Kara

"Honey, I'm home!" I called out.

As soon as I stepped inside the front door, a huge smile split my face. It smelled of cookies baked fresh in the oven and some savoury dish. But more than that, the house felt like a home. Maybe because of the warmth of friendship.

Ever since Veronica had moved in with me, the house always smelled amazing. It was either she was cooking or cleaning. At first, I didn't believe her when she said that those things were her hobbies. I mean, for real? But it turned out she really did like doing house chores. I'd never met anyone like her. The only house chore I liked was cleaning the fridge with my mouth.

Grunting from the weight of my gargantuan grocery bag, I finally dumped it on the floor, grabbed the long handles with my two hands, and proceeded to drag it on the floor to the kitchen.

"Ver?"

I found Veronica camped out on the dining table. It was exam week. Her thick textbooks were lined up in alphabetical order, and I could see little coloured post-it notes tucked inside of the pages. Her notebooks and pens were neatly arranged beside a stack of papers. How did she do that? When I reviewed for an exam, my desk always looked like a frat after party.

But instead of reviewing, I found her knitting a red... something.

She finally looked up and let out a yelp, her dark eyes wide with alarm. She was jumpy, this girl.

"Sorry," I said, throwing my purse on the dining chair. "I called but you didn't hear me."

"I'm knitting—"

"A sock?"

"It's not a sock." She worried her lip, lifted the red it's-not-a-sock so she could inspect it. "Does it look like a sock?"

"What is it?"

"It's a secret." There was a secret smile on her lips. "For now."

"Okay, CIA agent."

She put it down and helped me drag the grocery bag in front of the kitchen pantry.

"What's for dinner?" I asked, crouching so I could pick out the canned goods first and hand them to her. She put them away in their proper places in the pantry. "Smells amazing. I'm so hungry my organs are shutting down."

"I made vegetarian Pad Thai. Go eat, Kar. Leave the groceries to me."

"I can't. Save me some for tomorrow? I'm eating at Dad's tonight. Maybe sleeping over, I don't know yet. I'll text you."

She smiled at me. I smiled back. I folded the now empty grocery bag when we finished putting the groceries away and haphazardly threw it in the pantry shelf. I let out a snort-laugh when I saw her refolded it and tucked it away neatly.

"So, we'll go shopping soon for your dress, right?" I asked.

It was Lockhart's birthday party on Sunday, and half of the planet was invited and so was I. Unfortunately, so was Cameron Jeremiah Son of Satan Saint Laurent.

If my heart started beating rapidly, it was because I was moving my limbs too much. If my body started feeling hot, it was because the kitchen was hot from Veronica's baking and cooking. It had nothing to do with Bigfoot. Nothing at all.

"We'll sneak out during lunch break some time this week. That good?" I walked back to the dining room for my purse, looking for my phone so I could text my dad. "I have to meet another potential client tomorrow," I said loudly so she could still hear me from the kitchen.

"What?" she yelled back. "Hold on."

"It's another lady from church. They want me to help decorate their backyard. I'm so excited!" I went on. "I'm so busy I could cry, but I want to be there when you shop for your dress. Please?"

Veronica finally walked in the dining room, carrying a takeout box.

"Okay, as long as you don't pick a dress that shows my coochie or butt cheeks, we're good."

"Titties are fine, then?"

"Kara."

"What? I'm kidding, I'm kidding. You should see my dress. It's a killer." Son of Satan Saint Laurent would fall on his knees begging once he saw me in it. And I wouldn't even care.

"What are you looking for?"

"My phone. It's in here somewhere."

"Here." Veronica placed the takeout box on the table. "Want to bring this with you? I thought maybe Mike or Dylan would like some."

"Aw. You're awesome. Thanks, Ver. I'll cook next time."

"No, thanks." Her eyes were laughing.

I playfully drilled her cheek with my finger. "Bitch." I chuckled. "Fine. I'll order food for us tomorrow. Don't cook."

