"Goodness gracious, this is incredible," I moaned, slumping in my chair as I shoved the last few bits on the plate into my mouth.
Elias had whipped us up some Alfredo spaghetti with well-seasoned shrimp and a side of garlic bread. The food tasted marvellous, and I was stunned by his amazing cooking skills. Although, now that I thought about it, I shouldn't have been so surprised. Boxing, playing football, and now cookingâwhat wasn't he good at?
"Where on earth did you learn to cook like this?" I questioned him from across the table.
The four of usâElias, the twins, and meâsat around the dining table at their house, just about finishing the remains of our dinner.
Elias seemed unphased by the compliments I shed and gave a measly shrug. "I kind of just picked it up over the years. I mean, someone's gotta do the cooking around here."
"What about your parents? They don't like to cook?"
I immediately regretted asking anything when Elias sharply inhaled. Luckily, he was saved from replying when the twins squirmed out of their seats and began to leave the dining room.
"Where are you guys going?" Elias asked.
"We're gonna watch a Disney movie!" Alex smiled, revealing two missing teeth at the front.
"Come and watch with us, Daisy!" Rocky urged, excitedly jumping up and down.
"Hey, what about me?" Elias asked in indignation.
I laughed before glancing at the adorable pair. "I'll come join you two in just a sec. Let me just finish eating."
Excitedly nodding, the twins exited the dining room. My smile faded once I realized Elias had been watching me in interest.
"What?" I self-consciously asked.
"Nothing," he swiftly assured, clearing his throat. "I've just never seen Rocky like that with anyone. He must really like you."
"He's adorable," I smiled. "Nothing like his older brother."
"Hardy har har," his dark eyes narrowed into slits. "Anyways, I hope you didn't take his initial shyness personal or anything. He's always a bit wary around a new people..."
Elias trailed off, and I could tell he was deep in thought. He almost seemed to be withholding something.
"It's no biggie, I was the exact same as a child," I gently spoke. "Still am, if I'm being honest."
"I've never thought of you as shy," Elias replied. "In fact, quite the opposite. You challenged me on the very first day we met."
I smiled at the memory. "Yes, I remember. You and the guys kidnapped meâ"
"Kidnapped is a strong wordâ"
"And then I snitched on you as revenge, so you had detention for two weeks," I chortled. "Mind you, why'd you guys spray paint the principal's car in the first place?"
Elias smirked, leaning back and crossing his toned arms. "We were bored."
"Liar," I copied his stance, crossing my arms. "Anyone else would believe itâfall for this silly bad boy persona you've got going on. But I know better, Ellie. You don't just do things out of sheer boredom."
It was true, he was a very calculated individual. The smirk fell from his face at my words, for he knew I was right.
"Fine," he uncrossed his arms, "we caught the principal with a student."
"What do you mean?" I gasped.
"You're a smart girl, you know exactly what I mean," Elias bluntly said. I gave him a look, leaving him no choice but to explain. "It was the first day of school. Malcolm, Andre and I stopped by the office to get our timetables, when we walked in on Principal Lawrence doing some very... questionable things with a studentâa junior, by the looks of it."
"That's horrible," my fingers softly covered my mouth. "Did you guys ever tell anyone?"
"Of course. Why do you think he mysteriously resigned mid-way through September? Or at least, that's what they told everyone. Last I checked, he got firedâand hopefully imprisoned."
"I see," I slowly muttered, stunned. "So, the vandalized car was just your personal way of messing with the sick pervert?"
"Bingo."
"Wow. At first I felt sorry for the old man, but now that I know all that, he got exactly what he deserved."
"Agreed," Elias coolly murmured before standing up and stretching his limbs. The bottom of his white tee lifted up, revealing his chiselled V line. I sharply looked away. Meanwhile, he grabbed our plates and headed over to the sink, about to do the dishes.
"I'll help," I quickly stood up.
"Not a chance, you're the guest. Go watch a movie with the twins," he ordered.
I ignored him and rolled up the sleeves of my sweater, tucking my curly hair behind my ears and grabbing a plate from his hand. The two of us stood side by side in front of the sink.
"Do you ever listen?" Elias huffed, peering down at my short figure.
"Of course I do, although you clearly do not," I fired back.
"Yes, I do," he frowned, appearing nearly offended.
"Oh, please. Name one time you listened to me," I scoffed.
"October 2nd, 11:55am," he swiftly replied. "You said you'd love it if Anthony Miller got kicked off the football team."
