Chapter 3: Five Minutes

I walked toward the kitchen and found Cassie leaning against the island, pouring herself a glass of water.

"You’re done?" She asked when I stepped.

"Yeah."

"Thank goodness!" She breathed.

Just then, I heard footsteps approaching and Ronan walked into the kitchen.

He walked over to Cassie, handing over her phone and nodded. "Thanks."

She smiled, sliding the phone back into her pocket. "Anytime."

She paused, looking between the two of us, sudden realization crossing her face. "Oh! Ronan, this is Lena, my best friend. Have you guys actually met yet? Lena, this is Ronan."

His expression stayed cool as he glanced at me.

"We've run into each other," he said. "She's hard to miss."

"Great!" Cassie beamed.

Then he walked out of the kitchen. I turned to Cassie, gesturing toward her pocket.

"Why did he have your phone?" I tried to sound casual.

"He said that he needed it for something," she said, taking a sip from the glass of water. "He didn't even have it for up two minutes."

"Oh…" I murmured.

There were questions I suddenly had to ask her about him but I decided not to. ‎Asking anything else would make me sound curious about him and the last thing I needed was to give Cassie even the slightest impression that I was curious about her brother.

And whatever strange reaction I seemed to have whenever he was around or when he looked at me was something I intended to ignore.

~~

The next morning, my brain felt so foggy. I needed caffeine. Cassie and I went to bed so late last night. ‎I groaned, tossing the duvet over my head. Cassie was up first, so she had freshened up already. I did same when she was done.

I finished getting ready and we both headed out of the room.

"I need a glass of juice," she said as we padded down the stairs.

"And I need my cup of coffee," I responded.

She snorted. "Unlike terms really attract. That explains why we are best friends."

That made me laugh. We got to the kitchen my laughter died down almost immediately.

Ronan was standing by the marble counter with his back turned to us as he handled the coffee machine.

He had on one of those dark, knitted vests, paired with dark trousers and a thin silver chain resting on his neck. Who knew knitted vests could look this good on someone?

"Morning!" Cassie greeted.

"Morning," he muttered without looking back.

He didn't acknowledge my presence. I didn't acknowledge his either.

‎"Oh… looks like you'll have to wait your turn," Cassie said to me, pouring her glass of juice.

"Yeah…" I said moving to the kitchen island, pretending to be really interested in that basket of fruit on it.

"You still take yours completely black, right?" she asked.

"Yeah.. always."

"Gosh, I still don't know how you swallow something that bitter," she laughed, shaking her head. "In that department, we are opposites. Give me mine with caramel and cream any day."

I let out a small chuckle, still very much aware of the man standing some feet away. I kept my head down, doing my absolute best to pretend he wasn't there.

Cassie turned around, setting up the toaster. She reached for a loaf of bread.

"So we are making toast and scrambled eggs this morning."

"Alright then," I said.

After a moment, the coffee machine started dripping. Then it stopped. I heard the quiet clink of ceramic against the counter.

I risked a glance up just in time to see Ronan with two mugs in both hands, walking to leave the kitchen.

When he passed where I was sitting, he slowed down just enough to place one of the mugs right in front of me without breaking his stride, saying a word, or even looking at me.

I froze, staring down at the mug and the dark liquid in it. My chest did a sudden, ridiculous flutter which I didn't want to admit. ‎He kept walking till he was out of the kitchen.

Cassie turned around with a loaf of bread on a plate and her eyes landed on the mug in front of me. "Oh! Did you make coffee already? That was fast…"

She trailed off, her eyebrows pulling together as she looked at the empty counter by the coffee maker. "Wait... did Ronan pour that for you?"

I swallowed, managing a stiff nod. "Yeah. He just dropped it off and left."

"Aww, look at that!" She laughed, setting a plate down. "He's treating you like family already."

"Right…" I wrapped my fingers around the ceramic mug, still trying to make sense of the whole thing.

I took some of the coffee before going to join Cassie in making breakfast. After a while, it was ready and we both sat and ate while catching up on the upcoming event.

Just as we were finishing up, the gravel crunching outside signaled a car pulling up the driveway.

"They're here!" Cassie said, setting her fork down.

We left the kitchen and the front doors swung open. Cassie’s parents walked in holding their bags.

"Mom, Dad… welcome," Cassie smiled, giving them a hug.

I stepped forward with a smile. "Congratulations, Julia. Congratulations, Mr. Henderson. Thirty years is incredible."

"Thank you, Lena," Mr. Henderson said.

"Lena, look at you!" Julia embraced me. "It is wonderful to see you here. Thank you for coming."

‎The rest of the day was a blur of the event’s preparations.

By late afternoon, Cassie and I walked out to the back of the house to catch a breath of fresh air and sat on the patio chairs.

Almost immediately, my eyes found Ronan some yards away, across the green lawn. He had a glass of clear liquid... probably alcohol, in one hand with his phone pressed to his ear, pacing slowly. I caught myself watching him.

His expression was unreadable and he listened more than he spoke.

‎"Stop looking," I whispered to myself before looking away.

"Archer is flying in tomorrow," Cassie said. "Work kept him busy so he couldn't make it today."

"Oh… at least he would be able to make it for the event," I said.

They were one of those couples that made being in a long distance relationship look almost easy.

I and Cassie went on with catching up, even on things we had already talked about before.

My eyes traitorously darted over to Ronan. I quickly diverted my eyes. A minute passed and I sneaked another glance.

This time, he looked up too, toward the patio. Before I could look away, his eyes locked onto mine, catching me in the act. Panic spiked through me and I looked away immediately.

'Please tell me he didn't realize I was staring.' I thought to myself. But I already knew he had.

About two minutes later, my phone buzzed. I glanced at it, and it was a notification from an unknown number. I clicked it open.

Unknown: Do I have something on my face?

My breath hitched and I lifted my head. He was done with the call and his eyes were now fixed on me.

I felt my face heat up. I looked back down at my screen and started to type.

Me: How did you get my number?

Unknown: Cassie's phone. Yesterday.

Cassie went on with what she was saying, completely oblivious of what was going on.

I swallowed and refused to look up again, terrified of what he would see in my expression.

Was he still looking at me? I suddenly didn't have the courage to find out.

For what felt like forever, I kept my eyes on my phone screen waiting for my racing heart to slow down, deciding not to look down the lawn again.

Eventually, I looked up but then he was no longer there. Before I could even process his absence, my screen lit up with another text.

Unknown: Library. Five minutes.