Bed of Nails

Chapter 69

I don't know what will happen when we both realise it.

I walked out of the kitchen and changed into something comfortable, which, by the way, is one of his t-shirts. They are the most comfortable ones. I was going to spend my night at his place. I had told Lily that I was going to stay with Evilyn. "Pasta is ready," he announced when I walked back into the kitchen wearing one of his t-shirts. I smiled and walked to get a cold bottle of water from the fridge for us. We enjoyed the pasta together. He even made garlic bread. "It's so tasty," I said after finishing my food. I had cleaned my plate, leaving nothing behind. He pulled my chair, so now I was in front of him. "I'm glad you liked it," he said, then kissed my nose. I giggled when he did that. The pasta was so yummy. He was indeed a very good cook.

"Who taught you cooking? Did you learn it from grandma like Xanthus?" I asked curiously. I don't know if he will open his own restaurant or join the family business. His smile dimmed when I asked him that question. He looked away from me. My brows furrowed at that question. 

"What happened?" I asked, cupping his face and making him look at me. 

"Nothing." He tried again to look away, but I saw the pain he was trying his best to hide surfacing in his blue eyes. 

"Please tell me what's wrong, and if you don't want to tell me, then it's ok, but please don't look away like that," I said, looking straight into his eyes. My heart felt the pain I had never felt before. He exhaled and looked at me. 

"It was my mother who taught me how to cook," he said softly, and I understood his pain. 

"She was so sick that she couldn't cook. So she used to instruct me, and I used to follow her instructions. I messed up even after following her instruction," he said with tears forming in his ocean blue eyes and a painful small smile on his lips. 

"When I started cooking, I was so bad. One day the food was salty and the other day it was spicy, but my mother ate that spicy or salty food with joy in her eyes. She encouraged me to cook, even though I was so bad at it. She encourages me to do my work on my own. She taught me everything. I was happy that I was helping my mother, but little did I know," he said, looking up to control his emotions. He looked at me again, and because he had failed to control those emotions who were fighting to leash out struggle from his heart and flow down from his ocean blue eyes. 

"Naive me didn't know she was preparing me to live my life without her. She was teaching me everything, so I don't have to be dependent on anyone once she is not in this world," he said, and tears fell from his left eye. I didn't realise I was crying too. I moved forward and hugged him. He didn't wrap his hands around me immediately, but when I didn't let him go and kept hugging him tightly, he wrapped his arms around me. I understand his pain. I have never met my mother, but her absence has always bothered me. 

"You were lucky to have a mother like her, and she was lucky to get a son like you," I sobbed, tears rolling down my eyes. They were both lucky that they got to live their lives with each other. 

"I envy you. At least you have the blessing of growing up with your mother. Some of us don't even get to see their mothers," I sobbed. More warm tears rolled down my face. He doesn't know how much I crave that kind of love. He buried his face in my neck, and more tears fell out of his eyes. I know it was hard for him to talk about the memories he shared with his mother. Losing a parent always breaks you mentally and emotionally. It leaves a crack in your heart, and nothing can fill it. You always feel their absence. We both cried, feeling each other's pain. The pain we have never shown to anyone has kept carrying our shoulders. We both shared our vulnerability. 

"I miss her so much,'' he said in his shaky voice while hiding his face in my neck. 

"I know," I said, and I moved my hand on his back to comfort him. My heart ached for him. I spent my night sleeping in the comfort of his arms. He didn't let go of me, not even for a second. He kept holding me as if his life depended on me. Slowly, we became more than what we were to each other. The next day, he again made breakfast for me. I asked him to teach me how to make eggs, but he refused, saying I never have to worry about cooking. When I questioned him. 

"I will gladly be your personal chef for life." Yes, those are his exact words. His answer pulled something in my heart. He meant those words. 

"We have to go to the pool party. Evelyn called me for the tenth time, asking when we would reach. I have to buy some snacks too," I told him when he was feeding me the omelette sandwich he made. I was busy replying to Evelyn. We both slept until late.

"Tell her we will be there soon after we grab the snacks," he answered, and I ate the sandwich from where I took the bite. We were indirectly kissing. I nodded with a slightly red face and went back to text her. We left after getting ready. I grabbed the bag that had my swimsuit. We stopped for a few snacks, and then Erick ordered some pizza. He didn't want to go empty-handed, even though he had paid for snacks. 

"Finally, you are here," Evilyn said when she saw me entering from the main door. She took the bag of snacks from my hand. 

"Hey," she said to Erick, who was behind me. He had boxes of pizza in his hands. He nodded at her with his expressionless face. 

"Andrew, can you grab the box of pizzas?" She called her brother, who was in another room. He walked out after a few minutes. 

"Hey, chubby," he said with a huge smile on his face as soon as he spotted me. He kissed my cheeks, making me blush. 

"Andrew, this is Erick," I said immediately, moving away from him. I looked at Erick, and his jaw was clenched. 

"Hey, Evelyn's brother, you are in a small class," Andrew asked while looking at Erick. He didn't have that happy expression on his face anymore. 

"Yes, he is our classmate," Evilyn answered instead of Erick. Andrew gave a nod and took the box of pizzas from his hand. I kept looking at both of them. I don't know why there was tension building up in the air. I want this party to be fun. 

I just hope that nothing goes wrong.

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