More than friends

Chapter 23

BRIE

Music came from somewhere, but it was soft, nothing hardcore.

My eyes slowly opened, but felt heavy still. It must have been from all the crying I had done. I let my eyes adjust to the darkness of the room as I sit up in the bed.

My body ached slightly, but I knew I needed to move.

Moving from the bed, I swung my feet over the edge of the bed and looked around. There was nothing here in my room.

My head hurt so much, but I didn't know what I wanted or anything.

The mere thought of even seeing anyone was a no-show, but an image of Kade popped into my head.

Where was he?

My eyes darted to the door, but it was closed. I looked around until they landed on the bed and realized that there was a fleece blanket that was covering me. Did I do that?

An outburst of singing came outside the room, which made me look back at it. I knew who it was, which only made me smile.

Moving off the bed, I walked to the door and slowly opened it until I could hear the music. Kade was singing to the Kings of Leon—Sex on Fire.

Leaving the door open, I moved out into the corridor and walked slowly till I came to the entrance that went to the open plan of the kitchen and lounge. My eyes went to the kitchen and there was Kade, swinging his hips while he was over the oven.

Stepping toward the wall, I leaned on it and watched him in amusement. I used to remember when we were kids this was something he would do when he was happy, or even just to pass the time. I wonder which is it now.

Kade kept singing and getting louder, but I looked away when I saw his head bob up and down to the beat. My eyes went around the room until they landed on two suitcases that looked oddly familiar—mine.

Where the hell did that come from?

My heart sank when an image of my father or that woman dropped them off. Would Kade have done that?

The song was coming to an end, which made me look back only to see a startled Kade looking back at me. "Brie," he said, moving toward the radio to turn it down.

I watched him for a moment, as he stared back

"Nice singing," I muttered, smiling at him.

The corners of Kade's lips curled up into a grin. "Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to wake you. You know me, once a song I know comes on, I have to sing and let it out."

I let out a laugh and pushed off the wall. Stepping closer into the kitchen, I smelled something nice cooking. I sniffed and looked back at him. "What are you cooking?" I asked.

"Potato and Leek soup," he said with a smile. "I thought you may be hungry. I didn't think you would be up to having anything special, not until you let your mind settle."

Damn it, he knew me all too well when it came to me.

How could so long have gone by so quickly and he still remembers the smallest of things about me?

My eyes stayed on him while I placed my hand on the chair. I looked over at the suitcases and spoke. "How did they get here?" I asked, looking back and pulling the chair out for me to sit.

Kade stared at me for a moment before he spoke. "Well, I got them for you," he said, leaning back on the counter. "My mum phoned and asked how you were, and I told her you were okay. But not long after she was on the phone, your father was in the background. I mentioned your things and he told me about your suitcases. You never unpacked, which was a good thing."

He gave me a small smile and continued. "Your father met me at the house with the key," he said. "He left, leaving me to it."

I gave a slight nod. But part of me was wondering if my father told him anything about the situation. "Did he say anything to you?" I whispered, looking away from him.

There was some silence, but I heard movement. A finger came to my chin and moved me to look back at him. His eyes softened when he met mine. "He wanted to," he said with a wary look my stomach dropped, not knowing whether or not I should find out, now but he continued. "But I told him no. That was your news and I would till you tell me."

My heart spiked and raced hard in my chest at the words he had just spoken. Most people would have wanted to know what the hell was going on, but not Kade. He wanted to wait till I was ready.

My eyes stayed on him but looked over to the oven. "When is the soup ready?" I asked, which made his lips move into a smile.

"Soon," he said, letting go of my chin and moving away. Somehow, I felt lost with his touch on me.

"You hungry?" he asked, making me look at him. I gave him a slight nod as I watched him move away and turn around to the oven. I watched as he stirred the saucepan.

I let my eyes move over to the side, where two phones were and a piece of paper. I scrunched up my nose and looked toward him where he was looking at me. "You got my phone?" I asked, which made him nod.

"You have a text," he said quietly.

Who the hell was messaging me?

Then the sudden thought of what happened earlier and why we were at his mother's house—Larissa and Dominic.

"Larissa? Dominic?" I asked, but Kade shook his head. "Who then?"

"Some Alex," he said, sounding slightly off.

Shit, I forgot all about Alex. He wanted a picture of what I was wearing and the gossip from the wedding. He knew all about the situation with my mother. The mere mention of thinking of using that nurturing word on the woman after the crap she put on made my stomach knot tightly.

"I will get back to him later," I blurt out, shaking away my thoughts from the hideous woman and focusing on my sister. "What about Larissa and Dominic? Has there been any word about them?"

Kade looked at me for a moment with an odd look that I couldn't place. What the hell was he thinking? But he shook his head and moved away from the counter. "Sorry," he said, walking toward the phones and the piece of paper. He grabbed it and turned back to me. "Here. It seems Larissa left you a note."

I took the note from him and began to read about why our siblings left.