchen before heading off to bed.

"I probably won't see you in the morning, so be safe and have a good trip." I told Nadia before heading to my room.

"Thanks, Rose." She smiled. "Goodnight. Sleep well."

"Goodnight, you too."

I got changed into comfortable clothes and laid down for the night.

———

I opened my eyes. They were blurry and my mind was groggy.

Where am I again?

I didn't want to wake up. The bed was soft and cool under the sheets, just the right temperature. And I was still too tired to want to open my eyes any further, so I let them flutter shut again.

I took in the feeling of bliss that comes so rarely, especially, for me, in sleep.

I lied there for a few minutes, slowly falling back to sleep. Then, a hand gently placed itself under my chin and grabbed it with their thumb and pointer finger.

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