“Learn,” I said, almost annoyed. “I wasn’t born a cook either.”
“I’m not Ethan, that’s why,” Nathalie said. I swore I would have slapped her face if she wasn’t Ethan’s and my best friend since high school.
I didn’t want to talk to her anymore, but I kept my word. While waiting for the fish to cook, I went to the fridge for more eggs and spinach. I also took out the two remaining marinated fish fillets. Indirectly, she’d just reminded me to cook for myself.
Nathalie didn’t go away to wait somewhere. Instead, she leaned against the counter and watched me cook, attentively, as if she was really trying to learn. “Can I ask you something, Liam?”
“Yeah, sure,” I was done washing the spinach now, moving them into a mixing bowl to cook them later.
She seemed to look around first, like to make sure no one was around to hear us. “How did Ethan kill his grandmother with flowers?”
I closed the tap water. Nathalie was Ethan’s friend since childhood. How could she not know about it but I did? Maybe she forgot? “You don’t know?”
“Nope.” Nathalie shook her head. “He didn’t tell me about this. I think he doesn’t tell me everything.”
I smiled. “Guess so. He’s not much of a sharing type.”
Nathalie shrugged. “Are you telling me or not? Do I have to put a stick into your butt before you speak?”
“Chill, girl,” I said. “Do that to Jerry. I’m not into anal,” I sighed. “He told me not to tell anyone but since it’s already known, and you’re his best, best friend, then I guess it’s okay...” I moved over to flip the fish fillets. “It happened when his grandmother was sick. He told me his grandmother couldn’t even get out of bed. One day, when he passed by a florist, he saw many beautiful flowers. He asked the florist for every one of them. Eth thought the flowers would make his grandmother smile. He thought the flowers would make his grandmother get better. The florists didn’t charge him when he didn’t have the money and gave him the flowers to take home. When he was home, his parents weren’t there. He didn’t know his grandmother was allergic to flowers. When his grandmother couldn’t breathe, Ethan put the flowers right beside the grandmother’s head—the pillow I mean—and shook her. He didn’t know what happened or what to do. It wasn’t his fault. He was too young, too innocent that time, and that…” I didn’t continue. I figured that Nathalie would be smart enough to connect the dots and conclude the story herself.
“I understand now,” Nathalie sighed. “Must be a painful memory. You must mean a lot to Eth if he shared something like that with you.”
“Yeah.” I smiled but only a little. I still remembered how Ethan’s face looked when he shared the story with me a few years ago. He cried so hard.
Nathalie suddenly put her hand on my shoulder. “But does Ethan mean the same to you, Liam?”
“I…” Before I could answer her, Ethan’s voice came from the kitchen’s entrance this time.
“I heard my name,” Ethan said, his hand on the wall for support. “You both gossiping about me?”
“Eth.” I quickly put down whatever I was doing and went to him.
Ethan stopped me. “I can walk. I’m not completely disabled, Liam.” He limped over to the fridge.
“You don’t have to look for food. Your darling here is cooking for you,” Nathalie said.
“Nat!” I shouted. I knew she was just joking, but still. She was being insensitive. “I’m not giving food to you. I’ll give it to Sam.”
“What?” Nathalie rolled her eyes. “What did I do now?”
Ethan was laughing, though. He closed the fridge. “Serves you right.”
“I was on your side, Eth!” Nathalie went over to twist his ear.
I laughed too.
“Ow, ow, ow! You were on Duncan’s side!” Ethan said despite what Nathalie was doing to him.
I was bothered at first at the mention of the idiot’s name until a second later. Nathalie twisted both Ethan’s ears this time. “What did you just say?!”
I laughed again, but I went over to help Ethan. “Okay, okay!” I held Nathalie by her wrists. I put them down. “You’ll hurt him.”
And then Nathalie turned around. Her knee suddenly came up at my cock.
“Ow!” I shouted. “Fuck!”
“I’m not going to care about you both. I’ll go take a shower.” She went out of the kitchen. “Make sure my food is ready if you still want to use that, Liam.”
“So unladylike,” I complained.
