🐞MTOABB🐞

Approximately fifteen minutes had passed before Gomes finally graced us with his presence downstairs. His blond hair was still damp, which could only mean he took a very long shower.

"I would have assumed Zack would have had dinner on the table already," Gomes says, leaning against the wall adjacent to the stairs.

I wonder how rich their parents were to have had such a beautiful cottage built for them. Upstairs is where the two bedrooms could be found with both of them having an ensuite. The kitchen and living room were downstairs - open plan so if I wanted to take a sneak peak at him while he cooked, I could and if maybe he was curious to know what show I had on the television screen, he would just look up and it would be in his view. There were no hiding rooms downstairs.

"You know you're the chef and I'm the eater," Zack tells him.

This was bizarre to me - why are they talking?

Why are they not sending each other death stares?

They are not you, Rossita - When has my brain ever passed an opportunity to remind me that I'm always the one at fault.

"That's why you never wanted to leave my house," Gomes says. He looked so at ease, as if finally he had his best friend back. They playfully argued for a bit, both going back and forth with what we should have for dinner. I was curious to know what had transpired between them when the girls and I were outside in the pool, that they're back to normal. But how do I know their normal? The only normal I was aware of was they never spoke to one another, but that they had history.

"Are you going to be the one to cook the lasagna?" Gomes asked him, which had Zack pouting in response. He wasn't going to have his wish because then we would all be here till dawn with empty stomachs crying for food.

There were barely any groceries in the cupboards so when the two boys disappeared from the living room and returned with grilled cheese sandwiches, no one complained. The formality of sitting around the table was thrown out the window and we all sat in front of the screen with our plate of grilled cheese sandwiches. Everyone had five each, but I already knew Chloe wasn't going to finish all of them so I told her to give me one of hers.

I was the first to take a bite while the others waited for Cassandra to return. My stomach was inpatient and me as its loyal slave needed to give it what it wanted.

She returned with a bottle of vermouth and paper cups. I let her pour the content in my cup before putting it to my lip.

"When did you start drinking?' Zack asks curiously and everybody's eyes turn to stare at me.

"When Gomes and I got together?" I say, because wasn't that the truth?

Gomes stares at me both confused and surprised. "You hadn't drank before that?" He asks honestly. I shake my head in response. He remains quiet after and I wonder if there was something wrong with what I had just said. I believed he knew, like most of the stuff he already knew about me.

Chloe was the last to finish her sandwich and then the deck of cards came out. I wasn't too good at it or maybe Zack was just a good player.

"You have a five," I tell Zack.

He looks up from his stack of cards and smirks. "Go fish," he says and I scream in agony. They all laugh and I'm about ready to quit.

"Don't be a sore loser, Rose."

I hadn't heard that in a while and it brought me to a place so familiar that it was scary. Prinse saw the change in my demeanor and if it bothered him, he didn't show it. We played a few more rounds and then his phone suddenly rang.

He looks at his phone and stares at me before picking up. "I'll be right back." I nod and he leaves the room, walking out the front door.

Ten minutes had already passed by now and he hadn't returned. We had all lost interest in playing cards and Chloe and Juliet were upstairs catching up. She was probably telling her about Brody.

"So you and Juliet?" Cass asks.

"I guess so."

I wasn't interested in their little conversation so I stood up from the couch and followed Gomes outside. He was gazing at the stars with a cigarette in between his index and middle finger. I stayed at a distance, watching him take a drag from the cigarette, hold it in for just a second and then releasing it out into the air, almost getting lost in the smoke. He dropped the cigarette bud on the floor and trampled on it with his foot.

He pulls out the packet and takes out another. "Are you going to stand there the whole night staring at me." He caught me off guard a little, but I adjusted well in time as I moved away from the wall. He lit the cigarette as he kept my stare. He smoked for a few seconds and I just stood there, watching him. He then blew on the glowing tip of the cigarette before throwing it down on the floor to join the now neglected and dirty cigarette bud.

"What's wrong, Gomes?" I stop next to him, placing my hand in his.

'A lot of things are wrong, Rossita." I stare at him with worry in my eye as I give his hand a squeeze. "You can talk to me." He nods, bringing my hand to his mouth. He kisses it then follows to kiss my forehead.

"It was Holly on the phone," he says suddenly. I'm not sure I expected him to tell me anything really, but I held onto the hope that he would.

"Okay," I whisper because with his current mood, I'm not sure me being jealous would make things any better.

"I need to leave for Miami on Monday morning." He was concentrating, trying to keep his emotions at bay. I looked down at our hands intertwined and him gently rubbing my dorsum with his fingertips.

"How Come? Is something wrong?" I ask curiously.

"My baby girl's in the hospital and..." He trails off as his voice begins to break.

"Gomes, I am so sorry."

"I'm afraid, Rossita." He looks at me with glossy blue eyes, and I could swear he was tearing up.

"It's going to be okay," I try to assure him.

He turns to look at me. "She'll be fine-." He cuts me off, "I want you to come with me."

I don't know why I didn't agree straight away, but my lack of response had an effect on him.

"Fuck, I need another cigarrete," he whispers, letting go of my hand.

"I would love to come." He stops fiddling with his packet and stares at me. "Really?" He asks and I nod with a small smile.

He smiles back before grabbing my waist and pulling me in. He drops a kiss on my lips and then pulls me in for a hug. "I got you so I'll be fine," he whispers in my ear.