chapter 6
1289 Words
For a moment neither of them moved.
The basement felt too quiet again.
Not the suffocating silence from before when her chest had been tight and the walls had felt like they were closing in. Just quiet. The kind that made every tiny movement sound louder than it should.
Lyra suddenly became very aware that Wayne was still holding her hand.
His fingers were loosely wrapped around hers, warm and steady like they had been when he’d been helping her breathe.
She pulled her hand back first.
Wayne cleared his throat immediately and pushed himself to his feet like the concrete floor had suddenly become very interesting.
“Right,” he muttered.
Lyra forced herself up too, one hand bracing against the shelf for a second while the last traces of dizziness settled.
The cilantro had fallen earlier when she’d dropped everything in the middle of the panic. The green bundle was lying on the floor beside one of the shelves, a few leaves scattered across the concrete.
She crouched and picked it up quickly, brushing a little dust off the stems even though she knew that didn’t actually fix anything.
“Vera’s going to ask where this went,” she said quietly.
Wayne ran a hand through his blond hair, pushing it back from his face before it immediately fell messy again.
“Yeah,” he said. “She probably will.”
Another pause settled between them.
Neither of them said anything about the kiss.
Lyra turned toward the stairs first, gripping the cilantro tighter than necessary like it gave her something to focus on.
Wayne followed a step behind her, his boots quiet against the concrete floor.
Halfway up the staircase Lyra stopped suddenly.
Wayne nearly ran straight into her.
They both froze again.
For a second it looked like he might say something.
Instead he lifted a finger and pointed behind her.
“You forgot your phone.”
Lyra blinked.
Right.
She stepped back down two stairs, grabbed it from where it had rolled against the wall, and shoved it into her hoodie pocket without looking at him.
By the time Lyra pushed open the kitchen door again, the house had shifted into its early evening rhythm and dinner still needed finishing.
Vera stood near the island, scrolling through her phone with the same cool expression she seemed to wear constantly, like the rest of the house existed somewhere several steps beneath her interest.
She glanced up the second Lyra walked in.
“That took longer than needed.”
Lyra lifted the cilantro slightly.
“Couldn’t find it.”
Vera clearly unimpressed but not interested in arguing about herbs.
“Dinner should be ready soon.”
Lyra nodded and moved quickly toward the stove.
The kitchen smelled warm and heavy with the scent of simmering tomato sauce.
A large pot bubbled gently on the stove, thick red sauce moving lazily around chunks of minced beef and onion. Garlic and tomato hung in the air, rich and comforting in a way the rest of the house rarely felt.
Spaghetti bolognese
The kind of meal she could cook without thinking. Lyra rinsed the cilantro under the sink, shaking droplets of water from the leaves before laying it flat on the cutting board.
The knife moved quickly in her hand.
Chop.
Chop.
Chop.
The steady rhythm was grounding.
The back door opened quietly somewhere behind her.
Lyra glanced up automatically.
Wayne stepped outside.
His phone was pressed to his ear, his shoulders slightly hunched forward the way people did when they were half focused on a conversation and half focused on walking somewhere.
“…yeah, the agreement is in place,” he said before closing the door behind himself .
Lyra turned back to the stove before Vera could catch her looking.
Her heart had picked up speed again.Which was ridiculous.Nothing had happened.
Nothing at all.
She grabbed the wooden spoon and stirred the sauce slowly, watching the deep red mixture fold over itself in thick lazy swirls.
A vibration buzzed against her hip.
Lyra pulled her phone from her hoodie pocket.
Ethan Carter.Her best friend’s annoying, sarcastic, stupidly charming older brother who had somehow become the person she texted the most after Mira.
Ethan:
You alive? Mira says Vera probably has you running the house again.
Lyra smiled a little before she could stop herself.
She typed back quickly.
Lyra:
Currently cooking dinner for everyone.
The typing bubble appeared almost immediately.
Ethan:
Define everyone.
Lyra:
Vera. Wayne. The staff. Possibly the entire neighbourhood if Vera decides they’re hungry.
Ethan:
What are you making?
Lyra glanced at the pot.
Steam curled up from the surface of the sauce, carrying the smell of garlic and basil through the kitchen.
Lyra:
Spaghetti bolognese.
Three dots appeared instantly.
Ethan:
That’s just cruel.
She huffed quietly.
Lyra:
Why?
Ethan:
Because now I’m hungry and I’m not there.
Her chest warmed automatically.
This was the feeling she knew.
Easy. Comfortable.
The kind of warmth that came from years of talking to him, sitting on Mira’s bedroom floor while Ethan wandered in complaining about someone eating the last packet of crisps.
Her phone buzzed again.
Ethan:
You free tomorrow?
Lyra paused.
Her fingers hovered over the screen.
Lyra:
Maybe. Why?
The reply took a little longer.
Ethan:
Thought we could hang
Her heart flipped again.
But before she could answer, her mind betrayed her.
Because suddenly she was remembering the basement.
Wayne crouched in front of her.
His voice low and calm while her breathing had spiraled out of control.
His hand wrapped around hers.
The warmth of his thumb brushing against her skin.
And the moment right before the kiss.
That strange stillness where neither of them had moved away.
The feeling had been completely different.
It had been sudden.
The kind of moment that made her heart race like she’d stepped too close to something dangerous.
Her phone buzzed again.
Ethan:
Or are you busy?
Lyra blinked, realizing she’d been staring at the screen too long.
She typed quickly.
Lyra:
No, I’m free.
She hit send before she could overthink it.
Behind her, Wayne stepped closer to the counter making her jump.
He reached past her to grab a glass from the cabinet, his arm brushing close enough that she could feel the warmth of him through the sleeve of her hoodie.
“Did the cilantro mission succeed?” he asked casually.
Lyra gestured toward the pot.
“Obviously.”
Wayne leaned slightly over the stove, glancing into the simmering sauce.
“Impressive, it looks edible" he smirkrd.
She rolled her eyes and turned back to the pasta pot, dropping the spaghetti into the boiling water.
Steam rose around her face.
Her phone screen was still glowing on the counter beside the cutting board.
Wayne’s eyes flicked down for just a second.
Just long enough to see the name on the screen.
Ethan.
Great looking forward to seeing you.
Something in his expression shifted slightly before he looked away again, Jaw tensing.
Wayne was still standing beside her, close enough that she could feel the faint warmth coming off him, his broad shoulder nearly brushing hers whenever he shifted his weight.
For a second neither of them spoke.
Lyra stirred the sauce again even though it didn’t need stirring.
Her phone screen dimmed slowly beside the cutting board, Ethan’s message disappearing into the lock screen.
Wayne moved first.
He picked up the glass he’d grabbed earlier and filled it from the tap, leaning one hip casually against the counter like nothing unusual had happened that day.
Like they hadn’t just kissed ten minutes ago in a dark basement.
Lyra stared down at the pot, watching the pasta swirl slowly in the boiling water
- Writer
