INSATIABLE

CHAPTER 3

“The table is set, guys.” Aunt Mel calls us and Bri shoots up real quick.

“Thanks f**k! I was starving.” She cusses as she walks to the dining room and I follow her, carrying Ella in my arms.

“You cooked this?” I ask, looking between the food and my aunt as I wait for Bri to fill her plate.

“Yes, I hope you like it.”

"I didn't think you can cook."

I have never seen her in the kitchen, ever, and I assumed that she is a bad cook.

“Oh please, she doesn't-” Bri starts to say but her mom cuts her in.

“Shut up!” Aunt Mel warns her, attempting to put on a poker face but she ends up laughing so hard.

“Why are you laughing?” I ask, serving myself some pasta and veggies.

“She is a terrible cook. The worst in the entire universe.”

I gasp.

That was blunt and brutal and very disrespectful. Who embarrasses their mother like that?

I am waiting on Aunt Mel to cast her a glare or do something, but she just frowns as she coils a single strand of spaghetti on her fork and she puts it in her mouth.

“Am I that bad?” She asks, dabbing her lips with a napkin and Bri sneers.

“f*****g worse.” She answers curtly, and she proceeds to put some food in her mouth like she didn't just cuss in her mother's presence.

"Language, Bri." Aunt Mel warns her and she rolls her eyes. "I hate cooking though."

“And here I thought you could teach me how to cook.” I take a seat next to her putting Ella down and she coils herself on my feet.

I don't know why mom never wanted me anywhere near the stove, like she taught me everything else except cooking and swimming.

Yeah, at my age I don't know how to swim, I think I will be taking swimming and cooking lessons on my free time.

“You are not in luck, but I am sure Miriam would be happy to teach you.”

“I will ask her tomorrow.” I say, stabbing a piece of broccoli and I shove it inside my mouth. “This tastes good.”

“Yeah, she is a good cook.” Aunt Mel praises Miriam, and we proceed to devour the sweet food in silence.

*

“I will do the dishes.” I offer, after we are done eating and Bri groans.

“Miss clean freak.” She mocks me and I ignore her.

“Just put them in the sink, Miriam will clean them tomorrow.” Aunt Mel tells me and I shake my head.

“It is okay, Aunt. I will do it.” I tell her stacking the plates up and Bri rolls her eyes at me.

“Responsible much?”

“Habit. You can't relate though, can you?" I smirk at her and she glares at me.

“I am going to bed.” She announces, pushing her chair back but her mom's next sentence stops her in her tracks.

“What?” She asks, scowling at her mother.

“Rio is going to sleep in your room tonight.”

“Why? She has a f*****g room.”

“Miriam didn't clean the room. It is just for a night, Bri.”

“You know I hate sharing my room...” She shouts, glaring at me and I sigh helplessly.

I knew this was a bad idea.

“Bri?” Her mom scolds, shooting Bri a dangerous glare.

“Fine. Just for tonight." She walk away, stopping at the entrance and she whips her head towards me. "And no dogs in my room!"

“Thanks.”

She rolls her eyes at me and strides out slamming the door behind her.

"She is furious." I tell my Aunt and she smiles at me.

“She will get over it, let's go.” She says, walking to the kitchen and I follow her.

A few minutes later, we are done doing the dishes. We had to hand wash though, the machine is not working.

I wish my aunt a good night and I take Ella upstairs with me, while Aunt Mel walks to the living area to watch news.

In my room, I push the clothes to the wall and I settle Ella on the bed, she will have to sleep on it since I don't have a bed for her yet.

I will shop on Saturday.

I take my phone to call Kay, but she sends me straight to voicemail, she is probably asleep so I make a mental note to call her tomorrow and I kiss Ella good night.

She will have a long night without me.

“Bri locked me out!” I mutter under my breath when I find the door to her room locked and I take a deep relaxing breath.

“Bri?”

“Come in.”

“It is locked.”

“Give me a sec.” She unlocks the door in a minute and I step inside, shutting it behind me.

“Thanks.”

“Lock the door.”

“You lock your door at night?” I ask her, hesitating but I put the lock in the key anyway.

Her room, her rules.

“I happened to really love my privacy.” She tells me, plopping on the bed.

“What if something bad happens to you at night?”

“And what's the worse that could possibly happen?”

“A fire coulf break out, you could get sick...”

She makes a bored expression.

“You're starting to sound like my mom. Parents use that line, pretending to be worried and concerned when all they want to do is to f*****g pry on their kids.” She says, grabbing her laptop from the night stand.

“You think?”

“I know.”

“I believe my mom was just genuinely worried.” I say, walking towards the bed and Bri scoffs.

“Aunt Sheila? She was spying on you.”

“I don't think so.” I defend my late mother and Bri shakes her head.

“Going through your f*****g phone and laptop, choosing friends for you?” I sigh, she is right. “Taking you to an all girls school? That screams controlling to me.”

Yes, my mom transferred me to an all girls school when I was twelve in grade 7, middle school.

“I would choose that over her absence anytime.” I say after a long second. “I miss her so much.”

“s**t, Rio. That's not what I meant.”

“I know,"

"I am sorry, Rio."

I smile at her.

