Dedicated to Chriss779 for always loving all my characters! 

That's Lima Fox!

Where time is it now? It's 10.10 PM here.

Chapter 6.

Nobody likes to be lonely.

~~~

Rishit was sitting on the couch on the living room, it was past 9 in the night and they had just finished their dinner.

Alesha had cooked Vegetarian Baked Ziti and it was delicious, they were all over-full now, lying around like freshly gorged pigs.

Olivia rubbed her belly. "I think my stomach might burst. Who knew something veg could taste this yummy?"

Viaan nodded. "Yes, you cook amazing. Marry me?"

Alesha wrinkled her nose and slapped his hand away. "Eww. No thanks."

Viaan laughed at the response, not at all feeling insulted. He had been hearing it for a long time now.

"We should go to the city tomorrow. Take a look around." Rishit suggested.

"Oh yes, I heard there's a nice park here." Olivia said.

"There's a club too. We should go there." Viaan countered, shaking his lower body in a circular motion. "I want to groove."

Olivia nodded, joining in the silly dance move. "I want to move."

Alesha looked at the two dancing funnily and rolled her eyes, unamused by their tactics. "I want to puke."

Rishit laughed and hi-fied her in agreement.

"By the way, Ms. Fox still isn't back?" Alesha asked curiously, looking around the silent house.

Viaan shook his head. "No, thank God. I like it when she's not there. I feel like I can talk freely. Otherwise, everything pisses her off. She's a woman continuously walking that line of PMSing."

"I kept some Ziti for her."

Viaan scowled at Alesha. "Why? Are you crazy?"

Alesha shrugged. "What if she feels hungry? I made a little extra anyway. Why throw it away?"

Viaan closed his eyes and shook his head in resignation. "She will throw it away." He stated as a matter-of-fact.

Alesha glared at him, her lips twisting into a deep offended scowl. "She won't."

Viaan sighed, not wanting to argue over this. He knew he was right and Alesha would know it too when Lima would walk in through the door, see the baked ziti, give her signature scowl and promptly throw away the food in the dustbin. "I am going to bed." He stood up, waving others a goodbye.

Olivia's phone rang and she smiled at the screen. "I am going to talk to my boyfriend." She waved at them and went upstairs.

Alesha turned her eyes to Rishit. "What are you going to do?"

Rishit spread his legs comfortably on the couch and then put his hands behind his head, stretching fully. "Lie here till I can move."

Alesha giggled. "Okay then, I'll go and watch a movie."

Rishit nodded and waved her Goodnight.

He looked at the shut door and sighed, wondering where exactly was the women in black. He knew he should've gone upstairs with the others but he didn't want to, he wanted to wait until she was home.

Lima got out of the car and shivered as the cold breeze touched her skin. "Should have taken a jacket." She muttered to herself, locking the car and walking towards the house.

She could see most of the lights were on. How long had it been since she came back to a lighted house instead of a pitch black lonely one?

She opened the door slowly, trying to not wake the others just in case they were already in bed and had forgotten to turn off any of the lights.

She closed the door slowly behind her, locking it.

"You are back!"

She let out a startled yelp and jumped out of her skin, jolting around, a hand over her fast-beating heart. She puffed out a breath of air when she saw Rishit lazily sitting on the couch. "Clearly." She sassed.

"Are you hungry?"

She was startled by the question. It had been over fifteen years since she had heard that question after entering this house.

Her mother was the one to ask her this when she came home from school. Lima darling, are you hungry?

She shook away the bittersweet memory. She had already had her dinner and yet she couldn't seem to say no to that question. She gave a light smile and nodded. "Starving."

Rishit grinned back in response, getting off the couch. "Alesha made baked ziti. I'll heat it up for you."

Lima followed him into the kitchen, an unfamiliar and baffling feeling bursting in her chest. Was it gratitude? Was it comfort? Was it affection? Was it just the need to feel normal again? She didn't know but it sure petrified her. Because she longed for this feeling to come again.

"Wash your hands."

Lima obeyed silently, she didn't know what else to do. It also gave her a strange sense of solace when Rishit took charge and commanded her to do such homey suave things. She diligently washed her hands and sat on the dining table, her eyes following every movement of Rishit.

