A boy was sitting on a sofa as he played games on his phone, he looked around the age of eighteen, then the door of the house opened and in came Denver, his jacket placed lazily on his hand, "your back...", said Ryan as he dropped his phone and focused his attention on Denver with a smile on his face , I'm hungry ", but he was met with a flying jacket which hit him right on his face, if you are hungry go make yourself some food", said Denver as he opened the fridge and took a bottle of water and chugged it down. Ryan removed the jacket from his face ,his face held a playful expression, why... You are the chef here, I didn't eat all day because I was waiting for you, I even went to your resturant... Where did you go ....", He asked curiously, Denver sighed strodding to the kitchen as he took a sauce pan and switched on the gas, Ryan stood by the door side his arms crossed with o smug smile, "mom and dad? ,Denver asked as he chopped some onions, his hands quick, every cut precise, he diced it so fine and thinly, they went on a date…" said Ryan. Denver nodded as he poured the onions into the pan. Then he crushed some garlic and added it to the pan. He sautéed both onions and garlic on low heat, then added tomatoes and let them simmer.
Ryan smirked , when was the last time he cooked like this, this method of his was called his emotional release recipe , a dish that he cooks depending on his emotions and today he was making agguttarian pasta a traditional Italian dish. As he worked, he moved with confident ease, his actions quick and precise. Even though Ryan had always seen him cook, he was still amazed at Denver's talent.
They were all shocked when Denver had decided to drop his engineering course and he told them he was going to culinary school ,Denver had always been the type to keep his mind to one thing, the sudden change was surprising, and now he had opened a restaurant—and it was doing well.
As Denver boiled the pasta, his thoughts drifted off to Rhea. His mind kept returning to her. She looked so tired, so worn out,when he had held her hand, it felt so light, so fragile like any more pressure would snap the bone in half. He sighed, drained the pasta, and added it to the sauce.
She looked so weak, was she sick?, was it stress?, he mixed the pasta with the sauce then he served it, he looked at Ryan then at the food , Ryan smiled it already smelled amazing, without bothering to sit down Ryan took a fork and dug in , it tasted so good, Denver leaned on the counter , his mind wandering , Ryan watched him curiously, " aren't you hungry", Ryan asked as he took another bite , " I fought with someone today", said Denver, it was so casual and clear, Ryan stopped eating , he was surprised, he knew Denver as one who kept his calm no matter the situation but now he fought someone , Ryan looked at the plate of food in his hand, today he did a rare recipeof his cooking and now he fought someone.
Ryan dropped his plate on the counter, whatever that person did must have really pissed him off, Ryan cleared his throat, " was it a physical fight?", Ryan asked , it couldn't be a physical fight , Denver was always composed , he should have probably not asked ....., " somehow", Ryan looked at him stunned , " somehow?....", it sounded so non challant like would gladly do it again, " w.....who made you mad huh....", asked Ryan still shocked with what he was hearing, " they didn't do anything to me...., I just got mad and I really wanted to hit him", said Denver with a sly smile, " I grabbed him by the collar and pushed him on the chair", said Denver demonstrating it with his hands, Ryan gulped was he mad because he had requested that he should cook a meal when he had just come back, " bro..., I'm sorry...next time, I swear I will cook if I am on my own, I won't wait for you", said Ryan bowing his head , Denver scoffed as he came close to Ryan and dragged him by his ear, " ow.....ow, ow", Ryan winced in pain as Denver pulled his ear finally let him go, Ryan rubbed his ear trying to soothe the ache, " you brat....., you better do that and wash the dishes when you are done", said Denver with a playful smile, how could he smile after pulling his ear and making such a joke , did he think it was fun toying with him.
" Ahh.....I went to a reunion today that was why I was not at the restaurant",said Denver as he went upstairs. Ryan just stared untill Denver disappeared from sight, " reunion?", but he hated social gatherings talkless of a reunion, if he truly went to the reunion then....did he really get in a fight with someone?".
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After sitting on the floor for a while, Rhea finally had the courage to enter her home, she looked around but the house was still the same just like she had left it, the only thing she saw that was out of place was the crushed up cigarette butt apart from that everything was normal , she sighed as she went to her bed and laid down, today was really exhausting eventhough she had planned to kill herself she was tired, thinking about everything that had happened today and with Daniel coming to her apartment it was impossible to think of suicide and now he wanted her to write another novel, she sat on her bed as she looked over at thebooks which had been untouched on the table ,she stood up and walked over to the table , she pulled her chair out and sat down as she switched on her table lamp, she heaved as she took a book and opened it, a fresh page appeared before her, she closed her eyes she had no idea, no plot and no plan of what she was going to write, it will come, it should come, Daniel had given her an ultimatum if she didn't do this God knows what he will do. She had not written anything since her scandal, she summoned courage and took hold of her pen, her grip tightened , her mind spiraling, she slowly placed the pen on the paper then it started, her hands began to tremble, she instinctively held her trembling hand with her other hand but it was uncontrollable, without thinking she threw the pen away, her breathe heavy , she closed the book as her hand still shook, she rushed to the fridge as she quickly opened it with trembling hands, the cool air hitting her without wasting time she took a bottle of cold water , she struggled to open the bottle but she finally did.
