"Maya, Victor is coming too. Aunt has decided to let him study here with you..."

....

She said, and my mind froze, looking at mom with wide eyes and an open mouth for a few seconds before gulping a large amount of saliva.

I ran upstairs. With a sigh, I took out a set of comfortable wear: a large blue tee with full sleeves and white wide pants.

After drying my hair, I walked towards the mirror. Picking up the moisturizer from the dressing table, I looked at the mirror.

Although my hands were working, my mind was going towards what Rhys's reaction would be.

Victor was my neighbor, also one of the few people with whom I was comfortable besides my family. He was like an older brother to me: caring, possessive, calm, and polite—the ideal type of any girl's dream.

After doing a little skincare and makeup, I walked downstairs. Dad had gone to pick them up from the airport.

I sat on the sofa with a bag of chips in my hands and started eating while watching a show. Mom was also preparing something to eat—a little more special than usual. Smelling it, I got up from the sofa and walked into the kitchen.

"I asked you so many times to make me lasagna, but you never did," I complained. Mom chuckled and turned her head towards me before replying.

"It's Victor's favorite," she said.

"It's mine too," I argued, and she just shook her head before turning away again.

"Get out and let me do my work," she said, and I walked out—not before taking a tomato in my hand. Well, I liked raw tomatoes, and she knew it.

Once again, I made myself comfortable on the sofa seat and lay there .

.....

"Maya..." Mom called, and I whined, already wanting to sleep more, but then a voice echoed.

"Let her sleep, Aunt. I'm sure she's tired."

I quickly opened my eyes and looked towards where the voice had come from. Seeing no one, I got up and sat straight, removing the blanket from my legs. I let out a small yawn.

Turning my head back, I tried to look when someone's face came so close to mine. My eyes widened, and his did too. I gulped and quickly moved away.

There he was—Victor, sitting on the chair just behind the sofa, looking all grown up. He was seventeen the last time I saw him, but seeing him now, he looked like someone straight out of a book, with a cream-white tucked-in shirt paired with brown pants. His arms perfectly fit the shirt, his jaw was sharper than before, his nose small and pointed, and his hair dark, matching the color of his eyes, which were covered by glasses.



"Hey," he said, and I felt my cheeks heating up. Mom's shout came again from the kitchen.

"VICTOR, DID MAYA WAKE UP OR NOT YET?"

"Yes, Mom..." I mumbled, quickly getting up from the sofa. I stood, placing my bare feet on the cold floor, and walked quickly upstairs.

Getting freshened up once again, I calmed myself and then walked downstairs. Aunt and Mom were chatting, and Victor and Dad were talking about which subject he would choose and everything.

"Oh, come here, Maya," Aunt said, and I nodded my head, smiling while walking towards Dad. As I was about to sit on Mom's right, I noticed Evan clutching Mom's arm tightly, so having no option, I chose the seat beside Victor, who was on a different couch yet so near to me.

"Maya, how are you, baby?" Aunt asked, cooing in her beautiful voice, and I smiled, telling her, "I am all good, Aunt. How are you? How was the journey?"

And that's how the conversation started. Victor and I never talked, even for a second, although Mom and Dad explained to me all about why Victor chose to study here, which subject he would choose, and everything. To make things worse than they already were...

He chose the same subject as me: web development.

Of course, he would. He had always loved spending his time more on computers. Also, he was the one from whom Dad always asked advice related to my studies. He had always topped every class. We used to play and talk together, but now he's all grown up, and I am too, with those years of gaps. It felt a little uncomfortable—not that kind of uncomfortable, but just awkward.

Finally, the talks were over. I walked into the kitchen with Mom and started helping her place the dishes on the table. The talks started again, and Evan and I were playing with the food, smiling whenever Mom teased Dad about getting older.

Dad just laughed it out while Evan and I ate our hearts out.

"Did you like it?" Mom asked, and I quickly started nodding furiously.

"I asked Victor," Mom said with a stern face, and suddenly I heard Aunt laugh out loud. After that, everyone followed her. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him also smiling a little.

And that's how the afternoon went—with all the chatting. Victor's suitcase and all his stuff were sent to the room that had been empty for a very long time. Mom assigned me the duty to arrange his stuff and clean the room.

I quickly started cleaning the room. Since there wasn't much to clean, I finished everything quickly and placed the suitcase near the wardrobe, not wanting to invade his privacy.

Taking all the books and his laptop, I arranged his study table. Changing the white blanket and covers to dark blue, I placed a small lamp near the bed on a small table.

On the floor, I placed a matching carpet and let out a long sigh, looking at everything in contentment. I switched on the lights, and the warm yellow glow lit up the whole atmosphere. Feeling proud of myself, I smiled and turned to leave, but suddenly my face came near his again. My eyes widened like before, and so did his. We were both surprised.

He moved a little away and coughed. I nodded my head and quickly slid past him without a word.

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