lovely |k.k|

XI

On Saturday, I heard nothing from Kevin. I spent my day studying and doing all my homework, as well as cleaning for my aunt. Nothing, not even an arrow shot into my yard.

I figured I shouldn't think about it, knowing it'd be childish to assume he would even make the extra effort. We only spoke when it was conventional for him, and it'd be dumb for me to think otherwise. So I held back from painting at night, just drifting into the room to grab some supplies and catching sight of nothing in his window, before heading into my room to sketch.

Still, my Aunt Lara persisted on Sunday morning, when she was up at the crack of dawn. It was normal for her to be as chipper as ever, so waking up that morning to smell of baked cookies didn't surprise me.

I jogged downstairs, my mouth watering and my hair as messy as ever. I was in silk button-down pajamas, the type that befitted a child. When I didn't have to impress boys, aka my annoying-neighbor-turned-possible-boyfriend, I wore whatever was comfortable to sleep, even if it didn't look as pleasing as form-fitting leggings and a hoodie.

I headed into the kitchen, catching her by the coffee machine as I greeted her warmly,

"Good morning," I said brightly, glad I had nothing to do today except relax. With the lack of Kevin in my schedule, it also helped to recognize that I didn't have to entertain him. For the first time since we got to town, I could spend a whole day to myself, doing exactly what I wanted.

"Someone's chipper," She added calmly, passing me a mug already filled with warm coffee, "Did you sleep well, birdy?" I rolled my eyes at the small nickname, one she gave me when I was a lot younger, but thanked her for the mug as I nodded,

"First time I slept early in days, I got all my work done yesterday, no distractions." She hummed brightly, turning to me as I grabbed some almond milk from the fridge and poured it into my coffee, passing it to her.

I moved for a cookie, about to grab one when she pulled the entire plate away. I frowned, turning to her as she smiled even more,

"Perfect, because I need you to go give these cookies to your friend and his family, and invite them over for dinner." My eyes widened, remembering what happened on Friday. This was a terrible plan, and I couldn't even tell her why,

"But Aunt Lara!" I whined, about to create some inane excuse, only for her to cut me off,

"You have no choice. Either you go and tell them or I do. Plus, you have nothing to do today, it's perfect. You can help me prep." I sighed loudly, leaning on the counter as I tried to come up with excuses.

With a smile, she grabbed the sugar from behind me and put some spoonfuls into her cup, before raising her brow at me,

"Come on, it's the perfect way for me to meet your new boy toy." I rolled my eyes at the statement, a small laugh leaving me, "Sugar?" I nodded, sighing and she put three teaspoons in and stirred. I grabbed my mug, taking a sip and finally speaking,

"Fine, but you can't embarrass me. Or talk too much about why we moved. I don't want to deal with the questioning." I added softly, closing my eyes and massaging my temple as I realized how annoying Kevin would be about it if he even got a whiff of why I left New York.

Wether it came with teasing or him suddenly seeing me as some weaker thing, I didn't want to deal with it. I didn't want Kevin to think I needed him to protect me.

My Aunt raised a brow, looking at me with a small grin, before nodding as she took a tip of her drink,

"Alright, fine. I can abide by those rules," She sat on a stool beside the kitchen counter, looking at the fresh cookies and then to me, "You should go get changed, you don't want those to get cold before you head over there."