Chapter 25 - In the Kitchen

Vera's POV

"I think I left my bag in the locker room yesterday, and my phone is inside it," I explained quickly. "So... I need my phone."

Liam didn't answer right away. He just looked at me, and the silence went on for a few seconds while his eyes stayed on mine, like he was trying to decide if helping me was worth the trouble.

"Help me get the bag, please." I shifted my weight to my other leg and twisted my fingers together. "You can get into the school, right?"

He let out a slow breath and shook his head. "I can't just walk into the school, Vera."

I frowned. "But... your dad owns the school."

"It doesn't matter."

Before I could say anything else, his phone buzzed. He looked down at the screen, read the message for a second, and locked it again.

"I'll get it this evening," he said. "I have practice later."

Relief washed over me right away. "Okay." I nodded quickly. "Thank you."

Without waiting any longer, I turned toward my room. Just as I reached the door, his voice stopped me.

"How's your knee?"

My hand froze on the doorknob. I turned back slowly, and our eyes met. For a brief second, yesterday flashed through my mind, the way he'd stayed in my room and then the question I had asked... I quickly pushed the memory away.

"It's fine," I answered quietly.

His eyes searched my face for another moment, but I didn't let him see anything else. I opened my bedroom door, stepped inside, and shut it quietly behind me. The click of the lock echoed through the room. I leaned my back against the door and let out a breath I hadn't even realized I was holding.

I closed my eyes and whispered to myself, "Saturday... please be good."

***

Saturday was so boring it almost hurt.

Liam had been out since the whole Saturday, and without my phone, the whole day felt like it was dragging on forever.

There wasn't much to do, so I stayed in the living room and let random movies play on the television.

And today Sunday, I was doing the same.

A bowl of popcorn sat beside me, along with chocolate bars, potato chips, and cookies. I had pretty much covered the whole center table with junk food. If I couldn't talk to anyone, at least I could eat my boredom away.

"Oh my goodness!" I burst out laughing as one of the characters slipped and fell face-first into a swimming pool. "That was so funny."

Still laughing, I rolled onto my stomach and hugged one of the throw pillows under me. I reached my hand toward a chocolate bar, but another hand suddenly beat mine to it.

"My bag."

I blinked, then my eyes went wide. I grabbed the bag right away and looked up. Liam stood beside the couch, his hand already slipping back into his pocket.

My face lit up with a wide smile. "You got it!" I hugged the bag to my chest and looked back at him. "Thank you."

He just nodded. "No problem." Without another word, he turned and walked toward the kitchen.

I quickly unzipped my bag. "There you are."

I pulled out my phone and pressed the power button. The screen lit up. Five percent.

"Oh no." I unlocked it in a hurry. Notifications poured onto the screen, missed messages, group chats, Anita, Queen, the school's chatroom. It felt like I was cut off from the world and the whole world kept moving.

I opened Queen's chat first. The newest message read:

[Venue has been sent. The party is holding at the Gilbert Mansion, 18 Maplewood Drive, Westbrook Heights.]

I repeated the address quietly to myself. "Gilbert Mansion... 18 Maplewood Drive, Westbrook Heights."

My phone flashed. Battery low.

"Seriously?" I sighed, dug through my bag again, found my charger, and walked over to the socket closest to the kitchen entrance. The cable clicked into place, and only then did I finally relax.

While I waited for it to charge, my eyes wandered toward the kitchen. Liam stood with his back to me, an egg in one hand.

Crack!

He broke it cleanly into a bowl. Then he broke another. His movements were calm and easy, like he had done this a hundred times before.

Before I even noticed, my feet had carried me into the kitchen. I leaned lightly against the counter.

"What are you making?" I asked.

"Scrambled eggs." He didn't even turn around.

I walked closer until I was standing right beside the stove. "Why didn't you ask Ana to make it for you?"

I looked around. "Actually... I haven't seen her today."

"She takes Sundays off."

"Oh." I nodded slowly. "That makes sense."

My stomach growled. I looked down and laughed a little, embarrassed. "I'm hungry too." He kept whisking the eggs. "I've been eating junk all day."

I rubbed the back of my neck, then looked at him with the cutest face I could make. "Can you make some for me too?"

He glanced at me from the corner of his eye once, then he did again. And he finally said, "Pass me two more eggs."

A smile spread across my face right away. "Okay." I walked over to the tray of eggs on the counter, picked up two carefully, and carried them back. "Here." I held them out to him.

He took them without a word.

Crack. Crack.

The shells landed neatly in the trash. He sprinkled in some salt, a little black pepper, and whisked it all together until the mixture turned smooth.

I rested both elbows on the counter and watched him quietly. For someone who barely smiled, he cooked surprisingly well.

A thought crossed my mind. "What are you doing later today?"

"Why?" He glanced at me briefly while setting a frying pan on the stove.

"Just asking."

He poured a little butter into the pan, and It sizzled softly melting gradually. "I'm just going to chill until it's time for a party I want to go to."

Excitement bubbled up inside me right away.

Great, it really was the same party Queen had invited me to, the pre-game party. He is on the team, so definitely he will be attending the party.

I tried not to smile too much.

"I'm going to that party too." The words slipped out casually. "So... You'll take me to the party, right?"

His hand stopped moving. He turned his head toward me slowly.

"You know I can't."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "And why?”