I peered up at him in awe as I slowly pieced two and two together.
"That very same day, you tried out for the football team and got named captain. And then you kicked Miller off the team," I softly gasped. "W-Wait... you did that for me?"
"Yeah," he casually shrugged while scrubbing a plate. The soap and water caused his large hands to glisten. "Told you I listen to you."
I was flabbergasted. This entire time, I'd assumed he only joined the football team because he liked the attention of it allânot that he needed it, because everyone at Oakland High was obsessed with him anyways. However, this whole time, he'd done it for me? Because of one silly little comment I'd made?
"Wow, I'm not used to people actually remembering the things I say. Although, it's not like I'm important enough," I whispered the last part to myself, which unfortunately did not go unnoticed by Elias.
"You can't be serious," he looked oddly disappointed.
"About what?"
Elias placed a plate on the drying rack and faced me with a stern look on his face. "Daisy, you and I may not get along sometimesâ"
"Understatement of the centuryâ"
He paused to glare at me. "As I was saying, you and I may not get along sometimes, but I'm not gonna stand here and let you talk crap about yourself. I'm not sure who or what gave you the impression that you're not interesting enough, but it saddens me to know you don't even realize how incredible you are. You could blink and captivate the attention of the entire world."
My heart skipped a beat at his words. Was he being serious? I waited for him to reveal his renowned smirkâtell me he was just pulling my leg. However, his brows were furrowed, his lips were straight, his jaw was tense, and his dark eyes deeply analyzed me. Perhaps he was serious after all.
It felt quite nice to know that someone actually cared enough to remember such minuscule things I said. After all, I was used to being overlookedâat home, at school, and even at work. Before I knew it, a huge smile began to make its way onto my face. A real full-fledged, eye-crinkling, cheek-aching smile.
"Stop smiling at me like that, it's disturbing," Elias rolled his eyes.
I giggled at his dramatics before launching forward and engulfing him in a big hug.
He immediately tensed up. "What are youâ"
"Thank you, Ellie," I interrupted, head pressed against his chest.
I felt his muscles slightly relax, as he slowly returned the hug and wrapped his big arms around my waist. He felt like a warm blanket draped across my body, heating me up and provided me safety.
"I hope you know this doesn't mean we're friends," he clarified. And we're back.
"Of course not," I cleared my throat, pulling away from him. I immediately felt cold. "Boys have cooties, remember?"
Elias chuckled. "Real mature, D."
I grinned back as we locked gazes.
With that, the pair of us finished washing up the dishes, lazily chattering about random things. Just as I was drying off my hands, the door to the dining room was pushed open.
"Elias, dear, did you make dinner?" a voice softly croaked.
I looked up. It was a short, wobbly woman, who was holding a cane to help steady herself. She was wearing a scarf on her head, while wrapped in a furry robe. Despite the woman's slouched figure and prominent eye bags, she appeared quite youthful and pretty, with smooth skin and a radiant smile. The resemblance between Elias and her was uncanny, and I became certain that she was his mother. Elias' next words confirmed my assumption.
"Mom, I told you not to get out of bed," he sounded frightened as he quickly strode over to her side.
"Relax, dear, I'm fine," she gently swatted him away. "I just smelt dinner, so I came downstairs. What'd you make, darling?"
"Alfredo spaghetti," he weakly replied. "I was gonna bring it up to you..."
"Nonsense. I'm only sick, not paralyzed," she coughed into her sleeve. She slowly entered deeper into the kitchen, though stopped when she saw me. "And who's this?"
"Good evening, ma'am, I'm Daisy," I quickly outstretched my hand. For some reason, the thought of meeting Elias' mother unnerved me.
"This is the famous Daisy who I've heard so much about?" she beamed in excitement, glancing back at Elias. "She's even prettier than you described!"
My eyes widened in shock, and a pink tint appeared on Elias' cheeks.
"No need for the formalities dear," she discarded my outstretched hand and rather engulfed me in a hug. "You can call me Pamela, although mother-in-law works too."
Elias loudly cleared his throat. "Alright, that'll be enough. Daisy, why don't you go join the twins?"
It sounded like less of a question and more of a demand. Not wanting to intrude, I gave Pamela a warm smile before scurrying out of the kitchen and leaving the mother and son to their lonesome.
*****
QOTD: candy or chocolate?
AOTD: chocolate
I think this was my longest chapter yet! Hope you guys enjoyed.
Love, Emmanuela
02/19/2023