"Okay." She went back to her seat on the opposite side of the dining table.

"Dad said thanks for the scented candle you gave him the other day." Dad would always bring us snacks at the office, and Veronica wanted to give him something nice. I had no idea why she would gift a 58-year-old mechanic scented candles, but my dad thought it was sweet of her. "He's doing a bubble bath right about now and lit it up," I joked.

"Really? That's good. I'm glad."

"Aha!" I found my phone and quickly sent a text to my dad that I was on my way soon.

"Kar, did you eat the peanut butter chocolate bar in the fridge?"

I bit my lip. "Um. I'm not sure yet. The situation is still under investigation, but I can tell you that we are doing the very best we can to find the culprit."

Veronica rolled her eyes, then let out a small, cute laugh.

"But guess what?"

"What?" she asked.

"I found this in my purse." I opened a bag of M&Ms. "Catch this with your mouth."

"Okay."

"Ready?"

"No."

"Here goes. Catch!"

"Ouch!"

"Okay, one more."

"Wait! I have to—"

"Catch! Good job. Okay, another before I go."

The door burst open and I knew who it was right away from the sound of heavy footsteps.

"Hey!" Beth stomped her way beside Veronica. "My turn!" She opened her mouth, and I threw one. It hit her eye.

"You suck," Beth laughed, picking up the candy from the table and popping it in her mouth.

"You guys hang. I'm sorry I gotta run. Dinner with Dad and Dyl. Theo not here?"

Beth let out a loud sigh. "He's working."

"Okay, let's hang next time. Goodnight, bitches! See you later."

***

The house was lit up and smelling of my dad's vegetable stew by the time I arrived. He was at the sink, washing the dishes. When I spotted Veronica's scented candle lit up on the counter, I smiled to myself.

Since Dad's heart attack, I had been very careful of his diet. Whenever I had free time, I made sure to take him to the park so we could walk together and exercise. Mostly Mike Hawthorne didn't complain.

"Hi, Dad."

"Hey, Kara Koala. How's my baby girl?"

"Exhausted, but good." I gave him a kiss on the cheek. "My exams are done, and I got another project coming up."

"That's my girl."

Grabbing a bowl in the cupboard, I transferred the Pad Thai in it and placed it on the counter.

"Veronica wants you to have this."

He smiled. "Oh, that looks good. Tell her I said thank you."

"I will. Where's Dylan? It's his turn to wash the dishes tonight."

"He isn't home yet."

"What?" I frowned, looked at the clock in the living room. "He's been coming home late these days, isn't he?"

I fished my phone from my purse and dialed his number. There was no answer. Lately, he'd been... different. Sometimes he'd be the same old Dylan, joking and laughing and being lovable, but mostly he'd been quiet. And combative when he was never like that before. Something was wrong, but when I tried to talk to him, he'd always come up with excuses.

"He's got a lot going on, that's all."

"Did he tell you what's going on?"

"You know your brother doesn't like to share things anymore."

A headache was creeping up the back of my neck to the base of my skull. I phoned Dylan.

There was no answer.

To be continued...

A/N: Hi, hi! It's me again. Okay, so there are now three chapters I posted today! Chapter 13, 14 and 15 (part 1). I'm still writing chapter 15 (part 2) and hopefully finish it soon! Hope you enjoyed reading them all. I'm having fun writing these chapters! I love Kara, Red and Beth together! :) I know, I know. There will be Kara and Cameron chapters soon. I have to set up everything first so that when it's their time, it will all be worth it. And hopefully it will all make sense. I miss Kara and Cameron together so much that I actually wrote another one like chapter 11, but maybe I'll reserve that for later. :) Have a great weekend, my loves! Thanks for being here. Love, Isabelle

P.S. Current favourite song?

Current favourite show?

Have you seen John Wick 4 yet? Any other movies you can recommend?