The Lucky One

chapter 30

Copyright © 2012 by akm

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Chapter Thirty

Chicken Noodle Soup

We race to the car. The sand stuck to my wet feet and only a little bit washed off with the rain. Once the doors close I can hear the hard pounding against the windshield and the roof. Nathan shakes his head like a dog, water sprinkling everywhere. He digs around in his dirty pocket for his keys and turns it in the ignition. The cold air blows out strong and goosebumps erupt on my skin as Nathan presses the heater button. I sigh in relief and stick my hands in front of the warm air.

"Feel good?" he laughs, pulling out and turning on the windshield wipers.

"Yes, I'm freezing," I reply, thankful I'd left my purse in the car so it didn't get wet. He glances at me before reaching behind his seat to pull out a jacket and set it on my lap. I gratefully wrap myself up in it, noticing it was a soft black hoodie that I remembered looked great on him. I smile and close my eyes for a second to inhale his scent.

He chuckles. "Warmer?"

I nod my head before I think about him. "Are you cold?"

"Nah, I'm fine."

"You're gonna get sick if-"

"I'm alright, Pammy, honest," he interrupts and gives me a smile. "If it makes you feel better I'll take a shower when I get home. I've been in rain before, you know."

"Then I'm going to make you soup."

"You don't-"

"I'll make chicken-noodle."

"I'll shut up now." I laugh. He likes when I make chicken-noodle soup because it "warms his soul" and all that complimentary blah blah. I wasn't sure if he actually liked it or if he was just being nice until after a few times I made it. He consumed it like it was chocolate.

He reaches one hand over to take mine from the jacket, and it's really warm. I lean my cheek towards it and sigh. His thumb gently strokes my jawline and I fall into his hand, closing my eyes.

"You should be more worried about you than me," he says. "You're shivering."

"We're almost home," I tell him, though I'm actually not sure if we are. He doesn't reply to that and soon I feel us turning into my driveway. I sit up and look around. Rain is pouring down a little harder here and I wrinkle my nose at more rain. I just want to shower, change into dry clothes, and curl up in my bed and sleep. I tell myself I can go through just a little bit more rain and then to a hot, steamy shower. Nathan steps out first and I do the same after throwing the jacket back in the seat. The cold water hits me and I start hopping up the path to the door like a maniac.

Nathan laughs and calls out, "tired of the rain, are we?"

"I-" jump "-don't-" jump "-like-" jump "-being-" jump "-wet!" I land under the overhang before the front door and take a breath while Nathan just struts through the rain with a proud grin. "How can you be proud of being soaked?"

"I like rain," he replies simply as I open the door to let us in.

The cold air conditioning hits me first and I half shriek-half squeal at the sudden burst. My first stop is the bathroom where the warm, soft towels are stacked in a closet. I take one for me and force one into Nathan's hands.

"Dry yourself," I order.

"I'm fi-"

"Don't make me do it myself," I warn. He grins and raises an eyebrow, holding it towards me. I roll my eyes. "Just dry yourself, Nathan. Do you mind if I take a shower?"

"If I can come with you," he replies, wagging his eyebrows. I wack him with my towel, smiling.

"Nope, I prefer taking them alone."

"Well that's too bad. I make wonderful company."

I laugh as I start pushing him out. I step in and out of the shower in fifteen minutes, squeaky clean and refreshed. When I go into my room, he's laying on my bed upside down while playing with his phone. I take a pillow and throw it at his face so it covers it. He muffles a groan and I pick out an outfit. Light blue Aeropostale sweatpants and white tank top. I brush my hair and tie it back in a ponytail so it stays out of my way. Before I walk out of my room, I lift the pillow off his face and he looks up from the phone to me.

"May I help you?" he asks.

I giggle. "I'm going down to the kitchen to make that soup. And I'm just saying it now, I am not cleaning up anything, so no food fights, no sloppy eating, and no-I mean no-slurping as fast as you can to beat a record."

"Aw man," he says, snapping his fingers.

"Come on."

He follows me out and down the stairs. My dad's probably in his office and Rachel is probably napping. I don't know why I don't call her "Mom." I should. She'd like that. But I don't want my mom's place taken like that. Rachel's nice and motherly, but no one can replace my mom. And calling Rachel that would seem like she was forgotten. Entirely replaced. I hated that feeling, that maybe my mom would feel hurt that I'd call her "Mom." I'd just have to stick with "Rachel" for now. She'll understand.

Ten minutes later, soup is steaming hot from a pot and Nathan is practically drooling over my shoulder with a bowl in hand. I shove him away but he keeps coming back, asking if it was ready every five seconds. My dad strolls into the kitchen and stops mid-step to turn on his heel and come towards us.

"Mm, Pammy's chicken-noodle soup, perfect for a rainy day," he says, inhaling the smell.

"Yeah and she won't give me any," Nathan whines, poking my shoulder with the end of his spoon.

"Because it's not finished yet!" I say, bumping my hip against his to back him up. "It's almost done, just wait a minute."

"Longest minute of my life," Nathan replies. My dad takes down another two bowls and spoons and I raise my eyebrow at him. He grins and pushes them towards the pot. I smile back and pour about equal amounts in them, letting Nathan pig out on however much he wanted. We all sat down at the counter and quietly ate.

"It really warms the soul," Nathan says with a British accent and I roll my eyes.

"Yes, very much so," my dad unexpectedly replies with the accent.

"Indeed, indeed."

I just look at them.

"Oh, do cheer up," Nathan says, shouldering me.

"I will if you stop the accents. It's annoying."

"Okay."

I'm surprised that Nathan stopped, but even more so that my dad did it. It's been awhile since he's joked around with me like that. We'd kind of gotten a little farther apart since he married Rachel and he got a promotion at work. It was hard to believe we used to be two peas in a pod and now barely ever jokes. I missed it, though.

So I took this time as special time with my dad and my best friend and I couldn't help but think my mom would be right next to us, laughing at our jokes just like me.

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