Ethan laughed before he moved himself over to the stove. I quickly stopped him and told him to wait in the living room. But he refused. He wanted to stay. So all I made him do was fetching the plates and utensils that I needed. He did them with so much effort. Just when I was about to tell him to not be stubborn and wait in the living room, Nathalie screamed.
“Liam, Ethan!”
Ethan and I quickly stopped whatever we were doing. Before we could get out of the kitchen to see what had happened, Nathalie was already back in the kitchen. She was completely fine. She looked completely like how she had earlier.
“How could you both?!” Nathalie pointed her first finger at us. “How could you both not tell me when my face is in such a mess?!” She screamed once again.
Ethan and I laughed.
Nathalie groaned, stomped her foot on the ground and stormed off. Apparently, she came back just to shout at us. We shook our heads and got back to work. The moment we finished preparing and sat the three plates on the dining table, Nathalie came out from Ethan’s room. She’d probably used his bathroom to shower. Immediately, she sat at the dining table before both of us even sat.
“Why are you two still standing?” Nathalie asked.
“Nothing.” I took Ethan’s arm and hooked it around my neck.
“What are you doing?” Ethan complained. “I can seat myself.”
“I don’t want you to fall,” I said as I moved him to the chair.
“This a bit too much, don’t you think?” Ethan said as he sat.
“No,” I argued and sat on the seat beside him. “I said I’ll take care of you.”
Ethan sighed, both in disapproval and frustration, but I didn’t care. He tried to take up his spoon. The moment he put his forearm—where one of his bruises was—against the table’s edge, he hissed and dropped the spoon. “Fuck,” he cussed.
“Too much my ass,” I said. Why must he be so stubborn? “Let me help you.” I pulled his plate closer to mine. I cut the fish with my spoon, scooped some brown rice with it and held the spoon in front of his mouth.
Ethan leaned away from the spoon a little. He stared at me, hesitating.
I was annoyed now. What was up with him? “Eat,” I said.
At first, he didn’t want to. Like I was some stranger or something. Just when I was about to really get angry, he started leaning forward, without removing his eyes from me. Like to try to think what I was trying to do. That was stupid. What would I try to do? Finally, he opened his mouth.
I put the spoon in his mouth. He took the food and chewed it.
Nathalie groaned. “What the hell?” She was grimacing. “It tastes like nothing but sourness! Did you use salt and pepper, Liam? How can I eat food like this?”
“If you don’t want to eat, I’ll eat,” Ethan said to her. “It’s nice.” He pulled Nathalie’s plate over to him.
“What?” Nathalie pulled her plate back to her. “No way. I’ll eat too.”
“Then shut up and eat, Nat.” Ethan looked at me. At first, I didn’t get it. But when his eyes moved down to look at his food, I knew what he was waiting for. It was a sign of his approval. For me to feed him. I smiled and quickly did that.
This time, I put spinach and brown rice together and fed him. With the same spoon, I ate too.
Ethan had taken a few bites when the front door opened.
“You guys never locked the door last night?!” I snapped. I was unaware that I’d raised my voice at Nathalie. “What if
something bad happens like last time?!”
When I got over to the front door, thankfully, it was just Olivia.
“Hi, Liam! Nat!” She didn’t just greet us. She shouted our names excitedly and threw her arms wide open. I stepped back quickly because I knew it wasn’t me that she wanted to hug. I moved back to Ethan’s side. Olivia sprang and hugged Nathalie. “I did it, I did it!”
“You won?!” Nathalie asked.
“Yes! I’ve made it into the semi-finals!” Olivia said. Nathalie and Olivia squealed together and hugged each other again. What were they talking about?
“You made it, Oli?” Samuel came in from the direction of his room. He looked completely refreshed. Since when had he woken up?
“Yes, yes, Sam!” Olivia was still shouting. “Remember what you promised me last night!”
“I do, Oli, congratulations!” Samuel went over and gave them both a hug. “I’m proud of you. I’ll buy you the racquet. Give me some time to save, okay?”
Olivia giggled. It was awkward. Because it was my first time seeing her do that. “Nah, I’m just joking, Sam. But you must come to my next match next week, okay? It’s on Friday.”
