" Mum you didn't have to come, you are treating me like I'm some kid or something", Denver whined helplessly as his mum and brother pushed through to his house , " c'mon bro....., you moved in and you are suddenly acting mature huh....and why is it so quiet , don't you have neighbours", said Ryan as he looked around , " you punk....", said Denver as he tried to hit Ryan but he dodged and laughed mockingly , " c'mon now boys.....be mature", said Denvers mum (Diane) as she settled and dropped a bag on the table, Ryan whistled as he looked around, " nice place...", then he sat down on the couch and sighed , " your place is spotless ...and you have a nice view here...maybe...", he turned around putting his two legs on the couch and flashing a teasing smile , " i could move in", " hey....if you do that you will also pay rent,and I will cut your legs", Denver said cutting him off almost immediately with a frown as he attempted to throw his flip flops at Ryan but he just rolled down from the couch to the floor as he chuckled hysterically , " Ryan.....stop teasing your brother..., Denver I'm sorry your father couldn't make it , he had a doctors appointment today", said Diane as she removed some well contained dishes from the bag, Denver sighed as he helped his mother to remove the dishes, " its okay....and mum you didn't have to do this , i already have so much food in the fridge ", he was clearly frustrated.
Diane took a sharp breath in and glared at him making Denver to look away, " don't make me feel like a bad mother....I have been waiting for one of you to move out so that i could do this and yet you are mad at me .....", " tsk....mum, I didnt even say that huh....", said Denver as he hugged his mother playfully rocking her like she was a child , Diane scoffed as she pushed him away lightly, " tsk...you...", Ryan popped in , " bro, your restaurant is popular , have you seen any celebrities yet huh....?, Denver sighed clearly stressed from his brothers yapping as he ignored him and kept helping his mum .
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" Make sure you eat everything in that fridge okay...., don't stress yourself , be drinking plenty of water and be sleeping more, if you get bored, tired or stressed...you can just close the restaurant and come back home ", Diane said as she walked out of the house with Denver and Ryan at the back of him, " mum....are you wishing for my business to fail?", Denver asked both amused and surprised at his mothers statement, Ryan tilted his head as he stood infront of Diane with his mouth pouted , " mum....if Denver quits now I won't be able to retire", Denver scoffed , " tsk.....you haven't even gotten a job , you haven't graduated and you are talking about retirement, you sleazy punk...", Ryan gave a teasing laugh.
" Mum are you sure you don't want me to drop you off, it will be better if I do that ", " its fine....I will have to stop by and do some grocery shopping , I came here unannounced, you couldn't even go to work because of me so take this time and rest", Diane said assuring Denver, Denver nodded with a smile, " let me hail a cab for you". At that very moment Rheas door opened , Denver and his family looked at her a little surprised, Rhea was also shocked,she probably didn't know that people were here, the way she looked you would easily tell she felt akward, " oh gosh....", Ryan's eyes widened with admiration as he leaned closer to Denvers ear, " she's so pretty", he whispered loudly and Denver shot him a death glare which made him to instantly back away with his amused expression.
Rhea looked at Denver , then at Diane before her eyes widened with realization, she quickly bowed her had, " g.....good morning maam", she stuttered , Diane looked at Denver, " why didn't you introduce us to such a pretty lady.....and I am already leaving...", Denver looked at Rhea, he knew she was feeling akward right now and had just been thrown to an uncomfortable situation that she had to smile through, he needed to avert this, " we don't talk that often", Rhea abruptly looked at him and then their eyes met , it was as if she was encouraging him to continue, Denver took the hint as he looked back at his mother, "let's be going now mum....", said Denver trying to persuade his mum as he took the bag from her hand , Diane nodded then she looked at Rhea and smiled warmly.
She took a step and was about to walk out but then she stopped abruptly, " ah....I almost forgot.....Denver.....do you remember Kathryn , that girl that you used to date?", there was a sudden silence and the hall went cold , Denver tilted his head clearly confused, Rhea pressed her thumb on her hand , she should probably leave now but what was this feeling , why was she feeling weird about it?, he would of course date someone, ten years is so long for him not to date anybody , in ten years she had published three best sellers , gotten engaged, gotten pregnant , had a miscarriage and her career failed, ten years was indeed long but....why was she feeling like this , he had a life of his own , she had almost forgotten that, she should be composed.