His sleeves rolled up and his deft hands moved with precision over the counter, opening drawers of utensils correctly, as if he'd been here his whole life. He reached for a bowl and his hands lightly brushed against hers, Lima recoiled as if she'd been burnt by his touch but Rishit didn't seem affected, he didn't even notice it.

He turned back and placed the ziti in the microwave. "Good you came on time. We didn't keep the ziti in the refrigerator so it doesn't need to be heated too much." He set the timer to two minutes, oddly familiarized with her microwave. "It's vegetarian. She doesn't eat non-veg. You like baked ziti, right?"

Truthfully Lima had never tasted Ziti. She knew it was a variety of Pasta but didn't know how it tasted. She nodded, deciding to lie. "Yes. It's my favorite."

Rishit smiled at her, delighted by the reply. "Great!"

Lima's eyes met his over the table and she could see the smile reflecting in his eyes. He was such an open book, unlike her. It put her to ease, she slowly started to relax under his company, her stiff shoulders drooping and the walls around her slowly yet surely collapsing.

Was this how coming home felt like?

"Um, how is Olivia's ankle?" she asked, remembering Olivia had sprained her ankle during that cliff fiasco.

He nodded. "Pretty good. Mr. Pence did a nice job with applying the ointment and wrapping it up. She still walks slowly but she's healing faster than expected."

"Good." Lima responded, tapping her nails on the table. She wanted to keep talking, about anything but she was always finding it very difficult to think of a subject. This wasn't her forte, she didn't do small talks. Her conversations were predominately initiated by the opposite party and lasted for about 5 minutes until she got annoyed and told the person to shove it where the sun don't shine.

But with Rishit she wanted to know everything about him, his favorite color, his hometown, his last relationship. Everything.

The timer beeped and Rishit wore the red polka dot oven mitts around his hand to remove the plate. He placed the plate in front of Lima and gave her a fork. "Here."

Lima stared at the fork like it was a dagger, this was all so new to her, especially in this house. Someone actually putting a plate of food in front of her, someone actually caring if she ate or not. Her chest swelled and her throat was lodged with unspoken words.

He appeared so comfortable in her kitchen and she wanted to keep it that way – for a very long time. Overwhelmed by her own thoughts, Lima flinched, trying to spiral back into her sanity. He was a temporary interior designer – that's all – he'd be gone in 5 months.

Rishit put the fork in the ziti and seized the cheesy part. He moved the fork in front of Lima's mouth.

She backed away instantly, aghast by his actions. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Feeding you."

This simple act of feeding seemed far more intimate than all the naked nights she'd shared with men.

Lima cleared her throat awkwardly and shook her head. This is insane, this cannot be happening. This shouldn't be happening. Not to me. "I can eat on my own."

"I know. But you weren't taking the fork."

She tried to take the fork back from Rishit but he decisively shook his head. "Come on, I am not feeding you poison. It's just a spoonful of ziti."

She swallowed hard, she couldn't remember the last time someone had fed her. Even when sick, she had to eat herself, alone.

Lima was suddenly aware of his presence and body in a way that was new and frightening. The air between them sizzled and the world seemed to take a pause to watch this scene play out.

Her skin charged and tingled. She was sure people from Africa could hear the loud beats of her treacherous heart. It took her a few moments to stammer out, "It's-its fine."

But Rishit wasn't budging. He kept his hazel eyes locked over her black ones. Not giving up. Not succumbing to Lima's futile excuses. "It's one bite, Lima. Take it."

Finally, realizing that he wasn't going to budge. Lima surrendered and parted her lips slowly, opening her mouth. Rishit smiled, feeding her the forkful. He kept the empty fork back in the tray. "There, you can eat it yourself now."

Lima chewed cautiously, it was delicious. The tender pasta was coated in a rich and velvety tomato sauce, infused with garlic. There was the distinctive taste of creamy ricotta cheese that oozed out providing a subtle sweetness.

Despite the lack of appetite, Lima found herself craving for more.

Rishit grinned at the savoring expression on her face. "You like it?"

