𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇 𝐌𝐄

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎

carmen

I woke up to the October chills this morning freezing since my brother refuses to turn the heating on, because he prefers the cold. I was dressed in a sweatshirt and sweatpants and even then, I was still shivering. My mood was now dampened and I haven't even been awake for two hours.

Stomping out of my room, I stormed into the lounge to find my brother working out, sweating and huffing. "Maikel." I cleared my throat.

Kai ignored me, carrying on lifting weights and listening to his music. He was shirtless in this weather?!

"Hello?!" I raised my voice a little louder.

Still no response.

I rolled my eyes and walked over until I was next to him, taking one earbud out of his ears. "Maikel!" I shouted.

Kai dropped a dumbell to his feet, and lifted his hand to his ear, wincing from the painful eardrum I probably just popped. "Ow! What the fuck, Cammy? I could have dropped the dumbbell on my feet."

"You're kidding me right? I was basically shouting your name and you weren't answering me."

"I was working out. You could have tapped me or something, not fucking pop my eardrum." Kai grumbled, placing his dumbbells back onto the rack.

"Whatever. I came to tell you to put the freaking heating on! I'm going to die from hypothermia." I whined.

"It's not even that fucking cold, I'm not wearing a shirt right now and I'm still boiling." He argued back.

The nerve this man had.

"You're working out being all gross and sweaty." My face cringed at the sight.

"I'm doing something called physical exercise. You should try it one day." His response left me speechless. How dare he comment on my lack of physicality?

"That," I paused for dramatic effect and held up my hand to his face, "was rude."

"Shut up. The heating comes on when I want it to come on."

"I'll move out to the dorms." I said, hoping he would get scared at the possible thought of me leaving and give in to me.

"Be my guest. One less person to cook for." Kai chuckles, grabbing his water bottle and moving into the kitchen.

I stood there, trying to come up with another threat. I could say I would move out into one of his friends' apartments, that might scare him a little.

Which friend could I say?

I ruled out Damian almost immediately since he was Maikel's best friend and also rude and annoying. The only other friend of Kai's I had met was Josh. I wouldn't exactly say Josh and Kai were best buddies, but they seemed to tolerate each other.

I followed him into the kitchen. "I'll move in with Josh, he seems lovely."

All of Maikel's movements stopped, and he stopped looking for food in the fridge. His body tensed and after a moment he released a heavy sigh, turning to me. "The heating will be on for tomorrow."

I grinned at him. "Yay, thanks! Love you." I walked over and ruffled his hair, ignoring his defeated demeanor.

Kai hummed in response and began cooking an omelet for us.

I sat and watched him closely, hoping to learn how to cook an omelet without feeling sick after. My phone buzzed and when I checked the message, my brows furrowed.

Unknown number: Carmen.

I panicked, thinking I was being stalked, because who in their right mind messages someone with just their name?