Hershey Kisses

Tenth Kiss

I woke up from my nap and noticed I've been tied on the chair. The room was dark and one light was flickering on and off. I tried to see if Rick was in the same room but my guts are telling me no one is around. Suddenly I hear footsteps and see someone coming in front of me.

"Glad to see you awake, Sophia. Or is it Hayate." a voice calls out. I couldn't see their face and tried to loosen up the rope. "Don't bother trying to get out of that chair. You shouldn't have existed in this world. Everything you have now will slowly vanish. Just like how your best friend abandoned you."

My blood boils from anger and I tried to rip off the ropes to punch this person. I struggled moving more and more until I fell to the side of the floor.

I soon realized it was a nightmare as I was lying down on the floor. I still should've beat up the crap out of that person. But wait a minute. Wasn't Rick on my lap earlier? I looked around and noticed he wasn't around. I saw the wall clock and noticed it was late for me to even come home. NOT AGAIN!!!!

I jumped up and tried to gather my belongings and headed to the front door. As soon as I started turning the doorknob, it was already opening on its own and I backed away. The door opened and it was Rick behind the door.

"Whoa easy there, princess." he smiled. "I told Penny to call your parents that you're sleepovering at her house. I sighed in relief and glanced down seeing he was carrying a bag.

"Uh...." I stammered pointing at the bag.

"Ah I had to buy some groceries since I had no food in the pantry." he shrugged and walked past me towards the kitchen. He places the bag on the counter and quietly puts away the food. I walked to kitchen while my stomach was growling like a lion. He noticed the growl and stared at me. "I can cook if you want." I shook my head vigorously refusing his offer to cook for me.

"I can cook myself...." I insisted, "If you're okay with me using.... your ingredients." He didn't say a word but just nod his head. I searched through the pantry if he had any rice then saw some leftover chicken inside the fridge. I prepared cooking the rice and searched for ginger. Rick was observing me while I was preparing the dish. I finished making arroz caldo (Rice Porridge) and scooped up a bowl of it for myself. I prayed to thank for giving me food and I ate quietly.

"It smells good." Rick sampled the food.

"It's one of the only dishes I learned how to cook on my own." I avoided eye contact. "Since I was little, my parents were always busy with work. They'd take me to my grandparent's house before they head to work and I'd help Lola cook." I recalled back when my parents barely had time to spend a few moments with me and Rufus. We were so irritated not seeing them every day and we ended up becoming troublemakers to get their attention. "Someday.... I want to be part of a family that are always together and having fun being together. But... that'll never happen."

Rick looked at me and chuckled to himself. "You give up so easily." he smiled, "Even I wished for a family like that too. My family was never called a family. We just share the same last name but we barely talk to each other. Well... except my older brother." He seemed to be lost in thought when was trying to remember something. I finished eating the dish and washed the dishes.

"You can have some if you'd like, Rick." I pouted, "I made more than enough for myself."

"In a moment." he said as he walked to the living room. "I need to prepare the bed for you." I almost dropped the washed dishes

"W-we-w-we're......" I stuttered.

"You're sleeping in the guest bedroom." He answered my question. I sighed in relief and dried the bowl. "When you're done, I'll show you where you can take a shower and I'll take out some extra clothes for you." Clothes..... Rick's clothes...... I trembled from the thought of wearing one of his clothes. Suddenly we heard a doorbell. Rick walked to the front door and checked who it was. He opened it and saw it was Penny.