*NOT EDITED*

Chapter 17

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   "So, how was the fair?"

   I visibly gulped, and tried to muster a smile. "It was good?"

   "You won't be making jokes by the time we're done with you guys," Dad said with narrowed eyes.

   I closed my eyes and exhaled deeply. How do I always manage to get myself in trouble? Oh wait, I know the answer to that. It's because I do reckless stupid things, and drag my friends into them.

   I looked behind Elyse and Dad to see Sarah standing behind them. She just shrugged and shook her head hopelessly. There was nothing that she could do.

   "You're both grounded for the rest of the week. School's the only place you'll be going to, and soccer practice will be cancelled for both of you," Dad said strictly.

   "What?!" I was fine with my punishment until he mentioned the soccer thing.

   "I said, you'll be grounded for the-"

   "No, we heard that. Dad, I have a game coming up this Saturday!" Damon crossed his arms.

   "Yeah, and mine is the week after. We need all the practice that we can get."

   "Yeah, Cole. Maybe we can let them go to their practice?" Elyse asked softly, putting her hand on his arm.

   "No. You've been codling them for far too long. We know about the food fight you started, the guy you punched, the classes you skipped, the pranks you pulled. The school's been keeping an eye on both of you."

   His words shocked me. How'd I think I could've gotten away with all of that?

   "Okay, you're right. But they're going to college next year, and this is their scholarship. I'm sure we can find a different punishment," Elyse replied.

   Dad started walking up the stairs with Elyse following him.

   "Not this time. They have to learn, Elyse. . ."

   We didn't get to hear the rest of the conversation because they were out of hearing sight by now.

   "They were going to pick you up at school because they had big news for you guys, but you weren't there. I'm sorry." Sarah pursed her lips.

   "You have nothing to apologize for," Damon said with a sigh.

    "I'm so exhausted. I'm going up to my room." I rubbed my eyes before leaving them, and going up the stairs to my room. The second my head hit the pillow, I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

   The searing pain in my lower abdomen woke me up the next morning. I groaned as I changed my position in the bed, trying to make the pain stop.

   The pain increased, and I started sweating nonstop whilst panting.

   "Elyse! ELYSE!!" The pain was so unbearable, I couldn't stop screaming.

   God, please make this stop.

   Please, please. I'll never do anything bad again, just make it stop!

   "Ash? What's wrong? Are you-"

   Black dots started appearing everywhere when I tried to stand up and . . . .

   The humming of the car engine filled the silence, and Elyse and Dad started talking about me not going to school. I slowly opened my eyes to see Damon's face. I was laying on my back, and my head rested on his lap.

   "You're okay. It's okay, just go back to sleep," he softly said with a hush, and I closed my eyes again.

    "Ash . . . Ash . . . Wake up," a voice called out to me, pulling me out of my deep slumber.

   I lazily opened my eyes to find Sarah sitting  on the bed, in front of me.

   "What happened?" I asked groggily.

   "It was all because of your period," she said with a laugh. "You were dehydrated, and you didn't have enough vitamins. So, when you got your period, you grew weak. And that pain in your stomach were cramps. Some people need to get injections of pain killers to stop the pain so that's why we took you to the hospital."

   My mouth formed an 'oh' expression as I took all the information in. This was the second time something like this would happen to me. Apparently, fainting was normal to me.

   "So, I'm not going to school?" I asked hopefully.

   "Nope! Damon went to school, and Elyse and your dad had to go to work. I'll call them so they can know that you're okay. But for now I have to go get groceries so I can give you a home cooked meal. I won't be long." She gave me a kiss on my forehead before leaving the room.

   I sighed, and closed my eyes. At least I had the whole house to myself. I grabbed my phone from the small table next to me, and checked my notifications. Looking at the date, I realized that today was 2 days after the fair. So, I went to the fair before yesterday and missed all of yesterday? Wait, something's not right.

   The doorbell rang, interrupting my thoughts. Well, it couldn't be Sarah because she just left.

   I quickly went to the bathroom, washed my face, and brushed my teeth. After leaving the room, I rushed down the stairs and opened the door.

