world we created, paul lahote

Chapter 08

Lucia hummed softly to herself as she carefully manoeuvred the piping bag, skillfully swirling the fluffy buttercream onto the perfectly baked red velvet cupcakes. She'd long since given up on studying, finding herself more often than not dosing off that late Saturday morning. Her Chemistry notes seemed to fly right over her head, leaving her far more drowsy than she had been before she started.

So, she found herself impulsively baking in the kitchen--a feat she didn't regret in the slightest.

The rich, velvety crumb of the cupcakes peeked through the thick frosting, the deep crimson hue a stunning contrast to the creamy white topping. Lucia paused to admire her handiwork, her brow furrowing in concentration as she meticulously smoothed and shaped each swirl of buttercream, ensuring it was elegant and inviting.

"Lucia," Bella spoke up as she rounded the corner, startling the girl in question who had begun to pack the cupcakes away.

"Goodness, Bella!" Lucia remarked, her hand flying to her momentarily racing her beat. What was it with people scaring her lately? "Why do you always have to sneak up on me like that?"

"Sorry," Bella apologised though she didn't seem sorry in the slightest. "I'm about to head to Jacob because... uh, to see him. He has mono, remember?"

Lucia nodded slowly, unsure of what her cousin was getting at by reminding her of this. Her eyes scanned over Bella, eyeing her constant shifting her weight from foot to foot and playing with the sleeves of her jacket. Something was amiss, clearly.

"Can you come with me? I know you're kinda busy right now but it would mean a lot to me," Bella told her. "... please?"

"Bella, you're just going to visit Jacob. You've done it countless times," Lucia reminded her and moved to place the containers of cupcakes in the fridge, smiling in admiration of her work. She straightened up and closed the fridge once more. "I don't see what my coming with you would do. I would be in the way if anything."

Bella paused, seemingly struggling to find the words to convince Lucia to come along. She just wanted her to be there as a witness if anything were to go wrong. Charlie trusted Lucia's word more than her own at the moment. "Please, I just... I want you there, okay? We haven't spent much time together since you started hanging out with Jessica."

"What?" Lucia questioned, incredulous and entirely baffled by Bella's reasoning. "Bella, what does this have to do with Jessica? She's my friend, of course, I'm going to hang out with her. Which you'd know if you weren't so obsessed with that werewolf, vampire garbage you are constantly consuming."

Lucia couldn't help the scoff that left her lips as Bella watched her clean the counters she had used to make her delectable cupcakes. She couldn't believe the audacity of Bella at times. She was so tone-deaf and self-involved, it was a miracle how she managed to see anything that happened around her. And that meant a lot coming from the dark brunette who was always clueless about her environment.

"And why are you making it sound like Jacob's dying?" Lucia asked. "He's got mono--the mild kind. He'll be fine in a few weeks so... chill the hell out."

"Lucia, please."

The girl groaned out loud this time around the urge to bang her head on the counter becoming imminent. She looks at Bella, her jaw flexing in frustration at the girl's stubbornness. "If I come with you, will you shut up about it?"

"Yeah." Bella nodded vigorously before grabbing onto Lucia's wrist and dragging her out of the house. She tossed Lucia her coat on the way out, ignoring the girl's protests.

Lucia had been glaring out of the window the entire drive over, ignoring Bella's glances from time to time. She'd hoped for nothing more than a quiet afternoon doing basically nothing and not her over-dramatic cousin dragging her along to whatever the hell was going on. It was sage to assume that Bella wasn't stressed over Jacob's mono and something else that Lucia had no clue about. And Lucia was sure she was about to find out what.