CHAPTER 22
~"Secrets are made to be found out with time.”~
:Charles Sanford:
****Samantha's POV****Dad looked a little bit drained as he stood by the door.
“Oh, sonny, you’re finally awake—and oh, you’re also here sweetheart... Why are you turning like a tomato over there!? Anything wrong? Nevertheless, Luke… How are you?”Luke shot one look at me and replied,
“I suddenly felt better a while ago.” 
I blushed.
"Thank you for taking me in, sir."
"Actually you should thank Sammie 'cause she was the one who was most—"I shouldered Matt before he says anything stupid. Seriously, he's acting all foolish as though I have something towards Luke! BUT NO! I don't!
Matt shot a look at me.
While I threw the most murderous look I've ever got.
He coughed and stayed away.
“What I was s-saying was, bro, whatcha been doing lately?” Matt quipped.
“Huh? What? I mean, why?”“Well... We’ve just been thinking that the reason why you fainted might be from the fact that you are stressing yourself out… or you’ve not been eating properly.”“Eh… not really stressing myself out… and I do eat p-properly…” Luke mumbled.
I raised an eyebrow,
“By the likes of you, I bet you don’t know how to cook… who cooks your food?” 
“Eh… No one… And, yeah, I eat outside.”“Why yes of course, since I believe your parents aren’t with you. But, don’t you have anyone else with you?” Dad asked.
Why does Dad know that?
“I live alone… err, I mean, along with this little kid who’s my… cousin. But anyway, I have been eating properly, sir! We have this little shop near my apartment who cooks noodles and dumplings and all—and it’s delicious! I think I got obsessed, and I’ve been eating it everyday, you guys should try it out sometime—she’s giving it out free to me, by the way… It’s just okay to eat things like that on a daily basis, right?” Luke declared in such an overexcited tone.
Noodles? Everyday? -___-Dad, Matt and I exchanged looks, and we looked at Luke sternly.
“…or m-maybe not too good…?” He mumbled, as he caught sight of the expressions on our faces.
“You don’t know how to cook, huh?” Matt inquired.
“A lazy ass here, bro” Luke replied smugly.
Surprisingly, Luke and Matt exchanged high-fives. Dad and I scoffed at them.
“These indolent guys really get along…” I murmured.
“In any case, I won’t let you eat any more stuff like that,” Dad stated, and I nodded along.
True… True… “So, I think it’s better if you eat your meals here with us, sonny!” Dad exclaimed and I nodded along…
EH?!Did dad just say…? Eat here?
This perverted ogre, will eat his meals here?
What is this? Special Treatment?
“Dad! What are you saying? No! Absolutely no!”“Thank you sir! Besides, I’m just near here!”I stared at Luke—this guy…. Really… Aargh… -___-
Wait. Did he just say that he lived somewhere
NEAR here?!
“Hey moron, you live near here?!” I inquired, eyeing him up and down.
“Yep,” he nodded,
“I forgot to tell you Sammie, but the opposite way of this street is where my small apartment is…”He.
Lives.
Near.
Here.
-____-
Why does he keep on disclosing information
one at a time… ?!
So he lives near me! Why didn’t he just say so in the first place? So we could both go home together after school? This guy….
REALLY… STUPID!He’s starting to p!ss me off more.-___-
“Oooh… So the store you might be talking about is Miss Georgina’s Noodle House,” Dad chuckled,
“She’s still the same old hag, giving out free food to good-looking guys—tsk, that’s why her business never progresses… But then… All the better, you can go and eat your meals here on the double.”I tugged at my dad’s sleeve,
“Dad… What are you saying? This freak, you’ll really let him eat here?!”“Oh, so maybe you want him to live here, too? Okay! That would be perfectly fine with me, sweetheart!” Dad said blithely.
“Thank you sir!” Luke immediately answered.
“Would you please shut up?” I exclaimed at Luke.
Luke playfully pouted at me. Aaargh.
“Samantha. That’s not a good way to talk to your childhood friend, he’s an acquaintance of this family, and we must treat him well…” Dad said while Luke nodded his head in accord.
“…and besides Sammie, why are you talking like that? You were so scared and thoughtful of Luke when he fainted a while ago.” Matt jeered while juggling a circular figurine in his hands. (Figurine fetish)
……...............
I glared at Matt and at the same time, I saw the surprised face of Luke in the corner of my eye.
Maaaaatt….. -___-
“I see, I see… Thoughtful huh...” Luke muttered playfully.
