Page 20 of Withered

Opening it, I roll my eyes at the person in front of me. He chuckles as if this was the exact reaction he was expecting from me.

“Rose!” Aria shouts and hugs my legs.

I bend down to her level and hug her properly. “Hi, sweetie.”

Jake speaks, “Can you look after her? Mum isn’t home, and I have somewhere to go.” He then adds, “She wanted to come here anyway.”

I stand up and look down at Aria, who is now holding my hand. She also has a stuffed kangaroo in her hand. “Yeah, I can do that.”

Jake lowers down to her eye level and whispers sternly, “Don’t trouble her. Mum wouldn’t like that.”

I watch him carefully, as this is a completely new side of him. A side I did not know existed until now.

Aria nods and runs inside, leaving us both at the door.

Jake takes a step forward, forcing me to look up at him as he towers over me. I suck in a breath when he inches closer, places his palm on my cheek, and runs his thumb over it. He keeps doing it without breaking eye contact, and I can’t bring myself to look away since his eyes are so captivating. Deep green like a forest, and he smells fantastic.

He shows me his thumb, and that’s when I find out I had batter on my cheek. My face starts to heat up in embarrassment. He gets closer again, this time going right past my cheek and stopping at my ear, and I get a feeling of déjà vu.

“Don’t worry, Aria won’t trouble you, because that’s what I will do,” he whispers in a low tone. My usual reaction would have been to push him away, but the way those words skated across my skin brought a shiver down my spine. If I wasn’t looking like a tomato earlier, I am one right now.

He pulls away, and strangely, I miss the warmth. Smirking at me, he turns back and leaves while I watch him go.

Snapping myself out, I return to the kitchen to finish my pancakes as Aria plays with her kangaroo in the living room. The whole time, only one thought lingered in my mind as to what Jake meant. Sure, he irritates me and pushes my buttons, but it felt different. The skin on my cheek where he touched me is still burning. I’ve ghosted my fingers over the spot way too many times now.

“Aria, do you want to eat pancakes?” I shout while plating them.

Her small footsteps alarm me as she enters the kitchen. She comes to stand beside me.

“Yep!” She responds enthusiastically, rubbing her stomach. “I’m hungry.”

I smile as I lift her onto the island, her feet dangling.

Grabbing the plate and the syrup, I ask her, “Want me to put the syrup?”

She dips her pinkie finger in the syrup and tastes it, much to my surprise. I tried not to chuckle as her adorable face screwed up.

“No. I want chocolates,” she coos.

I open the fridge and say, “Aria, sorry, sweetie, but we don’t have any chocolates here.” She pouts just as I finish my sentence.

“But I found you this.” I show her the Nutella jar in my hand, making her smile again.

The clock on the wall reads 7:15 p.m. while we eat. Mom has not returned yet. I grab my phone to call her, but I find a message from her telling me that she will be late.

I look over to find Aria licking the few remains of Nutella from the plate. My laughter spills out, and she gives me a toothy grin. My laughter dies down when I hear the doorbell followed by a knock on the door.

I speed over to the door and open it to see Esme. I smiled, and before I could greet her, she wrapped her arms around me, engulfing me in a tight hug.

“It’s so good to see you, Rose.” She lets me go.

“It’s great to see you too, Esme.” Even though we met just yesterday, it doesn’t feel awkward at all. Opening the door wide, I allow her in. Aria runs into the living room with her toy in her arm just as I close the door.

She runs right into her mom’s arms, and Esme chuckles.

“Thank you for looking after her, Rose.”

“It’s my pleasure, Esme.” I smile, then look at Aria and say, “I love her.”

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