Chapter 2
When I got home, my dad spotted me holding a fruit platter.
"Hey, why didn't you take the fruit up to Lucas today?" he asked.
I mumbled, a bit distracted.
"He's not home."
My mom was busy in the kitchen.
"No idea where your cousin ran off to. Emma, give her a call and ask if she's coming home for lunch," she said.
I stared at my mom for a moment, feeling kind of lost.
"She...she's not coming back," I mumbled.
"Figures. Your cousin's been busy job hunting lately, probably off at another interview," my mom said.
Just then, someone punched in the code on the door's keypad lock.
My cousin opened the door like she owned the place.
"I'm back," she called out.
Right behind her, Lucas walked in.
My mom came out of the kitchen.
"Hey, you two came back together?" she joked.
My cousin made a silly face and stuck out her tongue.
"We ran into each other downstairs, so we came up together," she said.
Lucas lived right upstairs from us.
Since his parents were always overseas, whenever we cooked, we'd invite him down to eat with us.
Sometimes, if he was too busy, my mom would just ask me to take some food up to him.
Lucas quietly closed the door behind him.
He greeted me like he always did. "Hey, Emma."
After that, he just strolled into the kitchen like nothing was up and started helping my dad out.
My cousin's hair was all tangled, and she looked a little out of breath.
Her face was still flushed, like she couldn't shake off the embarrassment.
A sudden wave of disgust hit me.
I bolted for the bathroom, desperate to get away.
In the mirror, I saw my own face, pale and drained.
Images kept flashing through my mind, over and over.
On one side, Lucas's clean, aloof side profile.
Then, my cousin's voice echoed, "He's going so hard I feel like I'm about to break."
And then, there was the ripped hem of a skirt.
The one that got torn, it was mine.
Just this morning, my cousin said it didn't look good on me.
She told me I should let her have it instead.
So I gave it to her.
Never in a million years did I think she'd wear it while hooking up with Lucas.
When I came out of the bathroom, my parents had already set the table.
I made sure to avoid Lucas and took a seat further inside, away from him.
My dad grinned and teased, "Hey, how come you're not sitting next to Lucas today? You used to make such a fuss about wanting to sit by him."
I hurriedly shoveled a couple bites of food into my mouth.
"No, I didn't!" I muttered, flustered.
My mom laughed, "Okay, okay, girls grow up and get shy. Look at you, your face is all red."
I nearly choked on my food.
Mom, I wasn't blushing because I was shy. I was just mad, not shy.
Forgot it.
I pretended not to hear and just kept shoveling food into my mouth.
My cousin plopped herself down right next to Lucas, acting totally unfazed.
She pretended like she and Lucas were just casual acquaintances.
She didn't say a single word the entire time.
Not until my dad stepped out to take a call and my mom went off to the kitchen to warm up the food.
Under the table, my cousin couldn't sit still.
Her legs kept swinging back and forth.
She was so restless, her legs wouldn't stop moving.
One moment, her leg grazed Lucas's.
Then she ended up kicking me by accident.
I quickly moved away.
My cousin shot me a wicked grin. "Sorry, Emma."
Lucas's hand trembled as he tried to pick up some food.
I caught a glimpse of his face: he was blushing hard.
I hurriedly shoveled down the rest of my food, barely tasting it.
"I'm done eating," I said, trying to sound casual.
My mom poked her head out from the kitchen.
"Oh, right! Didn't you have a few questions for Lucas? He's right here, so go ahead and ask him," she said.
I almost blurted out a no.
But before I could say anything, Lucas just smiled, "Yeah, I'm free this afternoon."
I looked up at him, in disbelief.
Lucas glanced up, his eyes sparkling with a smile.
"Got any plans this afternoon, Emma?" he asked.
I just stared at him, totally spaced out.
To my own surprise, I found myself shaking my head.
It wasn't until I walked into my room that I realized what I'd just done.
What the hell did I just do?
I thought my cousin would be mad.
But to my surprise, she was humming a tune, looking totally cheerful.
"Auntie, I've got something to do this afternoon, so I'm heading out," she said.
She turned to me and winked. "See you tonight, Emma."