Trauma

Part 16 "Saying Bye"

"Oh hey, You guys are late. Wait...What happened?" Jack asked, staring at us worriedly.

"Oh, nothing. A lady at the food court offered us some hot peppers to try and we stupidly tried it. We had to drink gallons of Milk because of that." Rick said, laughing. I gaped at him. Damn, he was a natural at lying.

Jack also chuckled. "Good thing that dinner won't be that spicy. I made some Bulgogi."

"Ooh. What's that?? Is that Pork?" Rick said, dashing to the table.

Jack laughed. "Yeah, it is. Bulgogi is usually spiced with either Soy sauce or Red pepper paste. I made some of each, for you guys to try."

"I can't wait to try it! It smells amazing." Rick said, sitting in front of the table quickly. 

"You are just going to love it. All of Jack's cooking is out of this world." I said as I sat down in my usual seat.

"Look at you. You look like a proud mother." Rick said, chuckling.

"Uhuh. You will act just like me when you had a taste." I said, rolling my eyes.

Rick fumbled with the chopsticks. "How do you use this thing?"

Jack chuckled. "Should I give you a fork instead? I thought you already knew how to use it since Lizzie is a master at it."

Rick gaped at me. "When did you learn how to use it?"

I shrugged. "You know how much I loved Chinese food."

Rick grinned. "Yeah. You were obsessed with it. She used to eat Chinese for dinner every day. Mom would scold her for not eating her cooking."

I laughed. "Hey! It was to survive. You know how much mom's cooking sucked. Dad sucked at it too. If they cooked like Jack, I would have been so obese."

Jack just looked at us amusedly while eating his dinner.

"So, Jack. Are you an only child?" Rick asked, trying to put a piece of meat on his spoon with his chopsticks.

"Yeah. I always wanted a sibling when I was young. It gets kinda lonely, you know?" Jack said.

"I don't know how my childhood would have gone if I didn't have this bugger right here." Rick said, ruffling my hair. I swatted his hands playfully.

Dinner went on smoothly. After dinner, we ate the various desserts I and Rick bought.

I felt kind of silly that I even worried about how it would go. Rick and Jack seemed to get it on pretty quickly. They were already best friends when it was time for us to leave.

"Take care of my little sister, alright?" Rick said, sending Jack a meaningful look.

"Don't worry about it. Hope you have a safe trip back home." Jack said, smiling at him.

"Alright, alright. Be sure to eat properly and don't immerse yourself to work too much, okay?" Rick said, looking at me worriedly.

I just hugged him tightly. "Be sure to stop at the resting place if you feel tired during the drive. Call me when you get home."

Rick laughed. "Okay, mom. You don't have to worry about me. Just take care of yourself. See you!"

After Rick left, Jack and I just stood there on the spot watching Rick's car getting smaller and smaller.

"Today went well, Don't you think?" Jack looked down at me with a smile.

"Thanks for dinner. I really wanted to be the one to treat you though." I frowned.

"You guys are already doing me a favor by trying out my food. I tell you this every day, Lizzie. Don't you worry about it." Jack said as he put an arm around me.

To my amazement, I didn't flinch at all. I even leaned on his chest.

Things were definitely taking a turn. Maybe it was a good kind.