The Space Between Us

Chapter 13 ~ Cooking

---Holly's POV---

He stood without another word, put his groceries in the back of my car, and got into the passenger's seat. I drove off.

Normally, I was not one to disrupt precious silence. But I was curious about River, and this could be my chance to talk to him since he was stuck with me for the few minutes it took until we got home.

"You didn't drive?" I asked.

River was staring out the window, his head resting on his hand.

"A friend dropped me off."

"And she didn't come back?"

"No, he didn't," corrected River.

I felt a blush creep to my cheeks. It was dumb of me to assume that it had been a girl.

"Why not? He left you stranded."

"You ask a lot of questions."

He wasn't being mean right now, I thought. This was progress!

But I didn't know what else to say, so I stayed quiet for a while as I collected my thoughts.

River continued to lean on his hand, his gaze drifting over the buildings as we passed, the last light of day brushing across his face.

"Thanks again for... saving me back there," I said after thinking it over for a few minutes. I still regretted speaking. As usual.

River didn't look over. "You already thanked me."

I ignored that part. "Are you secretly a good fighter? My friend Alice has a friend named Audrey, and Audrey's friend is dating an illegal fighter. Well, he used to be one," I rambled, inwardly wishing I would shut up. "I think it's really cool. Anyway, you were really calm."

"Practice," said River simply, then he added, "but not with fighting."

"Practice being calm?" I said. But then another thought crossed my mind before I could think too deeply about that. "Oh, speaking of practice, can we exchange schedules? I want to make sure I know when you'll be out."

River nodded. He sure was quiet. I wondered what he was thinking.

Wait. Usually, I was the quiet one. When did the roles reverse? And why wasn't he angry with me?

I broke the silence again. "You can call me Holly, by the way. Everyone calls me that."

Feeling his gaze, I kept my eyes firmly on the road.

"Okay, Holly."

We didn't speak until we got back to the apartment. It was evening, but thankfully I didn't have work. I wondered what River had planned.

We went around each other and put away our groceries. I noticed he barely bought anything.

For dinner, I chose to make a simple rice and chicken dish with some broccoli on the side. And kimchi. Alice got me to love the stuff so much that I eat it with everything.

As I was cooking, River sat on the couch, scrolling on his phone. I stole some glances at him while I was making the food. He usually went into his room. What made him stay out?

I decided to be bold.

"Why are you out here?" I asked.

He put his phone down and furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"

"I don't know... You usually don't want anything to do with me, so you go to your room. But now you're calmly on the couch? I just don't get it."

He ran a hand through his hair and looked back at me. His eyes seemed sad.

"I'm sorry that I didn't trust you before. I was a jerk."

"Yeah, you were."

"I'm sorry," he said again with a sigh. "I shouldn't have judged you before I met you."

"It's okay." I leaned on the counter. "I need to learn not to judge, too. Because you seem nicer than I thought."

"You... think I'm nice? After all that I said?" The corners of his mouth turned up in disbelief.

"You stood up for me in the parking lot. And you... well, maybe that's about it," I said.

He laughed. It was short, but it lit up his face in a way I hadn't seen before. Now that I thought about it, I hadn't ever seen him laugh. Or smile, really. It looked nice on him.

"Yeah, I guess so," he said, still with a smile on his face.

Man, he was handsome.

"I'm almost done with this. Do you want to have some with me?" I asked, looking away.

"Sure."

I smiled, not daring to look over at him for fear that he'd notice my slight blush. I couldn't help it - I was so glad that he was opening up! I really, really didn't want to live with a hostile roommate. Maybe now, we could be tolerable.

We sat down at the table about ten minutes later, each with some food on the plates. River's eyes were wide.

"You didn't have to make me food," he said in a small voice.

I shrugged. "It's no big deal. I noticed you didn't have much anyway. Do you not eat too much?"

"I... my coach wants me to diet," said River. His dark eyes didn't meet mine. "And I don't have much money, so I need to spend it wisely, anyway."

For the first time in my life, I was living on a budget. I was glad that I tore myself away during college from depending on my parents and brother for financial support; it taught me to understand money and how to be a good steward of it.

"I get it," I said truthfully. "It's okay. I don't mind cooking."

"I love cooking," said River.

"Really?"

"Yeah, so... I can make us something. Another night."

I smiled. "I'd love that. Because actually, I hate cooking."

I could've sworn he showed a smile as he looked back down at his food.

We ate in silence, but it wasn't a bad silence. It was almost comfortable. Almost.

River spoke up a few minutes later. "I'm here on scholarship. I got into this school only because I made the soccer team, and they're helping to pay for my degree."

"What is your degree?" I asked.

"Sports Management. With a minor in Business," said River.

"Cool," I said rather lamely. I didn't really know what else to say. I was so glad he opened up even this tiny bit to me. This was progress!

River insisted on doing the dishes since I cooked, and I gave up and let him. It was my turn to sit on the couch on my phone as he bustled around the kitchen. I watched him a bit. He was way different than what I had pictured in my head. I hadn't seen a single trace of arrogance or rudeness for the past couple of hours.

I liked it.