Page 30 of Anteros' Return

“I doubt you have the ingredients for that chicken pasta I used to make, do you?” Her face lit up a little, but she fought to show it fully.

“Not all of them, no.” She blushed as if she were embarrassed. Maybe it was because I offered to cook for them or that she didn’t have everything needed.

“I’ll head down to the shop and grab what’s needed.” I nodded.

“On crutches? I can nip out and grab what’s needed.” She offered, but I shook my head with a smile, refusing her request.

“I’ll be fine. Do you want to come with me and help, Liam?” I asked, hopefully.

“Sure. Can I, Mum?”

“Of course. Just be careful with Beckett. He’s still on crutches. I’m trusting you to help him out, okay?” Her voice was soft, and it brought back memories of us years ago. How patient and calm she was with me.

“Okay, Mum, I’ll help.” He slipped on his shoes before stopping at my feet. “Can you pass my jacket, please?” I was taken aback by his politeness as it wasn’t something I was used to since meeting him.

“Sure thing.” I grabbed it and passed it to him as he thanked me. Em watched on, proud of how Liam was acting in front of her. “We won’t be long unless they moved the shop since I left?”

She chuckled as she opened her purse. “It’s still in the same place. It’s just a little bigger now.”

“Don’t even think about it,” I told her. “Put that away.” I hurried Liam out the door before she could protest.

We made our way down the hill towards the closest shop. Liam kept quiet as we walked, but he remained by my side regardless, especially since his mum had given him orders.

“Thanks for coming along. It’s nice to have some company.”

“Listen, I don’t hate you, but I don’t like you yet either…” He paused.

“I sense a but coming?”

“But…thanks for wanting to cook today. I love my mum, and her cakes are the best, but she’s no chef.” When he giggled, the sound made me chuckle.

“She seems like a wonderful mum, though.”

“She’s the best. She does everything for me since my dad didn’t want me, you know?” Liam’s voice wavered, but he tried to cover it with a small shrug, like it didn’t matter.

But it did. You could see it in the way his eyes dropped to the floor, avoiding contact, searching for somewhere safer to rest.

“How do you know he didn’t want you?” I questioned.

“If he wanted me, why isn’t he here with us?” He glanced up at me unexpectedly. It took all I had not to tell him the truth right then and there, but I wouldn’t do that to Em. “Anyway, I don’t want to talk about him.”

“Alright, we don’t need to. Do you want to help me cook when we get back?”

“You’d let me?” His face lit up before he remembered who he was with, then his expression hardened a little.

“Of course. Now, let’s grab the ingredients or else we can’t cook anything.” I laughed as we walked the rest of the way and made small talk.

Once we reached the mini supermarket, Liam grabbed the basket.

“How long until you’re off those crutches? You’re very slow.”

“Should be coming off next week.” I chuckled.

“Cool… Okay, since you need all the help you can get, tell me what ingredients we need and I’ll get them, but…” he turned to face me with a competitive look on his face, “you need to time me to see how long it takes.”

“Deal. Plus, you get extra points if you remember everything we need.”

“What do the points get me?” His eyes shone with excitement.

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