   Strangely, Ryder was standing outside with grocery paper bags in each hand.

   "What are you doing here?" I asked, confusion lacing my voice.

   "Damon told me about what happened yesterday. Are you okay now?" His eyebrows furrowed in concern.

   "Yes, I am. It was just a little dizziness."

   "Well, that's not how it sounded when Damon said it." He shifted the bags on his arms, reminding me that he was still standing outside.

   "Oh, I'm sorry. Come in." I opened the door wider to let him pass in before closing the door behind him.

   He walked to the kitchen, and placed the bags on the counters. I hopped on one of the seats, and watched him take out things from the bags.

   "So, what are you doing here?" I asked, placing my hands underneath my thighs.

   "I'm here to make you feel better."

   "Why?" I asked evenly.

   "Because I want to."

   He gave me a warm smile that made his dimples pop up. I furrowed my eyebrows. This is not how Ryder usually acts. He's supposed to wink at me or smirk or give me a conceited remark.

   He turned around and started pulling out pots and pans from the cupboard.

   "How do you know where our kitchenware is?" I asked, watching him.

   "I don't. I'm just opening different drawers, depending on my luck." He laughed back.

I sat in silence as I watched him do a silent dance around the kitchen. I noted, he was very concentrated on his task, and knew what he was doing.

"Tell me something I don't know about you. I told you something about me on our last date," I said, breaking the peaceful silence, if you didn't count the pots and pans clanking together.

"Hmm, okay. Remember when you pranked us by pretending to drown?" He asked, and continued when I nodded. "I was really affected because my cousin, Angelo, died by drowning. He was only younger than me by a year. It happened on a family vacation, and we took the boat with us. The current was very strong and it was impossible for anyone to swimming in it- you'd instantly drown. He tripped over the bars, and fell in the water."

   I was taken aback from what he said. I've never seen such a solemn expression on his face before. And his usual light, twinkling, brown eyes were dull and sad.

   "Oh, my God, really? I'm so-"

   "Nope! Never really happened. I just saw it in a movie." He winked.

I laughed and pushed him lightly on the shoulder.

"But seriously, one thing you don't know about me? One of the things that I really want in life is babies. Lots and lots of babies. Close your eyes and picture a warm, smudgy, little . . . baby. Wrapping its chubby little arms around your neck. And breathe in the intoxicating baby smell. Doesn't it just melt you?"

"Yes," I breathed, opening my eyes.

So, the bad boy had a soft spot for babies. I found it very sweet and cute.

It took him 10 more minutes to, finally, finish cooking the soup. The aroma was mouth-watering, and I had to stop myself from pushing him out of the way and eating it all.

He poured the soup into two bowls before handing me mine. It was a white-creamed lemon and rosemary chicken soup. It just happened to be my favorite, but Elyse would never cook it for us for some reason. My stomach grumbled embarrassingly, but honestly, at this point, I didn't even care anymore.

Taking the spoon from him, I immediately dug in. The soup wasn't too thin or too thick- just the way I liked it. The few drops of lemon gave it the perfect taste, and the chicken pieces were delicious.

I moaned in delight as I ate more of it. "This is amazing! Where'd you learn to cook like that?"

"My mom taught me when I was fifteen. She thinks that every woman should marry a man that can cook and clean. And anyone who's against that should have her spatula shoved up their you-know-what. Her exact words." He shrugged.

I burst into laughter. "Your mom just became number two on the list of people who I want to meet the most."

"Yeah? And who's number one?" He asked with an amused smile, his eyes twinkling.

"Beyoncé."

"Why am I surprised?" He said it more as a statement than a question with a laugh.

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Author's Note:

Hey Guys! So here's chapter 17. And btw the spin that she was experiencing from her period is possible. It happens to me all the time.

And it took me a while on deciding whether they're supposed to be eating or drinking soup. I searched it up and it said that if you use a spoon (ofc u do) then you're considered eating it. So, there you have it.

Don't forget to VOTE (bec everyone likes Beyoncé), COMMENT, FOLLOW, and SHARE!