Trauma

Part 24 "Home, Sweet Home"

"My babies are here!!" Mom screamed as she ran out of the house with her apron still on.

"Oh my god! What happened to you??" Mom shrieked when she saw the state of Rick's eyes.

"It's nothing." Rick said, trying to escape from Mom's grasp.

"The hell it's nothing! Look at your eyes! It's all bloodshot!" Mom said, looking worried.

"It's kinda my fault. He scared me and I accidentally sprayed him with my pepper spray." I said, getting out of the car myself.

"Liz! You sprayed your brother with your pepper spray?! Well, at least you found out that the spray works." Mom let out a laugh as she hugged me tightly.

"Umm..Hello? Where did all the sympathy go?" Rick groaned.

"Well if you didn't scare her, she wouldn't have shot you." My mom retorted, waving her hand.

"My mother, Ladies and gentlemen." Rick said, rolling his eyes.

"By the way, please tell me you guys weren't cooking...Last Thanksgiving you guys convinced me all the food were store bought and I got food poisoning because of it." I said, shuddering.

"Don't worry. We definitely bought pre made food from the store this time. I just put this on to feel like I'm cooking." Mom said, pointing at the apron.

"Ooh. Did you guys put the pumpkin pie in the oven? You know How much I love Edwards Pumpkin Pie." I said, grinning.

"Of course! Your dad was waiting for the right time to put it in the oven." Mom chuckled.

"Ugh...I hate pumpkin pies." Rick groaned.

"Excuse you, nobody asked for your opinion. And if you don't like it, just don't eat it! You always steal a piece from me and regret it after taking a bite! It annoys the hell out of me." I said, glaring at Rick.

"But it just looks so good! It's not my fault their look is heavenly while they taste just like-"

While the three of us were bickering, Jack was standing near the car awkwardly.

I grabbed his arm and pulled him towards my mom, who was still putting Rick at his place.

"Ehem."

"Liz, not right now- Oh! You must be Jack!!" My mom soon hugged Jack, who looked surprised for a second but soon hugged back.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Walters." Jack said politely.

"Oh, call me Lisa. Lizzie! Why didn't you tell me that your boyfriend was this charming?" My mom gushed. Wow. She didn't act this way when I first brought my last boyfriend home. Of course, that being 7 years ago...

"Umm..I brought some food and.." Jack said as he held out the basket shyly.

"You shouldn't have! Let's go inside. It's really chilly outside." My mom said with a smile, taking the basket and ushering us inside.

"Where's dad?" Rick said as he took off the coat, hanging it on the coat rack.

"Your dad is preparing the table. Why don't you help him, sweetheart?" Mom said as she gestured towards the kitchen.

"On it." Rick said as he went inside.

"Mom, You should really check out the food Jack made. It's just amazing." I said as I held Jack's hand firmly.

"Really? Oh wow. It's just so colorful." My mom looked surprised as she peered inside the basket.

"Jack is the master of Korean food." I said, probably looking like a proud mom.

"Well, I wouldn't say that." Jack said, scratching his neck, looking nervous.

"What's that I hear about Korean food?" Dad said as he came out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel.

"Hey, honey. This is Jack, Lizzie's boyfriend. He made Korean food for us!" My mom chirped.

Dad's previous smile got bigger. "Korean, huh? I like you."

"My dad used to be in Korea at one of the US Military bases." I explained to Jack who looked puzzled at the sudden welcome my dad was giving him.

"Yeah. Dad used to say how Korean food was amazing and all and how there aren't any decent Korean restaurants around." Rick said, chuckling.

"Well, Do you recognize this food right here?" Mom said as she held out the basket to Dad.

"Jeon! I used to love Kimchi Jeons. Wow. It must have taken you a while to cook all this, son." Dad said as he stared at Jack who was blushing.

"It was nothing." Jack hurriedly said, his grip tightening on my hand.

"Alright. Well, it's almost time for lunch, so why don't we eat Jack's food? After that, we'll go down to that park you liked, Lizzie." Mom said with a smile.

"There are few packages of Instant white rice in the cupboard. I'll go heat it up." My dad said, clearly excited.

"You just made his day." My mom chuckled, leading us to the table.