“I do,” she said. There was no way she was going to let him believe the company that provided him food was doing a good job. She dealt with all of his dietary needs. She glanced at Caleb to see he looked a little confused. “I mean to say, er, it’s, er, something that I do. I make sure his meals are carefully labeled, following his choices. It’s really easy, for the most part.”
“It seems to me, Lauren, you’ve been a real lifesaver to my son,” Louise said.
“I try my hardest.” She looked down at her meal and tried to taste every single mouthful at the same time as being aware of Caleb staring at her.
She’d not once let it slip before that she prepared all of his essential meals, and in truth, she didn’t know how he was going to handle this.
After dinner, there was a dessert, followed by instructions to get ready for bed, but there was going to be a game, so everyone was to come back down.
Lauren made her escape, hoping to avoid any kind of conversation. Her body was betraying her.
“Did you lie down there?” Caleb asked.
“Yes, I did. I’m lying all weekend. Don’t you remember, as per your request?”
“Don’t be a bitch.”
“I’m not being a bitch. I’m stating a fact.”
“But are you lying about preparing my meals?”
She looked at him and shook her head. “No.”
“Since when?”
“Since you hired a bunch of amateurs to prepare your meals and I heard they were lying to you. They were feeding you wrong. You’re a vegan, and they weren’t using proper ingredients. Rather than let you get sick or whatever, I changed it. I made sure you were eating the right kinds of foods.”
She pressed her lips together. “So, yeah, I make the most amazing vegetable soup, and the curry you love so much is my recipe. Even the ice cream. I actually trained myself. I loaned books from the library. I did everything I could so that you were taken care of.”
She was done with this conversation and didn’t want to listen to whatever comment he would make. Stepping into the shower, she quickly removed her clothes and entered the stall.
“Don’t think for a second this conversation is over,” he said, coming right into the bathroom.
“Seriously, I’m in the shower!”
“And we’re supposed to be a couple.”
“Your parents are not monitoring this.”
“I don’t care. We’ve still got a part to play and well, I want to know the whole truth.”
“You’re crazy.” She opened the shower door and glared at him, trying to keep as much of her body covered as possible, which wasn’t easy considering it was glass she was standing behind. “You need to leave.”
“No, I’m not leaving. In fact, I’m not doing anything wrong.” He folded his arms across his chest.
“Are you pissed at me because I cook for you? What crazy thing is that?”
“I’m not pissed. I’m surprised.”
“Well, don’t be. I’m sure a lot more people would have done it.”
“You really don’t know the world, do you?”
“Actually, Caleb, I know how horrible this world can be. How shitty it is. I know there are so many people who would have let you eat food you didn’t want to, or treat you like crap, or do something you didn’t like. I’m not like that. I believe it’s important to have some show of faith in people. To believe we can all be better. Now, do you mind if I shower?” she asked.
“Go right ahead.”
She closed the shower door and stepped beneath the spray.
Seconds passed.
Minutes maybe.
“You’re still here, aren’t you?”
“Yep.”
“Why?”
“I’m trying to figure you out.”
She chuckled. “There’s nothing to figure out.”
“You know I could join you. It would be expected.”
“I’m nearly done.”
“You really don’t have a boyfriend waiting for you back home?”
“I wouldn’t have agreed to do this, Caleb, if I was attached to any man.” She rolled her eyes.
“Thank you,” he said.
She finished washing her hair, turned off the shower, and reached out to grab a towel. Wrapping it around herself, she stepped out of the shower. He sat on the toilet seat.
“What for?”
“For doing this. For not making this harder than it needs to be.”
“I’m sorry you have to feel like you do this. I’ll go and get changed.” She walked past him and he captured her hand, standing up.
He was a lot taller, and she tilted her head back to look at him.
Caleb cupped her cheek. It was a small action but a simple one. She licked her lips, waiting, wondering.
“What is it?” she asked.
“You’re so beautiful.”
“There you go, being all nice to me,” she said.
Something happened, she didn’t know what it was, but it made her heart speed up and she quickly took a step back. The lines of pretend and real were blurring too fast. “Er, I’ve got to, you know, go.” She quickly made her escape.