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My stomach rumbles at the mouth-watering smell. I’ve been eating nothing but protein and vegetables for the last three weeks in preparation for my next fight; it’s not going to kill me to live a little tonight.
“It still has another twenty minutes. Go chill. I’ll call you when it’s ready.” She shoos the both of us out of the kitchen.
I follow Tom into the living room and settle into the beanbag, while he sprawls out on the couch and closes his eyes. I pick up my sketchbook and open it up to the piece I started a couple days ago. My brow furrows, and I focus on getting the eyes right. I’m mostly drawing from memory now, but it’s always the eyes that are the hardest to perfect.
“It looks just like her.” Tom’s voice breaks my concentration.
“I can’t quite get the eyes right.”
“I think they’re spot on. She’d be so freaking proud of your talent.”
“Thanks.” I glance up at him, and he gives me a watery smile. “Are you sure everything is okay? Are we in trouble with the garage?”
“We’re fine.” Tom turns on the television and scrolls through the channels restlessly.
“Are you sure, because I–”
“You don’t need to worry, Harley. I have it under control.”
A crack of thunder causes me to jump as a flash of lightning lights up the room. A second later, the power flickers before going out completely. Something smashes in the kitchen. Lily shrieks, and I curse as I drop my sketchbook and race in there, Tom hot on my heels.
“Are you okay?” I ask, gripping her arms as I check her over in the dark, my heart hammering. Tom pulls out his phone and shines the torch over her.
“Yeah,” she breathes out, her body trembling. “Sorry, I just really hate storms.”
I can’t help the laugh that rumbles out of me as I pull her into my arms, noting how perfectly she fits against my body. I rest my chin on top of her head. “Me too.”
“It’s true.” I can hear the amusement in Tom’s voice. “When he was younger, he couldn’t sleep in his room by himself during a storm.”
“Really?” Lily asks, lifting her head to look at me. It brings her lips precariously close to mine, our breath mingling.
I clear my throat and step away from her. “We would pull all of the cushions off the couch and build a fort that would keep us safe from the storm,” I admit, pushing my hair back off my face. “Mum would let us sleep there, even if it was a school night.”
She smiles. “How old were you?”
“Thirteen.”
“That’s really sweet.”
Another flash of lighting causes her to squeal, and I meet Tom’s gaze. “You guys clean up in here and dish up the food,” I tell him, an idea forming. “I’ll meet you in the living room.”
Leaving them to clean up the mess, I head down the hallway to grab some supplies. By the time they return to the living room, I’ve worked my magic. I’ve turned the two couches back-to-back with two sheets draped between–a couple of dumbbells sitting on top so they won’t fall. All the cushions from the couches have been scattered underneath, and the pillows and doonas from mine and Tom’s beds are laid over the top. My laptop sits at the end of the makeshift bed.
“What the–?” she gasps, tears glistening in her eyes. “You did this for me?”
“Sure did.” I take a bowl of food from Tom in one hand before slipping an arm around her shoulders and guiding her over to the entrance.
Lily falls carefully to her knees and crawls in, sitting cross-legged in the middle. Tom follows, settling on her other side. She pats the space next to her, and I crouch down, a smile tugging on my lips as I slip into the fort. It’s been years since we did this, but the memories are rushing back of Mum laughing as we played game after game of Uno, Go Fish, and other games to try and take my mind off the storm that was raging on outside.
“Eat up, before it goes cold,” Lily says, nudging me gently.
I do as I’m told, unable to hold back the moan as the first bite hits my tongue. “Holy shit, this is incredible,” I say around a mouthful of food.
“You’re telling me,” Tom agrees. “Careful, Lily. We won’t be able to let you go if you continue to feed us like this.”
She ducks her head, smiling as she brings her own fork up to her mouth. “What’s that for?” she asks, nodding at my laptop. “The power’s out. We have no internet.”
“I may have downloaded a few episodes ofThe Vampire Diaries,” I admit.