I felt a nerve burst,
“Okay, okay! OKAY FINE! We’ll let him eat here but NOT live here! That’s my best offer!”“So it is decided.” Dad declared,
“Let’s all go to sleep, come on Sammie… Let Luke have his rest.”I looked at Luke and he was smiling arrogantly—again. -___-
Damn this conceited bastard.
Before leaving for the door, I saw Dad leaning down to whisper something in Luke's ear but I could
perfectly hear him,
"You can actually stay here if you want to, don't mind Samantha. 'Tis fine with me.""Daaaaaaad..."Dad chuckled and started to head out for the door, while I stuck my tongue at Luke.
But then, he started making these insane actions as though he was hugging an invisible person.
I felt myself go red in the face, and before I could see any more forbidding things that he might do, I slammed the door
real hard.
*****Luke’s POV****I slowly opened my eyes, trying to gather my thoughts, recalling last night’s events… Thinking about it, I slapped my forehead real hard…
HARD.“Stupid you, Luke Richens,” I mumbled,
“You said you’ll stop playing childish with her but there you go again… You go blah-blah-blah, and then yadda-yadda-yadda! And then blah-blah-blah again! And—”Tsss… Why am I talking to myself?
I rose up from the bed at a snail's pace, and once I got to stand firmly on the floor, I did a couple of stretches. Afterwards, I strode towards the door and opened it slickly. It was still around 5 am so I did not expect anyone to be up at this hour—especially Samantha. -___- She sleeps like a log
I went down the hall…
…and not to my biggest surprise, I saw Samantha’s dad sleeping outside Samantha’s door.
I closed my eyes, shook my head, and laughed quietly.
Mr. Hayes… The same as always…I approached him and shook him up,
“Sir, wake up, rise and shineeeee…”He slowly opened his eyes and then, upon seeing me, he gasped.
“L-luke!”I grinned,
“Wake up, wake up sir! No need to be surprised again!”Mr. Hayes slapped his face with his two hands,
“Sorry about that sonny, I just woke up… so for a moment there I forgot you were here and all…”“It’s okay,” I said, assisting him to stand up,
“Really… Sir… You’re still… Haha… Protective. Insanely protective.”He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck,
“Hehe… Just to be s-sure.”I patted him on the back,
“It’s not like I’m going to barge into her room and do something silly. You perfectly know me.”“I know. I’m sorry sonny,” Mr. Hayes said,
“But I’m just a father, haha! Last night, it just hit me. I do trust you, really, but times change, you might not control those raging hormones.” 
I looked at him incredulously, trying not to guffaw,
“Hormones!?”Mr. Hayes snickered,
“But for the tops, I do apologize.”“Apology accepted.”“Are you doing okay now?”“Fortunately, yes.”“I bet it’s not only from the food issue thing… that’s why you’re getting all stressed out like that… Maybe you haven’t adjusted yet to this… surrounding? This… place?”I looked down at my feet,
“Yeah…”Then all of a sudden, Mr. Hayes face contorted into a solemn expression,
“Now that you’re here and Sam’s still asleep… would you mind if we talk about things? I’ve got a lot to ask of you… Why you’re here, if it’s true that you—”I interfered,
“I know sir, I know you’d ask, and I’d be happy to talk about it with you… As long as you keep it a secret from Sammie… But you can tell her all about this when the right time comes...”Mr. Hayes grinned,
“Sure, sonny… I understand. Though I admit that it is really hard to believe all of this…”I grinned,
“Well, it’s not like it had happened to you before, right?”He looked at me for a minute; after that, a really serene grin spread across his face.
“Of course, of course… By the way, I am also concerned about what this will be leading to… I’m afraid you might…. just hurt my sweetheart… And that you’re just going to hurt yourself…”“I know sir… But… For the sake of being here I think I really need to do this—“He put his big hand over my shoulder,
“Of course, of course, you can do your thing. Actually, I think I will just have to leave it all to you—you’re grown-up’s, I’ll just be on the sidelines and assist if anything happens… And I know, you have your own purpose… Anyway, don’t you want to change? I believe you and Matt have the same size…”“No need sir, besides, I’ll leave as soon as breakfast is over.” I replied, grinning at him.
Mr. Hayes chortled,
“Still the same Luke—fond of food and complimentary meals.”
“Exactly.”Then, we both started laughing…
…this is going to be a looooong talk.