" Mum....hah....", he sighed frustrated as his eyes darted to Rhea , what was he doing?, he wanted to see her reaction, if she looked at him he will be able to see her more clearly but...she didnt look at him , he looked back again at his mother , " we never dated...we were just friends", he looked over at Rhea again and this time she was looking back at him, "aaahhhh...tsk.....I thought you guys had dated.....", she kept talking but Denver and Rhea couldn't stop looking at each other, the world around them quickly faded and it was just the two of them , the tension between them was thick,their gazes lingered, their eyes never straying away ,what would they do if they just came closer to each other?, what would happen if every layer of emotion was torn away ?, what would happen if one of them would approach the other?.
Diane rambled while Ryan observed, his mum was clueless not to see the heat and the lingering getting gazes between this two, his brother had never looked at anyone like the way he was looking at Rhea , it was soft, it was....affectionate?, this was unbelievable, Denver liked his neighbour after how many weeks of being on the same floor, they were the only ones on this floor , Ryan eyes widened as if piecing the puzzle together , was she the reason Denver had moved all of a sudden ", his eyes darted from Denver to Rhea then to Denver once more, his gaze was still fixated on her, he didn't even try to hide it , his gaze was too gentle, was his brother in love?. " Hah....", he scoffed as he went over to his mother who was clearly not getting the hint and drapped his hand on her shoulder , this tiny bit of action made Denver to waver and his gaze finally focused on his mother , " don't worry Denver, I will drop mum off....", Ryan said as he peeked over at Rhea then his eyes returned back to Denver smirking, " seems you are busy",he mummured, Denver tilted his head a little confused.
Diane smiled at Ryan , " for the first time you are being responsible ", Ryan nudged his mum playfully , " mum.....I have always been responsible ", he said as he and his mum began to walk away, Diane turned to Denver, " remember to visit home", Denver smiled as he nodded, Diane looked at Rhea and waved, Rhea smiled back and also waved her hand back to her, Ryan turned his head to look at Denver then mouthed, " good luck ", then he flashed a teasing smile, Denver eyes furrowed making Ryan to turn away snickering , Denver watched as they both left.
Denver turned back and.... Rhea was still there, his mum had just made everything weird , why did she have to suddenly bring up Kathryn , he was suddenly nervous and he felt akward as he scratched the back of his head with a sheepish smile , he took slow steps towards her then he abruptly stopped just enough for her to hear him speak , Rhea took a step closer to him, it looked like she also had something to say , " I'm sorry if my mum had put you in an akward situation...Kathryn is just a friend", he said trying to convince her , he looked apologetic, Rhea wondered why he was trying to convince her , their relationship was rather....platonic, familiar strangers, acquaintances, their relationship didn't go more than that, " you don't have to apologise to me....it was nothing", she felt that Denvers life had stopped just because of her , back then when they were staring at each other one thing kept running through her mind, she got to do everything she ever wanted to do without looking back, that was how she managed to get to the top , she left her past behind but Denver was still attached to that past , he was a good person who deserved everything good, a nice girl to settle down with, a decent family and a happy home, not someone who...used even her own child to get what she wanted.
She looked up at Denver, a soft smile appearing on her lips, it was....genuine , Denver tilted his head curiously then he stepped back a little as he narrowed his gaze, he asked teasingly, " am in trouble?", Rhea smiled broadened more , " Denver....", she took a step closer to him then she sighed, that beautiful smile that had revealed those shallow dimples, that single act was enough to tell Denver that something was wrong , his brows furrowed and a light frown settled in, he was concerned, " Rhea....", " Denver", her voice was gentle yet vold , her eyes didn't stray from his , you could easily tell that she wasn't joking around , the halls became quiet heightening the tension, Rhea eyes drifted back to Denvers hand , that scar though almost healed she could still see it and could still remember his eyes that day , he looked like a totally different person , that day....was the last time she ever wanted to see him like that again , that wasn't who Denver was , seeing him with his family , how lovable and warm they were made her feel selfish , if her and Denver gets closer , he would be pulled into her mess and she knew he won't hesitate to give the final blow .
" Let's be strangers from now on...I don't want you ...anywhere close to me ", and there she went , she didnt flatter and she just gave it as it was and Denver....he didnt like it one bit.