Roommates with Benefits [18+ only]

33. The love of a mother

When my phone started ringing, I immediately located it on my desk. Normally, it would take me just a couple of steps, but as weak and dizzy as I was, it felt like I would need to swim across the whole Mystic River without knowing how to swim.

Nevertheless, I ought to eventually check my phone before Kelly decided my roommate has stabbed me to death, cut me to pieces and thrown me into the above-mentioned river.

My sister went from our old town with little to no crimes in Pennsylvania, to Newark in New Jersey, a city with a notorious criminal circle, and even though every year I show her statistics that make it clear that, in comparison, Boston is a lot safer than Newark, Kelly still thinks I could get mugged at every corner.

If you consider she also pushes me into meeting strangers and to get out more often, you get an idea of how much of a contrary woman my sister can be.

Then again, so am I and so is our mother, so I guess the only thing that runs in the Baker family more than fervent Catholicism, is hypocrisy. Funnily enough, the two are not related in this case.

I did my best to sit up on bed, even though my phone had already stopped ringing, and I took a deep breath before trying to stand up. I hurt my shoulder, not my legs, it shouldn't be hard, right? Wrong. The moment I stood up, everything around me started spinning at a mad force and I saw little dots all around my head, my vision blurring.

"Where the hell are you going?" Lukas pulled me into his arms before I could fall. For the umpteenth time, shall I add.

"The phone." I pointed in the direction of my desk.

"Really." He scoffed. "You manage to live without your smartphone for a week, yet now it's a matter of life or death?"

I arched an eyebrow at him. "Say, who peed in your coffee?"

He didn't answer but he did send me a dirty look, then proceeded to pretty much drag me back to bed, making me sit on it. "I left for 10 minutes, and I already find you disobeying." Lukas scolded me, looking dead serious.

"Disobeying?" I repeated, frowning. "Who are you to give me orders?"

"You know what I mean." He sighed, raking a hand over his face, lack of sleep beginning to show more on his fatigued features. "I told you to relax, get some sleep, but of course, why would you listen?" He chastised. "The pill you took earlier, it's a strong pain medication, you need to eat. You could lie the fuck down until I finish preparing dinner, but no, that's impossible, right?" He ranted as he walked to my desk to grab the phone. "Here, call Sean, that's probably the most important thing to do while you can't even stand straight, right?"

"Ok, first of all, tone it down." I arched an eyebrow at him. "I appreciate the help and I can't thank you enough, but I don't have to obey you."

"You could listen every once in a while." Lukas scoffed. "Maybe consider the possibility that someone could truly only have your best interest at heart."

"I know you want to help, but -"

"Tara, you don't see yourself." Lukas repeated, this time sounding more concerned than angry as he raked a hand over his face again. "You're pale, earlier you were trembling in my arms. I ..." he sighed heavily, ruffling his semi-short hair, "I'm just worried, ok? Is that against the law?"

The hurt in his blue-sky eyes was clear, so much that I couldn't hold his gaze, so I lowered mine, feeling ashamed yet glad at the same time. The way he worried about me, the way he broke his badass and smug character to show how much he cares, I ... my heart was swelling. "I'm sorry." I mumbled. "I ... I just hate depending on other people."