"It's okay, have a good night.”

“Do you want to watch a movie with me?” I shake my head, and she doesn't push it. “Okay, night.

She puts her headphones on, and I pull the comforter over my head.

**♦**♦**♦**

My alarm goes off at 6:00 am and I lazily fumble for my phone on the night stand and swipe right to dismiss it.

I yawn lazily, sitting upright on the bed while I rub my eyes softly and glance at Bri.

She is coiled up next to the wall, sleeping peacefully, and I am surprised that the annoying loud sound from my alarm didn't wake her up, she must be a heavy sleeper.

I get out of the bed careful not to wake her up and pull the comforter over her chest.

I trudge to the window and out of habits, I roll down the blinds down to allow the natural lights in and pad to the bathroom to wash my face before vanishing to my room.

Ella starts to bark softly immediately I step inside, waggling her tail in excitement as she runs toward me and I can't help but feel sorry for her.

Poor thing.

We slept in separate rooms for the very first time in history and I know she was lonely and bored the entire night.

“Morning, girl.” I take her in my arms for a good morning kiss and she starts to lick my hands, maybe it would disgust some of you, but it melts my heart. “You missed me?” I ask, rubbing her back softly, and she leans her head on my chest.

“I missed you too, Ella. But don't worry, we are never sleeping in different rooms again, I promise.” I kiss her on the head and set her on the floor.

I grab my toothbrush and toothpaste from my bag and head to the bathroom to brush my teeth, Ella follows me closely and her adorable eyes are on me the entire time.

She is probably expecting me to brush her teeth after I am done with mine like I usually do, but she is having chews today. The vet suggested I start alternating between dental chews and brushing her teeth, I hope she will like the blue bones.

She can be very picky at times.

After I am done, I put her on a leash and wear my black trench coat, all ready for our very first walk in a new state.

“Lets take you for a quick stroll, okay.” I tell her, taking her leash and I lead her out of the room.

I peep in the living room when I get downstairs and I find Aunt Mel busy sipping from the mug in her hands.

She is in a black pencil skirt that goes to her knees, a white shirt with black buttons running from the top, and her hair is tied up in a high ponytail. She looks elegant.

She glances at my direction when I walk inside and a warm smile tugs on her lips.

“You are up?”

“Good morning to you too, aunt.” I reciprocate the smile while I walk towards her, and she wraps her free arm around me for a light hug.

“Why are you up this early? You should be in bed.” She tells me, placing the mug on the coffee table, and she sits on the couch to put on a pair of black heels that are slightly high.

“I am taking Ella for stroll,” I say, leaning my hips on the armrest, and she raises an eyebrow at me.

“This early? It is barely six.”

I glance at the wall clock.

“Twenty-five minutes past six,”

“Can't you two wait for another hour?” She asks, grabbing her bag from the couch. “It is too early for a stroll.”

“The place is safe, right?”

“Of course, but it is way too early. You are risking catching a cold,”

“I am armed with this,” I gesture at my trench coat, and she shakes her head. “We usually take our morning stroll at six and I have classes to prepare for so waiting for another hour will delay everything.”

“You don't have to report today, take a day off and rest, we had a long day yesterday.”

And that there is a huge difference between Aunt Mel and my mom. Mom would never let me skip classes unless I was seriously sick but Aunt Mel is allowing me to skip classes because we had a long day yesterday.

“It is fine, aunt, I already missed the orientation and I really can't afford to miss my first class.”

“If you insist, I am leaving for work, do you need anything?”

I shake my head.

“I think I am good.”

“You have your cards with you?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, Bri will take you to school and show you around. See you in the evening.”

“Have a good day, Aunt.”

She waves at me as she walks out in a hurry, she didn't even finish her coffee.

I take the mug to the kitchen and I lead Ella outside.

***

We are on our way back to the house after a thirty minutes walk when someone stops us.

I whip my head to their direction and I see a cute boy who is probably my age jogging towards me.

He wants to talk to me?

He has a beautiful face, his blond hair is falling slightly on his forehead just above his beautiful green eyes, a lean physique and he is approximately half an inch taller than I.

He is in a blue tracksuit and a black pair of sports shoes, and he is probably having a morning run.

“Your dog is so adorable,” he says, stopping right in front of me, his eyes entirely on Ella and a shy smile pull on my lips.

“Thanks, her name is Ella.”

“Do you mind if I take a photo with Ella?” He asks, getting his phone from his pockets.

“Not really.”

“Thanks, here.” He hands me his phone and my heart does a little flip when he smiles, displaying a perfect set of white teeth.

His smile is so beautiful.

I take a few photos of them, trying to ignore his delighting smile, and give his phone back.

“Awesome! Thank you.” He says, sliding his phone in his pocket after going through the pics. “Ooh! I am Leo by the way.” He stretches his hand towards me.

“Rio,” I say shaking his hand casually, a nervous smile plastered on my face.

“It is Leo not Rio.” He corrects me, thinking I have probably mispronounced his name and I shake my head.

“Like my name is Rio, Rio for Riona.”

“Ooh, right.” He smiles in embarrassment and he jogs away. “I will see you around, Rio.” He tells me without even looking back and I shake my head.

Leo.