𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞, 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲│ 𝐏𝐞𝐝𝐫𝐢 𝐆𝐨𝐧𝐳𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐳 ✔

𝟏𝟑. 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤-𝐢𝐧

Julia was heading to her parent's place for their usual family dinner in the evening. But just as she arrived, her parents dropped a bombshell, saying they had to fly to London for an important meeting. She suddenly heard the doorbell ring and was confused about who could be there at this hour.

"What are you doing here?" Julia asked, opening the door and locking eyes with the one and only Pedri.

"Gavi invited me over for dinner since I'm all alone. Are you going to keep staring at me, or will you let me in?" Pedri responded bluntly with a slight smirk. 

"Sorry, you can come in." Julia said, feeling her face flush with embarrassment. This was undoubtedly one of Gavi's ridiculous schemes to reunite them. He told her that he would be visiting their hometown. He invited Pedri on purpose, knowing their mother and father would not be there. 'I swear I'm going to kill him the next time I see him,' Julia grumbled, biting back a curse. 

"Sooo... Pedri, Pablo is a jerk who planned this." Julia pointed to herself and him.

Pedri interrupted her by saying, "That son of a... your mother. If you want I can leave." He said and was debating on even eating here anymore.

"No, you might as well stay. I don't want to eat alone anyway." She muttered under her breath as she made her way into the kitchen and began chopping vegetables on the cutting board.

"Need help?" he asked. 

Julia shook her head, not wanting his help because both she and Pedri knew he couldn't cook to save his life. Julia was far from a chef but could make the basics like spaghetti. She was getting the hang of cooking thanks to her purchased cookbooks. However, this was her first time preparing a complete meal from scratch on her own.

"No, there is no way you're cooking. You can't even- Ouch..." Julia said as she accidentally cut her finger and yelped in pain. Pedri noticed her pained expression and immediately looked at the cut. His eyes widened at the amount of blood he saw, and he hurriedly dragged her to the sink.

"See, I told you." 

She glared at him and let out a huff while he just laughed. He took out the first aid kit, looked for some ointment, and quickly dabbed it on her finger, which caused her to hiss in pain. He looked at her immediately and then down again, dabbing it more lightly. He was so focused. They were both quiet for a while. He then put the bandage on Julia's finger.  

"All done!" he said, raised her finger to his lips, and gave it a peck. They both started cooking again, with Pedri taking the initiative, and the dish turned out to be tasty. 

"I don't believe it. I didn't think you could cook something that good." She said, laughing. 

"Yeah, but all I did was peel a potato and stir the ingredients. I don't know how to cook. The best I can do is add salt and pepper to the meal." He admitted cutely, and Julia giggled at him. 

 When they finished dinner, Julia walked him to the door. 

"Thanks, Chef Julia, for everything. The dinner, the company even though if you didn't want to spend the evening with me. We should do this again." he yawned out. 

"You're welcome, and we should. Now you should head home to give those eyes some sleep." Julia said, kissing Pedri on the cheek and pushing him out of the door. Little did he know he was slowly falling for her all over again the more time he spent with her.

Fifteen minutes later, Julia heard the doorbell ring and assumed that it was Pedri, who might have forgotten something, but the ringing became more and more aggressive, and she got out of bed, feeling annoyed. She opened the door, but nobody was there. Julia was about to shut the door in confusion when a hand stopped her. It was a man dressed entirely in black, with only his eyes and mouth exposed, and he held a knife in his hand. A sudden heart race made her drop her phone on the ground. Julia was about to pick it up, but the man threatened her with the knife. She threw everything in her line of sight, including vases, shoes, and books. Any thought of retaliation was abandoned when he touched the blade to her skin with his palm tightly wrapped around her wrist. 

"Don't even think about it!" The burglar yelled and had her up against the wall with the knife at her neck. All she could now do was sob. She could feel the blade scraping against her skin. But that was before someone yanked him off her and punched him in the gut. It was obvious who it was. He always seemed to be there when Julia was in danger. He always knew. Pedri pulled her behind him. He made sure to knock the guy out before turning to her. Julia was shaking in tears with wide eyes, starting to hyperventilate. He immediately hugged her, keeping his arms tight around her. He reached for his back pocket and started dialling 911.