Page 95 of The Lies Always Told

LOVE IS

What A Time,Julia Michaels and Niall Horan;Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis

Nellie

“I didn’t knowyou could cook,” I tell Gus as he serves me a soup-looking dish in a bowl. A stew, maybe? It smells fantastic, and it looks even better. The scent is warm, layered—hints of garlic, meat, and something earthy, like root vegetables, steeped in broth for hours. My stomach tightens with hunger.

“Neither did I.” Gus chuckles, placing another bowl on the table before sitting across from me. His laughter is easy, light, a sound I haven’t heard nearly enough.

I waste no time dipping my spoon in, the steam curling upward in delicate tendrils. My lips part as I bring the spoon to my mouth, only for my entire body to jolt the second the piping-hot liquid scalds my tongue.

“It’s—” he starts just as I dramatically spit most of it back into the bowl, my tongue sticking out as I pant.

“—hot,” he finishes with a smirk, shaking his head. “It’s really hot.” Laughter spills between us, a foreign sound after how rough the past week has been. Gus reaches for a roll of paper towels, dabbing at the table where a few droplets landed.

“Sorry. It smells great.”

“Thanks. It’s my mom’s recipe.” He nudges a small bowl of rice toward me. “Here, take some rice.”

I frown slightly. “In the soup?”

“Sancocho, yes,” he corrects, nodding as he demonstrates. He scoops two spoonfuls of rice into the broth, the grains sinking before puffing up slightly, soaking in the flavors. Then, without hesitation, he sprinkles some hot sauce over it and places a slice of avocado on top.

I hadn’t even noticed the avocado on the table.

“This is the money bite,” he adds, spooning a combination of all the ingredients into his mouth and smiling at me. I copy him, following the same steps and taking a bite. My eyes open wide as I moan at the explosion of flavors: salty, savory, liquid like soup, but with something to chew in between. It’s perfect. I close my eyes as I swallow, and I hear him chuckle.

“Are you sure this is the first time you’ve made this? It’s so good.” He nods quietly with a soft smile.

“I can’t take credit, though. She walked me through every step.”

“Agh, I miss your mom. I need to spend some time with her soon.”

“She’d love that.” I mean it. I do miss her. I’ve seen her around with mine a few times since I moved back, but nothing like years ago, when we would spend days with the Zabanas, especially with her. It seems like a lifetime ago now.

We continue eating in complete silence, and I use the time to take it all in. How grateful I am he’s here, bathing me, taking care of me, cooking for me.Saving me. He’s the last person I expected to be here. He’s been so icy and hot,pushing and pulling, driving me wild for months, but now he realizes he can be here? What changed? Was it the chase? Was it that I pushed him away again? What did I do?Oh, God.

“You’re sick?” I ask, trying to remember what he said earlier.

“Eh, not really? Maybe? Not what you’re probably thinking, though.”

“Oh yeah, what am I thinking?” I ask.

“It’s not some disease that will kill me, at least not now that it’s under control. But eat. We can talk later.”

“No. I want to know. Please. It’ll help me. Let me be selfish.” I know the moment the words come out of my mouth that he’ll tell me.

“My medicine, for the HAE, was making me sick. It messed with my heart, and I was having some complications.”

A chill moves through me. “What kind of complications?”

He’s quiet as I take a sip from the glass of water he placed in front of me, his fingers absently drumming against the table.

“Nothing major,” he says after a beat. “Just fainting, my heart skipping beats.”

I nearly choke. “Nothing major?”

He shrugs, the nonchalance infuriating. “It could be worse.”

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