Chapter 14

Soon Aunt Eva came home along with Rhys. Rhys was excited to meet V and Wyatt. Wyatt soon lifted him and started throwing him up in the air and then catching him in his arm which made Rhys squeal out of pure joy. It made us who were watching them smile out of enjoyment.

“Where are the other two?” asked Aunt Eva looking at V.

“Nao just messaged that they will be coming over soon,” replied V.

“OK. I will get started with the preparations for dinner.” Aunt Eva said and vanished into the kitchen. Soon the doorbell rang again indicating the arrival of Liz and Nao. V went to open the door and I headed towards the kitchen to ask Aunt Eva if she needed any help but soon I was shooed out of the kitchen “No sweetie, I don’t need help. Will let you know if I require any help. Now go and enjoy with your friends.” said Aunt Eva.

I headed towards V’s room to find all three girls already there. Liz was already munching down the snacks but was looking distressed.

“What’s wrong Liz?” I asked.

“I had a conversation with dad. He was really upset,” replied Liz.

“Everything ok?” I asked and Nao scooted closer to Liz and put her arm over Liz’s shoulder to comfort her. V, who was busy going over the list of movies to decide what to watch also dropped the remote and turned her undivided attention towards Liz. Liz, who had tears brimming in her eyes started expressing while looking down at her hands, the snacks were now pushed aside “No. Nothing is OK. Dad was saying Aria’s grandparents were at the police station ever since Aria did not return from grocery shopping. Her parents have also come back to the town after getting the news and were begging dad to find their daughter and bring her alive and dad is feeling helpless especially after seeing the sad faces of her grandparents. He is very frustrated. I couldn't do anything to help him or calm him down. He said he is unable to sleep and whenever he does try to sleep, Aria’s grandparents' sad face haunts him.” Saying this she started crying. Nao hugged her and started whispering sweet nothings into her ears to calm her down. Something which she does to Liz whenever Liz is upset which calms her down most of the time.

“They will find her. Don’t worry. Stay strong for your dad. He will find her.” comforted V

“I hope they do,” said Liz wiping away her tear.

“Let's not make this even sadder, let's watch some comedy movie,” said Liz.

“Hell yeah. You pick.” Saying this V relinquished the remote to Liz for her to pick a movie and soon we were watching movies together until dinner time. Soon we heard Aunt Eva call us for dinner. We all headed towards the dining table for our dinner. Rhys was already at the table with Wyatt who was grinning at each other. Aunt Eva brought the dishes to the table.

“Let us chomp chomp,” said Wyatt in a low growl which made Rhys laugh and all of us girls giggle. Uncle Stephan also joined us at the table. We ate dinner and watched Rhys and Wyatt eat like crazy babies. Wyatt threw furtive glances my way in between which I found a little odd. “You want something else to eat kitten? You barely ate anything.” Wyatt said pointing at my plate.

“You did not like the food?” Aunt Eva asked with an offended face.

“Oh no. It is delicious. I was just thinking something. I will finish it up don't worry.” I replied with a smile to Aunt Eva.

“She is not a kid anymore so why do you call her kitten?” asked V

“She is still a kitten to me,” said Wyatt.

“She will always be our little kitten no matter what age.” defended Uncle Stephan.

“I know. She is still so cute,” said Aunt Eva which made me blush.

“You guys never call me anything like that.” protested V.

“Be thankful we call you V.” said Wyatt mockingly.

“I don't want any arguments today.” warned Aunt Eva and there was complete silence for some time until V declared “I am done. Heading towards my room. Good Night!”

“Rhys is sleeping with me,” Wyatt said. “We boys are going to have a blast. Ain’t we Rhys?” asked Wyatt.

“Yes, partner,” Rhys replied and chuckled maniacally.

Soon, Liz, Nao, and I finished the dinner and made our way to the bedroom. We did our homework together and Nao helped us with most of the answers and then got cleaned up and changed for the bed.

“I want milk but I am feeling too lazy to go and get some,” said Nao.

“Don’t look at me. I am feeling too lazy to even move a finger" said V.

And Liz was busy with her phone. “I will get you some milk,” I said and made my way towards the kitchen. It was dark outside the room. Looks like everyone went to sleep. I did not want to wake anyone up so made my way towards the kitchen with the flashlight from my phone and then flicked on the kitchen light. I opened the refrigerator and pulled out the milk carton. I took out two glasses, one for me and one for Nao, and was about to pour the milk into the glass when “Hey Kitten. Came out craving for milk?” said Wyatt which practically made me spill the milk.

“You scared me,” I whisper yelled turning towards the source of the voice. ‘Oh, he is so damn handsome!’ I thought looking at him.

“Oh, I didn't mean to scare you kitten. I am so sorry,” he said with a smile.

“Apology accepted. Are you here for the milk too?” I asked.

“Nah. I am here for some candies for Rhys,” he said flashing his million-dollar smile which makes my heart flutter every time I see it.

“Candies at night?” I asked.

“Yeah, I lost a match for which I promised him candies. So..” he trailed off.

“OK,” I replied.

“So Kitten, tell me who is this good-looking new guy from your school V was talking about?” asked V.

“Who? Shawn? He just moved to town. He is Balfer’s cousin and is my partner. He is a good guy.” I replied looking away from him.

“I see,” he said.

“Why do you ask?” I questioned.

“Just curious. I know that you always had a crush on me,” he said which made me choke on my saliva and widen my eyes in disbelief. “What? How?” I asked. He laughed and replied “It's quite evident you know. But I always thought of you as my little kitten. I thought its just a childhood innocent infatuation. And then I met my girlfriend and fell in love with her. But honestly, I don't know why I felt a little jealous when V talked about this new guy.” admitted Wyatt which made me stay frozen at my place and look at him blankly. So he knew? Still, he pretended to not know all along? He smiled and continued “It is not like I am in love with you or something, but I do feel protective about you. If you need to talk to me about anything or need my help, know that I am always here. And if this guy breaks your heart or hurts you in any way then I will make sure to break his bones” warned Wyatt. I nodded and turned around to pour the milk into the glass hurriedly and make my way out of the kitchen to avoid any further communication with him. He said he doesn’t love me. He is just protective of me. Why call me kitten then? Why so protective? My head was filled with these thoughts when I entered the room and made my way towards Nao and handed her the glass of milk. I took a seat next to her on the bed and started sipping my glass of milk. V looked like she would pass out any second. Liz was on the phone talking to someone near the window and she looked like she was about to cry. Soon she ended the call and turned towards us. She sure was about to cry. But why?