Lima nodded, smacking her lips. "It's good."

"Let Alesha know that."

Lima ate another forkful, mumbling between bites. "You can tell her."

"She'll like it more if you do."

"It's not my job to."

"It wasn't hers to make food for you."

Lima glared at Rishit, now annoyed by the train of conversation. "Why are you awake?"

Rishit ignored her question, countering it with another of his. "Where were you?"

"I wanted to eat lemon cheesecake." She replied honestly.

Rishit was a little stunned by the reply. He wasn't expecting that. "I have been curious about that. Why did you throw away the cheesecake if you weren't going to eat it?"

"Did you give the cheesecake?"

"Huh?"

"You were buying it for someone, right?"

Rishit nodded. "For Olivia."

"Did you give her?"

Rishit scoffed and shook his head, folding arms over his broad chest. "You took the last one."

Lima looked at his face, scanning it. "If you want something, shouldn't you find a way to get it?"

Rishit blinked, taken aback by the insightful comment. "You mean I should've found a way to get that cheesecake from you?"

Lima shook her head, taking another spoonful of the baked ziti. "No, I meant you could have gone to another bakery and bought the cheesecake. Why didn't you?"

Rishit opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish. She was right, why didn't he? There were plenty bakeries nearby who would have had the cheesecake and yet he went back without one.

He hadn't really given it a second thought. He asked at one place, he couldn't get it, he went back without it.

He licked his lips. "Um. It's famous there."

"Liar." Lima swiftly said.

He shrugged, curious to know her opinion on it. "You tell me. Why didn't I get it from another bakery?"

Lima looked straight into his eyes and without a bit of hesitation she gave him the answer. "Because you didn't want it."

"What?"

"Your friend wanted it. You didn't want it so you didn't go through that extra step to get it. If you had wanted that cheesecake, if you were the one craving it, you would have gone into another bakery to get it for yourself, to satisfy yourself. Because you wanted to eat it."

Rishit knew Lima already knew how right she was. If it was him craving lemon cheesecake, he probably would have gone to some other place and eaten it. Or maybe gotten more annoyed at her for stealing the last cheesecake, maybe even argued with her. But instead, he had simply let it go. Told Olivia that it wasn't available and asked her to pick another dessert to eat.

Rishit nodded once. "You are right."

Lima shrugged a shoulder. "I know. I always am." The ziti was almost over. She ate the last bite and stood up. "Thanks for this."

Rishit got up too. "Thank Alesha." He reminded her again.

Lima rolled her eyes, dropping the utensils in the sink. She'd clean that later, tonight she was too exhausted. All she wanted to do was curl up in her bed and forget it all – especially this annoying piece of human stuck to her side.

"Do you know how to cook?" Rishit asked.

They walked out of the kitchen together. "I have lived alone almost my entire life. I had to learn how to cook." Lima answered grimly.

Rishit looked around the huge house. He couldn't imagine living all alone in this enormous house. No one to talk to, no one to play with, no one to laugh with. He now understood why Lima was the way she was. She had chosen to isolate herself.

Rishit gave her a sad smile. "Doesn't it get lonely?"

Lima bit her lower lip from screaming yes, that on cold nights she had to cry herself to sleep, during the days she talked to birds like a crazy woman, during the thunders she wished she had someone to kiss in the rain. Sometimes she suffered from depression, sometimes she just craved some human touch. And most times she was consumed by an overwhelming feeling of emptiness and sadness.

"No. I like it." She lied.

Rishit smirked. "You aren't a good liar either."

Lima winced at that. "Excuse me?"

"Nobody likes to be lonely, Lima. You might like to live alone but you can't like the loneliness that comes with it. The intrusive thoughts that haunt a troubled mind. The never-ending cycle of despair and solitude. It's daunting and it's somber. No one wants to live in it. I should know that." Rishit stated, looking at her.

Lima looked away pretending to cough. The topic was getting too serious for her liking. It hit too close to home. He was getting too close to her heart. And she refused to let people get that close. It never ended well. "Goodnight."

"If you ever get lonely or sad, look out of your window. I hear the view is beautiful. Maybe you'll realize how beautiful the world is too." Rishit winked.