The water spilled on the floor due to her shaking hands and then she poured that cold water on her hand, she could feel it as it numbed her but her hands couldn't stop shaking, she took another bottle, then another as she poured it on her hair and hands water dripping from every side of her body, she kept on pouring water on herself untill there was no more bottled water in the fridge, " thief , failure....", those damn words echoed in her thoughts , her breath ragged, she crouched herself on the wet floor beside her open fridge , her knees to herself and her head bent to her knees as she clenched her hands tightly and before she knew it...she broke down, she tried to hold it in, even when Daniel came, even when she was at the reunion, when she had met Denver , but now she had lost the one thing she loved so much...writing, she couldn't write anymore, she didn't cry because of Daniels threat , she cried because she couldn't do the one thing she loved , her sobs were silent , the air from the fridge cooled her skin as she sat on the puddle of cold water, her mind went hazy and before she knew it she blacked out .
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It was a busy day, the resturant was full , orders were coming and going, Denver , Thompson( sous chef) and other chefs were busy, waiters came in or went out with empty dishes or new orders. Finally, after a relentless day of serving dishes, cooking and cleaning, they finally closed for the day. The thick aromatic scent of food still lingered in the air as they closed the restaurant. Thompson and other chefs said goodbye to Denver. Some of them left in pairs, probably to drink or do something sociable.
Denver sighed. The cool evening breeze brushed against his skin; it was chilly winter air, almost freezing. Oddly enough, he enjoyed the cold. It took him back to when he and Rhea were in high school.It was just like today.
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Ten years ago
A young Rhea and Denver were walking through the snow. Their light uniforms did no justice in shielding them from the cold. Denver looked at Rhea; she was extremely cold, even her lips were blue. Denver sighed as without warning, he took hold of her hand and tucked it into his trouser pocket. Rhea looked at him shocked as she tried to remove her hand from his pocket but he tucked it back in as he held her hand firmly but not tightly, " it's freezing...we may not make it home at this rate, at least be warm a little", he said jokingly, his voice almost non challant , Rhea scoffed , " what is the use if the hand is the only one being warm, my face is going to be paralyzed at this rate.....", " but you are still pretty", he said interrupting her with a warm smile, Rhea slapped his hand away from her wrist, she looked up at him frowning a little,he was surprised at her sudden retaliation , eventhough she was frowning right now she still looked adorable, " are you a fool...?, if you keep holding me like that you won't be able to walk properly", she said , despite her being annoyed with him she was always genuinely concerned , he liked it when he annoyed her sometimes in that way he could see this side of her, he smiled, it was playful, " I won't mind...", he said , Rhea lips curved into a soft smile before she quickly replaced it with a frown but it was too late as Denver had seen her smile, " was that a smile I saw just now....", he teased , Rhea rolled her eyes and continued walking, " I'm sure I saw a smile ", he said teasing her more, " will you go away, why do you keep following me...?", she questioned feigning annoyance, Denver put his hand inside his pocket, " the way to our homes is on the same route....", said Denver as he walked behind her with a smile on his face, " it's not like I can change it", he said, Rhea smiled softly at his answer as they continued walking then she stopped, Denver was already expecting it, it had become a common ritual , she always stood in front of the local bookstore anytime they went home, the way she looked at it was so different from how she looked at any living creature, it was so pure, her smile so sincere, as Denver looked at her he couldnt help but smile, whatever she was doing,whatever she was planning he will happily be by her side.
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It had not changed, the dimly lit space, smell of books, the coffee table and the pure silence, he was glad it had stayed the same, he could understand why she always smiled when she was here, the endless peace and silence, he didn't know why he was here , his eyes scanned the shelves and he strodded, his pace balanced yet so quiet and then he saw it " tale of thorns and roses by Rhea Clayton", he smiled as he saw more of her books , unlike other bookstores that had blacklisted her books, her books were here, the place where she always found peace, his beautiful hazel eyes twinkled as he smiled like a child who was excited over a piece of candy, he picked three of her newest books before the scandal, he had looked everywhere for them but he couldn't find them and now they were here, he was happy that the one thing she smiled at eventhough she didn't see it was supporting her and he hoped she knew he was always at her side.