“Huh? I thought you don’t like us to be there,” Nathalie said. “You said we give you stress.”
“This time it’s different!” Olivia was bouncing up and down. “Because this is huge, and I want my friends to be there to support me.”
“Wait, there’s something else?” Nathalie guessed.
“If I’m winning the competition, I’ll make it to the national team!” Olivia squeaked. Nathalie joined her, squeaking again.
“That’s so huge! I feel like your dream is coming true already. I’ll cancel everything just to be there with you,” Nathalie said as she nuzzled Olivia’s nose repeatedly. “I’ll bring you all my luck, Oli. For you, for you, for you.”
I blinked my eyes repeatedly at what Nathalie was doing and looked at Ethan. I leaned forward towards his face—his nose, actually, to be more precise. Ethan leaned away from me again.
“What are you doing, Liam?” he asked.
“I wanna try what they’re doing,” I said. “I’m curious.”
“No.” Ethan put his palm on my nose instead and pushed me away.
Olivia heard us. “Both of you are coming too!” she was talking to us. “Next Friday in the morning. Call Jerry too, if you want, Nat.” She grinned.
“Yes, girl,” Nathalie grinned back.
“We’ll be there,” both Ethan and I said at the same time coincidentally. We looked at each other and chuckled.
“Let’s go out to eat. I wanna reward myself with some good, good food,” Olivia suggested.
“Let’s go,” Samuel agreed. “I’m hungry.”
“Your final year project can wait?” Nathalie asked him.
“An achievement is worth the time sacrifice,” Samuel said. “I’m sure I can catch up. I’m proud of Oli. I’m gonna gift her my time.”
Nathalie grinned. “That’s the spirit. Okay, let’s go.” She put her arms around both of their shoulders and began walking out.
“Hey, Nat!” I called. The food that I made her was barely even eaten.
“You two coming?” Olivia asked.
“No,” Nathalie answered for us. “Liam cooked for Ethan and apparently, he loves it a lot. I’ve had enough. Let them eat. Besides, I don’t think Liam wants Ethan to be out of the house. You know, infections,” she said the word loudly.
She shut the door, hard.
“Bitch,” I complained.
That was when Jerry came out of his room. He gelled his hair and dressed up so smart, like he was going somewhere with someone important. “Hi, guys,” he greeted. “I’m going out with Nathalie.” He saw the food on the table. “Enjoy your breakfast.”
Ethan and I watched him open the front door and walk out. What the fuck? Nathalie was just bitching here not even a minute ago.
“I bet Nat just texted him to go out,” I complained.
Ethan was smiling. “That leaves just the both of us. It’s okay, you know. You can go with them if you want, I’ll be fine at home.”
I snorted. “You won’t be fine, Eth. I know you,” I said confidently. “Let’s eat. Don’t have to care about Nat. I’ll throw hers away later.” I took up the fork and spoon I’d put down earlier.
“Don’t.” His hand grabbed my wrist. It surprised me because I didn’t know what that was for. “I’ll finish her share,” he said. “I don’t wanna waste your effort… If you don’t mind to feed me...”
I smiled. All he was fucking thinking was not wasting my effort? I continued to feed him.
We finished everything on the table. After the food, we sat in the living room doing our assignment while watching TV. He sat on the couch while I sat on the floor in front of him with my laptop on the coffee table. Ethan wasn’t using his of course. I wouldn’t let him. I typed whatever he thought up.
“Sorry, Liam, for making you do this,” Ethan said all of the sudden. “I promise I’ll show up for the presentation next week.”
“Only if you’re well enough, then I’ll allow you to go.” I said.
“I’m not asking for permission.”
“I’m not either,” I said. My phone beside my laptop rang. It was Joanna.
I picked it up. “Hi, babe.”
“Hi, babe,” she greeted back. “You want dinner? I’ve got some time to spare tonight. Shall we go to Nando’s?”
“Nah, babe. We’re going to work on our assignment. Just a few days left before it’s due. Wanna finalize everything soon.”
Joanna sighed in disappointment. “Okay…”
“Come on, babe. I promise I’ll make it back to you, okay?”
