"Lauren, have you ever been in love?" I randomly ask, leaning against the counter, it was a quiet day, we've passed the rush hour, just waiting for the clock to strike 7, so can finally go home.

She furrows her brows at me, "Melody, I'm married." Oh yeah...

I shrug, "that's doesn't really mean anything, people get married all the time, sometimes it's not even because of love,"

She shakes her head and smiles at me, "yeah I get you. But for my husband and I, as you know, are still very much in love," yeah I know, I had watched her fall for this guy since high school, they've been together for a while and even got married really early.

I met Lauren when I was a sophomore and she was a senior, we've been close since, even though she left to go college, but she was the one person that came back and stayed.

She tilts her head at me, "Is this about that James guy?" Oh no

I shake my head, "no...I mean I was curious, what does it exactly feel like, you know, love,"

She gives me sad smile, probably thinking about my loveless life, "it can be scary, your head is constantly filled with this person, you're always thinking about them and trying to be better, for them. Everything somehow revolves around that person,"

I grimace, "that sounds awful, where's the cheat code to remove this feeling?"

She laughs, "weirdly sometimes it just all happens unconsciously, you might not even realise your actions until someone points them out. But there are so many different types of love, it's not always romantic,"

I nod and dreamily day, "yeah, like my love for desserts,"

Lauren smiles and shakes her head at me, just as the bell on the door jingles, causing me to instantly turn around and gasp in shock, once my eyes fall on the person standing at the door.

"Hey Kid, you okay?" I hear Lauren ask,

It was the boy from before, but his face looked worse, there are fresh and new wounds on his face, I quickly walk around the counter, heading towards the boy.

I stopped a few steps away from him, "Is it okay if I approach you?" He looks up at me with teary eyes, his eyes darting behind me before nodding.

I step towards him, putting my hand on his shoulder, "come on, let's get you cleaned up," I lead him towards the corner sitting area, once his seated "I'll be right back," I say, heading to the back to grab the first aid kit.

I quickly make my way back to the hurt boy and take a seat beside him, I notice him nervously fiddling with his hands as his eyes dart downwards.

"I'm gonna start cleaning the wounds on your face," I say, taking out the wipes and bringing it up to his bloody cheeks.

After a while of silence, the kid speaks up, "are you not going to ask?"

At the same time Lauren drops a plate of cookies and hot chocolate, glancing down at me with a pitiful look in her eyes, she nods at me and walks back to the front.

Giving him a small smile, I pass some wipes to him, "I'm not going to push, you can tell me if you want or if you don't, but I would like to ask one thing," I wait for his confirmation before continuing, "are you safe at home?"

I notice the slight pause in his body language before he shrugs, "it's okay," I wasn't exactly happy with the answer, but I wasn't also sure on what to do. The kid obviously needs help, but I didn't wanna do something without making sure first.

I notice his stare at the cookies and decide to push it closer to him, hoping he'd understand that it's for him.

After a few minutes we fall into a safe conversation, introducing ourselves, he told me his name is Peter and he's 17.

Our conversation comes to an end, when I notice him glance at the clock, "I should get going, it's getting late,"

I nod, standing up, "would you like me to drop you off home?"

He shakes his head, walking with me towards the door, "it's ok, I brought my bike,"

"If you're sure," I frown, watching him walk outside, he turns around to wave at me, which I return with a warm smile.

.

.

"I'm home!" I announce, walking through the door and towards the living room, only to find it empty, weird.

Dumping my coat and bag on the couch, I make my way towards the kitchen.

"You're late," Cayden states, leaning against the kitchen counter, eyes scanning me until they pause, his eyes narrow and they stare back up at me. Huh?

"What happened?" He asks, walking towards me with an unreadable expression on his face, he stops a few steps away from him.

I shrug, "just a normal-" I was abruptly cut off when Cayden grabs my wrist, holding it closer towards him, "What-what are you doing?"

Cayden stares down at my wrist, then holding it up for me to see, "blood," he points out, I look down at the rolled-up sleeve, notice traces of dried up blood on my wrist. Clearly missed a spot.

"Oh, it's not mine, just a little incident at work," I try pulling my wrist out of Cayden's grasp, once his done narrowing his eyes at me, he let's go.

"Next time, call," he says sharply, walking to the table and that's when I notice food and plates set out.

"No way," I gasp, walking towards the table, "Cayden, did you cook?!" I walk about to uncover the food when Cayden lightly slaps my wrist.

"Go wash your hands properly," he picks the food up, probably to reheat it, while I stood there frowning and holding my wrist.

I decide to do as he says, making sure to wash my hands properly this time, while Cayden warms the food up again, "that smells amazing!"

After a few tummy rumbling moments, he sets the food down on the table,

"Is this what I think it is?" I raise a brow at him, waiting for him to uncover the food, "It is! Your so-called famous Pasta dish!" The steam and the mouth-watering scent hit my nose as I stare down at the food. When the guys were here, they kept going on about this pasta dish that Cayden makes and just how amazing it is.

I'm so emotional right now...

"Are you going to cry?" I hear Cayden ask, putting some pasta onto my plate.

I shake my head, "absolutely not," Okay maybe a little... Just the idea of Cayden cooking this for me, makes my heart feel all warm and soft, I'm starting to question if he's actually a gang member or even the leader.

"Well dig right in," Cayden takes a seat in front of me with his plate, he didn't eat yet?

I jump up, "I need to document this!" Quickly running to the other room to grab my phone and running back to the kitchen, I take a picture of the pasta, mentally reminding myself to send this to Nice later.

Cayden shakes his head at me, "just eat, it'll get cold again," I pull my plate towards me, holding my fork and slowly picking the food up and taking a bite.

Heaven

"Wow! That's actually really good!" I gasp, eating my food properly this time, I really thought Nice was exaggerating, but clearly not.

"Melody, stop exaggerating, it's literally just pasta," Cayden deadpans, rolling his eyes at me.

I frown and shrug at him, "well maybe it just tastes nice because you made it," instantly I almost choke, coughing loudly and trying to shake my hands, Cayden doesn't seem fazed, he just pushes my glass of water towards me.

Did I actually say that out loud?!

Hi hello.

I've not been happy with my chapters recently, but you guys don't seem to mind, so I'm glad, thank you! Do let me know if it sucks

Is it me or does the food emojis be looking really good recently 👀👀

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Hope you guys enjoyed! Thank you for reading, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter 💕

Stay safe guys!💕