Song: "It's getting hot in here." - by Nelly.
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Mikayla was worried. She didn't know Cameron very well, but she knew something was wrong. He'd been asleep for five hours. It couldn't mean something good.
"Should we worry?" she asked Daxton quietly. He sat somewhere in front of her. She assumed alongside his brother. Mikayla sat in her own seat furthest in the corner. With Cameron returning, Mikayla felt out of place. The harmony she'd previously established with Daxton felt disturbed now.
"I've called his doctor. He says its normal."
"Is it, really?"
Daxton sighed. "He says Cameron is just overwhelmed emotionally. They said we can expect him to be depressed." Mikayla heard shuffling. "Cameron depressed is..." he trailed off. "I don't want to relive that."
"It's happened before?"
He hummed. "When he was twelve. Things got really bad at home. It pushed him over the edge. He started doing things to himself." Mikayla heard his words cut off. She couldn't be sure, but he sounded choked up. She didn't need him to elaborate. She could figure it out. It made her sick.
"I had no idea." she whispered.
"No one does. They see him for what he is now, and they think he's perfect. They forget he's human. We've all got a past, some of us escape it without even a bruise. Others..." he paused. "We make it through with barely a breath. I've worked so hard to make things better for us. I've been lucky and we've managed to keep our past hidden."
"Why are you telling me?" she asked softly. She couldn't understand why he felt compelled to share a deep, family secret with a stranger. Their whole plan was ludicrous and yet, they'd all accept it with naïve smiles.
"You're different."
She snorted. "Yes, because I'm blind."
"No," he said sternly. "Because you've got empathy. You're understanding without judgement. The world needs more people like you." She heard him move and then, his voice sounded softer. "We need someone like you."
Mikayla's throat felt stiff. She swallowed desperately but the lump wouldn't leave. "I don't want to disappoint you." She'd said it so softly, she wasn't sure he'd heard her.
He had. She heard louder shuffling and then, something touched her chin. She jumped in her seat. "Why on earth would you think that?" Daxton asked quietly. She relaxed once she knew it was him who stood in front of her. She wasn't sure how to answer him without coming across as pathetic.
"It's what I do."
He scoffed and pulled her to her feet. "Who says that?" She shrugged. "Well they're idiots. You could never disappoint me, alright." She felt him grab her chin and lift it up. Before her, she could see only a heavy shadow. When she was little, she used to fear the shadows of people. She wasn't able to see them all the time and most often, they were heavy blurs more than anything else. Regardless, they frightened her. People frightened her. Her family, both adoptive and Annabelle, were the only people who didn't scare her.
Looking at Daxton, she knew things had changed.
"You don't scare me," she said suddenly. She wasn't sure why she'd said it out loud.
"Huh?"
She shook her head. "It's nothing." He hummed and dropped her arms to move away, back to his brother. While he continued to stare and fret, her mind continued to spin. She wasn't sure when things had changed and when she'd started feeling so safe. Somewhere between their greenhouse visits, his thoughtfulness, and their kisses, he'd found a way to become something special to her.
"Maybe I should cook some dinner for when he wakes up?" she suggested into the silence. She needed something to do. She needed to feel useful.
"That will be nice. Are you alright with it or do you need help?"
She should say no. "I'd love the help." She shouldn't be so selfish. Then again, maybe she owed it to herself to take what she wanted for once.
"Let's do it."
~~***~~
Cooking with Mikayla was a domestic activity Daxton never thought he'd reenact. What no one knew was how much he'd always craved a scene so similar. It really was the simple things in life that Daxton wished for. He hated watching his brother do comedy scenes in sitcoms. They portrayed the family unit so perfectly and so harmonious. It always burned him to watch with hopefulness for the day he'd get to have even a sliver of that life. Cooking with Mikayla came close.
"I have no way of knowing if I'm doing this right," he said with a chuckle. He continued to stir the pot.
Beside him, Mikayla laughed. She held a wooden spoon in her hand. "And I have no way of knowing if you are either."
"What a pair we are," he joked with a nudge to her side with his hip. She giggled along with him.
"I think so long as it doesn't burn, we'll be alright."
When the ingredients were all combined, Daxton stopped stirring. "So, what's next chef?"
Mikayla shuffled along the counter to where his iPad sat. He watched her tap it and then an automated voice spoke up. She listened again to the recipe. Daxton listened too. "Okay so we've added the stock. Now we have to let it simmer." He watched her tap her index finger against her chin. "What do you suppose simmering will look like."
"I don't know. Should I look it up?" Mikayla nodded and Daxton dug for his phone in his sweatpants pocket. When the search came up, he laughed. "It's like a gentle boil." He turned towards the pot. The golden-brown liquid had bubbles popping through. "I think it's already there."
"It smells good." He nodded in agreement. He saw Mikayla shuffle back along the counter until she was right beside him. Suddenly, he could no longer concentrate on the food. All he could do was look at her. He wished she could be his. Something about her, about her presence felt right.
"Well what do we have here?" Daxton jumped and shot around quickly. He saw Cameron and stepped away from Mikayla.
"We were cooking dinner." Cameron's squinted eyes felt accusatory but Daxton was innocent. He hadn't done anything wrong. Mikayla was his girlfriend in name only. It wasn't like Cameron knew he had a crush on her anyway. He'd been very discrete.
"It smells good," he said softly. "What are we having?"
"Chicken soup. I thought it might be a nice, homey meal for your first day back." Mikayla spoke hesitantly. She wasn't comfortable around Cameron yet. The knowledge made Daxton's spine straighten. He shouldn't be happy, but he was. It wasn't often a woman preferred him over his movie star brother.
Cameron smiled. "Thanks Mikayla. That's very thoughtful."
"Wait a minute." Daxton frowned and stepped closer to his brother. Without explanation, he put his palm against his forehead. "Are you feeling alright?"
Cameron smirked. "Why? Because I've developed manners."
"Yes," Daxton said with a huff. They could always read each other so well.
"Oh relax." Cameron said with a soft wave. "I didn't ignore everything you taught me. I'm just selective."
Daxton eyed him up. "And Mikayla is different?" He didn't buy it.
Cameron folded his arms and stared up at his brother. "She is. I'm sure you agree." His eyes squinted at him, as though passing a secret between them. It made Daxton nervous.
He stepped forward, fully prepared to call his brother out when, something caught his eye. Behind Cameron and next to Mikayla sat an over-boiling pot of soup.
"Shit," he muttered before rushing to the stove.