Boundless Love

Chapter Five - Books

I walk as fast as my legs will take me on my way home from work. I have to make sure mom leaves before Cayden gets here. I have to tidy the house. I have to start the pizza. I go over what needs to be done, stressing. Why did I ever agree to this? As soon as I turn onto my street I jog up to my door, hurrying inside. 

The door slams behind me when I get inside and my mother rushes to me soon after. She immediately grabs my arm with a bruising pressure and starts giving me a list of things that need to be done after she leaves. 

"I want these dishes done and the floor picked up! I expect spotless counters by the time I get home and the floors better be scrubbed," she tells me as she drags me into the living room. 

I was already planning to. "Yes Ma'am," I stay respectful, not wanting to anger her so she leaves the house faster. 

"Go! Now! Start scrubbin'."

She shoves me away from her and I go straight to the sink to start the dishes. Leave. I turn on the sink, scrubbing the dishes as it fills, listening to my mother move around behind me. I hear her grab her keys from the island behind me and I hold my breath as I wait for her to leave. I turn the tap off when the sink is full and continue to clean the dirty dishes, loading the dishwasher as I go. I then hear her open and shut the door as she leaves and my shoulders relax as I relax and release the breath I was holding. Finally.

I finish the dishes as fast as I am able before moving on to the next thing that needs cleaning. I pick up all the bottles and trash lying around before wiping off the counters and sweeping the floor. I preheat the oven for the pizza before scrubbing over the floors and tidying the bathroom. I finish my chores by opening a couple of windows and lighting a few candles throughout the house to cover the smell of alcohol. 

Knock, knock, knock. The knock sounds at the door just as I've put the pizza in the oven. I glance at the clock. Nine o'six. I get the door. 

"Cayden."

"Lizaveta."

I step aside to let Cayden into my house before shutting the door behind him. 

"Should I take my shoes off?" he asks politely. 

"Whatever's more comfortable for you," I tell him. I still have mine on.

He takes them off and sets them by the door neatly before walking further into my house. 

"You said we'd work on the slideshow right?" he asked, finding my dining room table and sitting down at it. 

"Yeah. We'll combine our information and put it on the slides. Just word vomit for now. I want to format and design the styles of the slides myself to make them look nice. If that's alright with you of course," I tell him as I sit down across from him. 

"Can I pick the colors?" he questions as he eyes me over the top of his Chromebook that he pulled out. 

"Sure," I pull out my computer. 

There's a silence that makes my skin crawl for about a minute before Cayden breaks it, asking about my Wi-Fi password. 

"Capital g, 1, v, 3, m, 3, capital W, 1, f, 1. All one word,"

"Give me Wi-Fi?" he chuckles. "You're kidding, right? That's the best your pea brain could come up with?"

"Like your is probably any better! Yours is probably capital G, 1, v, 3, m, 3, 1, n, t, 3, r, n, 3, t. All one word." I retort. 

He quickly scoffs and refuses that assumption. "No way! I'd never use 'Give me Internet' as a Wi-Fi password. 

"Mhmm"

He rolls his eyes at me before actually beginning to work on the project. He creates the slideshow for the project and we work pretty smoothly for a small while until my oven goes off.  

I take the pizza out of the oven and begin slicing it before asking him if he wants a piece. 

"What kind is it? I don't like cheese pizza," he tells me. 

"Pepperoni and sausage," I put a few slices onto a couple of plates for the both of us. 

"I'll take a few then, yeah," he says as I hand him his plate. 

We put a pause on our project as we eat. We take turns bickering with each other and reminding each other of the small pranks we've pulled on each other over the years. 

"no, because do you remember how in the eighth grade I placed a banana peel on the ground and you actually slipped on it?" he asks me, throwing his head back as he laughs at the memory. 

"I remember. You said it was payback for eating your cupcake in class. At least you aren't as bad as some bullies I've read about in books though. That would be a nightmare," I tell him, chuckling. 

"Why?" he questions, curious. 

"Some of the nemesis's in books are real' mean. They'll physically beat on the girl or deliver the nastiest insults you could ever think up, even calling them names you'd never call a sibling," I explain. 

"Oh, yeah. I've just always figured you weren't worth the effort," he jokes. 

"Mhmm. Sure," I give him a face. "Books like that are never realistic. Like, you're telling me Chad yelled at Stacy in the middle of the hall for bumping into his shoulder and a teacher didn't even blink twice? And that that is a regular occurrence?" Cayden and I both chuckle at that. 

"What kind of books do you read where all that weird stuff happens?"

"Teen romance. Never is teen romance ever not cringe. Adult romance is usually better. I have shelves full of books upstairs." I shove a bit of pizza into my mouth. 

"Can I see?" he asks with what seems like genuine interest. 

Someone besides me might as well see. "Sure."