Faking Us ✔️

twenty five

Her beautiful face lights up. "Luca... I will die."

"Please don't die on me."

She pulls her bottom lip in her mouth, and I start daydreaming about what it felt like against mine. "I won't."

A loose strand of her thick mahogany hair fell right in front of her eye, making me slowly reach to tuck it behind her left ear. She stares into my eyes almost searching for something and suddenly I'm leaning in to give her all the answers.

As soon as our lips almost meet my grandma knocks softly on my bedroom door.

"Luca, dear? Supper is done."

My eyes never left Cassie's.
"Will you stay to eat?"

"Of course."

She sat across from me at the table. When Grandma enters the room, she hands us our sweet tea. "Can't forget about the drinks."
Cassie smiled before taking a small sip.

"This is Luca's favorite," My grandma mentioned at the Spaghetti. "He would eat it every day if I let him."

It's true. She makes homemade stuffed meatballs with mozzarella. My mouth waters just looking at it on the plate in front of me.
"I'd have to agree with him," Cassie mumbles with food in her mouth. She holds up her hand to cover her lips to speak. "It's my favorite too."

I smiled at her from across the table. She grins at me and takes another bite. We sit in silence eating before someone starts beating on the door. Grandma's fork grabs my attention when she suddenly drops it on her plate. She swallows hard before I stand up abruptly and walk toward the door.

It's after eight. No one should be here this late. No one ever comes here anyways...

The baseball bat behind the door was a few inches away when I slowly cracked it open. Marcus's dark brown eyes looked back at mine before noticing me reaching for the bat. They instantly widened.

"Woah, what the hell?"

I pulled the door open and sat it back up against the wall. "Sorry."

He stepped inside and shook off his jacket. "It's freezing out there."

"What are you doing here?" I asked as I sat back down at the table. Grandma and Cassie both looked at me confused.

He stands by us at the table. "Just left Phillip Drewer's house. Party was lame. It's okay that I'm here?"

Grandma perked up and offered him some spaghetti. "Of course, dear. I didn't think I'd see you again, though."

Her bluntness had Cassie laugh.

Marcus chuckles along with him.

"Me either."

Him being back at my house after all these years was extremely awkward. It felt out of place. Something was missing. Someone was missing and it was Anderson.

"So, how have you been, honey?"

I glance up at Cassie who drinks the rest of her tea. You can tell it was awkward for her also.
"Really good," he says. "I got a football scholarship to Berkeley."