As I made my way down my block returning from Katie's house, I saw a familiar figure leaning up against my front gate, smirking as he watched me.
"Cook," I said, greeting him as I swerved around him to open my gate.
"Viv," he said in return.
I closed the gate behind me, turning to face him so that the gate was between us.
"How may I help you?" I asked him, smiling pleasantly, trying to keep my face neutral.
"There's a party tonight, usual tossers are coming, and you too," he said.
"When did I say that?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow.
"You wanna go, though, don't you?" he said, calling my bluff.
"Yeah, I guess. As long as Effy isn't going to call me a slut again," I said.
"Good," he said, smiling suddenly. "So, can I come in now?"
I rolled my eyes with a smile, and opened the gate.
"Come in, if you want," I said over my shoulder, as I walked into my house.
I heard him following me, and I went into the kitchen and opened the fridge.
"Want anything?" I asked.
"Nope," he said, and I turned around to see him sitting at my kitchen counter.
"So," I said, awkwardly, trying to break the silence.
"So," he copied me, smiling.
I threw up my hands, and walked up my stairs to my bedroom.
He followed me, again, and I walked in. I took a record off my shelf, and put it on my phonograph. Then, I took off my shirt, and went into my bathroom.
"I'm having a shower," I called behind me.
"Without me?" he called, jokingly.
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I stopped at that, and turned around to face him. I walked up towards him, as he sat on my bed, and caged him in with my hands.
I brought my face close to his, and said, "Shut the fuck up, Cook."
He pulled me into a kiss, and then I pulled away, grabbing his hand and leading him into the bathroom with me.
♕⋆♕⋆♕
I lay on Cook's lap, my wet hair draped over his legs, listening to the song playing. He was messing with my hair, and humming along. I looked up at him, watching the way his close-cropped hair fell over his forehead, and how his blue eyes were squinted in concentration as his fingers combed through my hair.
A thought popped into my head, which I blurted out without thinking.
"You're pretty," I said abruptly.
A smile grew across his face at my words, but he pretended not to hear, and murmured, "What did you say, princess?"
I smiled at the nickname.
"I used to hate that," I said.
"The nickname?" he asked.
"Yeah," I responded. "It reminded me of London, and my dad. But now, it only reminds me of you."
He looked down at me, and grinned at my words. He bowed his head down to plant a kiss on my lips, but before he could, I heard a cry come from somewhere in the hallway.
We both jerked our heads up.
"What was that?" I said, getting up, barely realizing I was only wearing Cook's shirt and underwear.
"No idea," he said, echoing my movements.
I took a second to admire his bare chest, then shook myself out of it and hurried out of my room.
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I realized the sound was coming from Bea's room, and ran in there. Bea was sitting in her crib, crying, my mum passed out on the floor.
"Mum!" I screamed, falling on my knees and shaking her.
"Mum!"
Cook heard my cries, and ran in.
"Fuck, Viv, it's all right, I'll call the cops," he said, rushing out of the room.
I sobbed, nodding, as I heard him dialing 999 in the other room.
The ambulance came and took her away with them. They wouldn't tell me what was wrong with her, and they wouldn't let me go with her, either. I stood outside my house, sobbing, as Cook put an arm around me.
"Hey, Vi, come back in. Come on."
I barely registered as he led me back into the house, up the stairs, and into my bed. I curled up in a ball, and drifted off to sleep.
The first thing I registered the next morning was the bright light filtering in through my windows. Next, I felt a strong arm around my waist, and turned around to see Cook, asleep next to me.
He opened his eyes when he felt me stir, and whispered, "Good morning, love."
I opened my mouth to respond, until I remembered my mum.
"Cook, where's Mum?" I asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
"She's all right, princess," he responded. "After you went to sleep, the hospital called. She has alcohol poisoning, but she's doing ok now."
After hearing that, a great weight felt like it was lifted off me.
"She has to go to rehab," I said. "She can't be like this anymore."
Cook said nothing, just nodded.
"Wait, Bea?" I asked.
"I fed her and put her to bed. She's a cute kid," he said with a smile.
I smiled at him gratefully, and pulled him into a wordless hug.
"Thank you," I said, into the back of his head.
He pulled away, and said with a cheeky grin, "You know you love me, princess."
AN: hey y'all! there are wayyy more people reading this then i ever thought would, so hi ig! i try to post a new chapter every day, but sometimes I take a few day's break over the weekend, so if i haven't updated in a few days, that's why! anyway, i just wanted to say thanks, and to say that voting and commenting really encourage me to continue writing! also, lastly, if you want to follow me here on wattpad so i can talk to you guys, feel free! i'm also going to link my spotify in a comment below, because i made a playlist for cook that you guys can check out, or if you just want to follow me anyways cause all i do is make spotify playlists. that's all, have a great day!!