Lima rolled her eyes. "Goodnight." She repeated.

"The design?" He reminded her.

"Tomorrow." She promised. "I'll see them tomorrow after lunch."

He put his pinky finger in front of her. "Promise?"

Lima scoffed in disbelief. She started at the long pinky finger with an amused look. "What are you? Seven?"

He shrugged, grinning at her. "I still believe in them."

"My word is better than that." Lima assured him.

He didn't back down, he wiggled his pinky finger in front of her.

Lima breathed out heavily. She wasn't going to do a pinky swear with Rishit. People would have a laugh if they knew about it. She slapped his hand away, walking upstairs.

Rishit scowled but followed her. "Your room is on the second floor, right?"

Lima nodded. "Yes."

"Can I come?"

Lima turned to glare at him. "No."

"Please?"

"No."

"I just want to see the room décor and size from a designer perspective."

Lima gritted her teeth, glowering at the relentless boy. Does he never give up? Does he never stop talking? And more importantly, why does he never leave her mind and sight? "Goodnight, Rishit."

Somehow it felt weird hearing his own name from her mouth. He was used to hearing kid or lemon cheesecake. He hated to concur, but lemon cheesecake as a nickname was actually growing on him. And it sounded beautiful coming out of her attractive lips. "Goodnight, Lima." He answered back.

She turned and walked the extra floor not once turning back.

Rishit sighed, opened his bedroom door and went in, shutting it back.

Lima slowly turned, looking at the empty space a floor below. She shook her head with a small smile at the recently shut door. "Why does it feel a little less lonely now?" She whispered into the thin air.

The next afternoon, they were all gathered in the study room.

"You sure she said she will see the design?" Alesha asked for fourth time. She wasn't falling for that trap again, she refused to.

Rishit looked at her impatiently. "Yes. She said she will see. She promised. Well, almost."

"Okay. Good." She said, rubbing her palms anxiously.

Viaan rolled his eyes at the nervousness on Alesha's face. "Relax, it's not like she can fire you."

Alesha glared at him. "She can!"

Viaan shrugged. "Eh well, what can you do then? At least that will be better than living her under her atrocious care."

"Make him shut up." Alesha begged Rishit who just chuckled at their bickering.

"I saw the empty plate this morning." Olivia said. "Did she really eat it?"

Rishit nodded. "She did."

Alesha smiled, delighted by the news. "Did she like it?"

Rishit remembered how Lima ate the entire baked ziti eagerly. He fought back a smile, recalling how cute she looked when she chewed. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"

Alesha shuddered at that thought. "Are you crazy? No way."

"We should stop being scared of that witch." Viaan scoffed, lifting his shoulders pompously. "It's not like those old curses will work in our 21st century. If you ask me, I never tremble in front of her, ever. What is there to get scared? She is just so -"

Lima entered the room, dressed in casual black jeans and a black crop top.

"Ms. Fox!" Viaan shouted, his eyes wide with fright. He bowed as if she was the Queen. "You look simply lovely today. Exquisite."

Lima raised her eyebrows at the unexpected sweet welcome words. Her eyes narrowed in caution. What had she missed? "Thank you, I guess?" she responded to Viaan's overly friendly compliment.

The other three tried to hide their laughter by coughing and looking away.

Viaan lightly kicked them under the table making them chuckle more.

She looked at them, confused about their actions. "Am I missing something?"

Viaan shook his head quickly. "No. Not at all." He pointed at the empty chair. "Please sit, ma'am."

"Fine. Let's see what design you have come up with." She muttered, descending gracefully on the chair. She crossed her ankles and placed her hands on the table.

Rishit started to speak but Lima raised her hand to stop him. She pointed at Alesha. "You cook well, let's see if you talk just as well."

Alesha grinned at the unpredicted compliment. "I do." She eagerly spoke, starting to explain with an increased enthusiasm.

Rishit found himself smiling as well. She did end up praising the cooking after all. In her own way but that was good enough.

Maybe inside the witch there was a lost princess, too scared to come out in this unforgiving world.

~~~

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