Until You Lost It

Chapter 4

     Later on in the day, everyone had finished packing and was settled in the living room talking. Conversations roared the place, it was as if the whole placed was filled with the loud talking. "Alright, so, who's cooking tonight?" Angel asked, rubbing his belly. "I think room partner's should cook." Gina said, making David nod. "Yeah, roomie's cook for one night, sounds good. Who's going to cook first?" He asked, looking at everyone. It was quiet, no one spoke at all. "I wonder where that cricket is at?" Tyler asked, making everyone laugh. "I guess Skylar and I could do, get it done and over with." Victoria said, making Skylar nod. "Sure, let's go find something to cook."

    Both girls got up, heading to the kitchen. "Alright, so what should we make?" Skylar asked. Victoria shrugged, "I don't maybe we could do like a family recipe?" Skylar beamed at suggestion, "sure, I have one. My family likes to make fettuccine Alfredo with bits of chicken and bacon bits to top it off." Tori nodded, "sounds good, my parents use to make grilled briskets so that it when it fell apart, that's when it was the best. And we would also roast our vegetables."

      After a minuet of talking, the girls started to prep all the food, making sure the grill was ready and the food was cleaned and seasoned. David walked into the kitchen, looking at the prepped food. "What are you guys making?" He asked. The girls turned to him, "food." They said in unison. Chuckling, David quickly grabbed some drinks and left the kitchen. "Alright, ready for game faces?" Tori asked. "I was born ready." Laughing, the girls quickly got to work.

      About thirty minutes into the cooking, Tyler walked in. "Mmm, it smells good in here. What's cooking girls?" He said, mouth watering. "We're cooking food, now get out of our kitchen!" Skylar said. "Awe, I just wanted to see if the ladies needed any help?" "nope, now go." Skylar said, just as Tyler was leaving, "wait, go check on Victoria, she's outside grilling." Tyler nodded, heading outside.

     "Hey, everything alright?" He asked, taking a seat. "Yeah, just watching the food." Tori sat next to Tyler, taking a sip of her soda. They were both quiet, listening to the fire crackle from the grill. "Can I ask . . . why were you crying earlier?" He asked, looking at her. Tyler barely knew much about Victoria's parents. She never really talked about them because it was just hard for her. He only met them once and that for her sixteenth birthday party. I guess I could tell him, she thought.

    Looking at Tyler, he held a concerned look. "Um, David and I had been talking about my parents." He nodded slowly, not understanding. "Did something happen to them?" "no, its just that . . . my parents don't really spend any time with me. They are always busy working and don't really have any time for me." He looked at her shocked, "I met them once, they were nice people." She smiled, "yeah, they are nice, but its just that they are too busy with their career's to even notice me. I get good grades, do good things, that's all they need to know. They know that I'm old enough to take care of myself, but sometimes I want to let go. I don't want to be old enough, I don't want to do good things and other stuff that won't make them proud. Whenever I'm at home, the house feels empty. Its always quiet, never any noise. I feel lonely whenever my parents aren't around, honestly . . . I always feel like I'm alone."

    Tyler stared at Victoria with a sad look, he never knew that she felt this way. "But your not alone, you have all of us, Tori. We are your family, even if you move, we will always love you no matter what." He said, bringing her to tears. He pulled her into a hug, "I love you more than anyone else, even if I am player. I'm sad that you have to move, but I know that you will always come back and visit." He lifted Tori's head, staring deeply into her eyes.

     Wiping her tears away, he smiled at her, "your my best friend, my lover, my family, don't think that I don't love because I do." She smiled, "thanks Tyler." He nodded, "now, can you tell me what your cooking, it smells really good." Laughing, Tori grabbed the plate and went to the grill, checking on the meat. It started to fall apart, using the tongs, she quickly put it on the plate. Turning to face Tyler, she showed him the plate. "I'm making a brisket." Heading into the kitchen, Tori saw Skylar roasting the vegetables. Tyler went back into the living, leaving the girls to finish the cooking. "Oooo, we should make desert." Tori said. "Yeah, that would be a good way to end our cooking" "have anything in mind?" Skylar smirk, "I do!"