Little Red

FIFTY FOUR

The sound of the refrigerator being closed filled the kitchen as Dani turned around with a burger in her mouth while both her arms held a bowl of grapes, a jar of pickles, a bag of marshmallows, and a container of sushi rolls.

Mikey whistled as he watched her set the items onto the counter. "Okay, I may not be an expert when it comes to the healthy stuff-"

"So, why are you trying to comment?" Dani cut him off as she stuffed a couple of grapes into her mouth and untwisted the top to the pickles.

"Because I'm worried...Like genuinely worried, babe, are you okay?" Mikey asked as he continued to watch her with a frown.

"Yep," Dani said and took a bite of a pickle. "Never been better. Why?"

A look of disbelief crossed Mikey's features as he said, "Wh...What do you mean why? Look at what you're eating, Dans!"

She raised an eyebrow. "Is there a problem?"

"There's going to be if you decide to eat all of that in one sitting," Mikey said with both eyebrows raised.

His features then softened as he got up from his seat and asked, "What's wrong, babe?"

Dani scoffed and turned her head to him. "Nothing is wrong with me. Can a girl not eat anymore?"

"Honestly, if you're going to turn into a third parent, you might as well just go home," she then mumbled as she opened the sushi container and stuffed one into her mouth.

Mikey sighed and said, "I'm not going home, babe...at least not yet anyway."

"Well, if you're going to stay, Shut up and let me eat," Dani said with a glare before looking back down at her food.

The sound of the front door opening caused them both to avert their attention towards the living room before a tight smile curved on Dani's lips as she turned her head to her boyfriend.

"There. Now you have other people to look after me for you. So you can go now," she said before biting into her burger again.

Mikey huffed as the sound of footsteps erupted in Dani's ears.

"Ellie!! Mikey!! We bought pizza!!"

Dani's head snapped up at her brother's words, which caused Mikey's eyebrows to rise as Frankie ran into the kitchen with a smile before it slowly fell as he saw everything on the counter.

"Sissy...you're not gonna want any pizza!!" he said with a pout before turning his eyes to Mikey. "And you're not either, Mikey! We got pizza for everyone!!"

Mikey smiled softly. "This...isn't mine, buddy. I haven't eaten anything," he said, which made Dani scoff and turn her head to him.

"Tattletale," she mumbled with a half glare.

Amusement shone in Mikey's eyes as instead of answering, he wiped at her mouth.

"Hey, my beautiful- What in the world?!"

Frankie giggled as Mikey and Dani turned their heads to see the baffled expression on her mother's face.

Michelle narrowed her eyes at her daughter. "Daniella Janine, just what do you think you're-"

"Where's the pizza?" Dani cut her off with a frown.

As if on cue, David walked into the kitchen and immediately widened his eyes at the sight on the counter. "What the hell-"

"Is that meat lovers?" Dani questioned while walking over to him.

She then paused and said, "Oh, wait. Nevermind. Okay, I'll take-"