“Okay, babe. I gotta go now. My lecturer is here.” She hung up.
I sighed.
“You sure you don’t want to go with her?” Ethan asked. He must have guessed what Joanna and I were talking about. “I can’t keep you with me all the time. Besides, I’m really fine, Liam. Nothing would happen to me if you’re gone for an hour or two.”
Ethan understood me best. To be honest, I wanted to be with Joanna too. “You sure?”
“Yup,” Ethan said and nodded. “Very sure. I’ll just stay in bed and read books. I’ll be a good boy.” He grinned.
I snorted. Knowing him, he wouldn’t just read books. “Fine. I’ll give you some time to wank.”
I was right. Because he responded so fast, pushing my head. And he didn’t even try to deny it.
When it was almost dinner time, I made another meal for Ethan. I wasn’t going to let him jerk off later with an empty stomach. Besides, it was also time for him to take his medicine. I made sure Ethan did that before I left the house. I met up with Joanna at the pool before we went to her car. She drove us to the mall nearby.
“So what did you do there, Liam?” Joanna asked when we were eating at Nando’s.
“Nothing much,” I answered, chewing my chicken. I swallowed before I continued to answer her. “Just assignments, cooking for him and making sure he’s taking the meds on time. You know Ethan is pretty forgetful at times. Look at Nat’s birthday.” I laughed a little thinking about it.
Joanna’s face went cold almost immediately.
“What’s wrong, babe?”
“You’ve never cooked for me before,” she said.
I smiled. Was that jealousy I sensed? “I would too if you’re not well, babe.” I reached my hand across the table and pinched her baby face gently, shaking it.
“But I was sick so many times. You’ve never cooked for me. You’ve only brought me food,” she complained.
“Aw, babe.” She must have forgotten I’d cooked for her before. A long time ago. It was around the time when I first met her. I’d thought that would impress her. “Remember you said the food I cook is tasteless? You won’t want to eat it.” I almost mentioned even Nathalie didn’t want to eat at all after a bite but figured that it would not be wise to mention that.
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br /> “Then why is Ethan eating them?” Joanna asked.
“Because…” I couldn’t answer. I wanted to answer ‘Because Ethan cooked like that too, and the taste of the food we both cooked were always pretty similar.’ Ethan was used to it; less salt, no sauce. But I knew—Joanna must have known too—that, that wasn’t the only reason. Ethan ate them because I made them. I also didn’t want to simply give her a reason like Ethan knew eating food with less salt and no sauce was healthy. That would indirectly mean that Joanna wasn’t eating healthily.
“I’m just joking, babe.” Joanna smiled. “I’m sure you’re just too lazy to go out and cooked whatever for Ethan, right?”
“Yeah,” I agreed at once even though I didn’t like the sound of it. I didn’t just cook whatever for Ethan. “Just to keep his tummy full for his medications.”
Joanna shrugged and continued eating.
“So anyway, how are your friends?” I asked. “What kind of trouble did they get into?”
She dropped her fork. “Oops, careless me.” She raised her arm for the waiter. “Fork please,” she requested.
Being a gentleman, I passed her my fork. Her frown was completely gone. She smiled widely and pinched my face like how I did to her before she started eating again.
I was still waiting for her answer.
“Nothing much,” Joanna answered when she noticed I was still waiting. “It’s just some issues with their assignment. They got rejected and have to redo almost everything in just five hours. Trust me, babe. Our lecturer is a bastard.”
“Redo in five hours? What kind of lecturer is that?” I was glad that my faculty didn’t have a lecturer as unthoughtful as hers. Else, Ethan wouldn’t be able to get his proper rest. “Yup. He’s a bastard.”
After dinner, Joanna did some shopping for clothes. She told me she would be attending one of her high school best friends’ convocation held in a five-star hotel this Sunday night. She said she wanted to look her best so that her friends wouldn’t be disappointed. She also said she would have wanted to bring me along to meet her friends if I hadn’t had to take care of Ethan. As usual, every time when she shopped for new clothes, she would pick at least five different outfits before entering the fitting room. I had to wait outside until she was done trying them on.
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