What You Caused

32.

Chapter 32 | Hunting for the girls in Victoria Secret

Lucas:

I flinch as Mia stabs her rice with such intensity I'm surprised the plate doesn't shatter.

Throughout dinner, she has been sending me murderous looks and it's making me antsy. Why is she so mad?

I had come over to dinner to try and pry a explanation out of Isabella - not to be set on fire from the heat of Mia's stare.

I flit my eyes over the rest of the girls, Grace is avoiding my gaze and Isabella chews her lip nervously, her eyes locked onto Mia.

What the hell is going on?

Their odd behaviour has diminished my appetite and I focus on Sofia who is sitting opposite me on her high chair shoving rice into her mouth with her hands, her little curly tufts of hair standing up in all directions and a pink crease still evident on her cheek from her nap that she had just awoken from only minuets ago. I think Sofia might just be my favourite person in the entire world.

Dinner continues to stay tense all throughout, although Abuela and Valeria fail to notice the tension prickling in the air and continue to make small talk as we eat.

"How is your football going Lucas?" Abulea asks, spooning rice into her mouth.

"It's going pretty good," I nod, smiling. "The season is off to a great start, we have another game next week."

"What day is it?" Valeria asks. "If it's a home game and we're free, we'll come to watch."

My heart squeezes at the little gesture. "It's on Friday evening and yeah it's a home game."

"We'll be there," Abuela confirms and my smile grows.

The fact Isabella's mom and grandmother are willing to come to support me at a game yet my own parents haven't been to a single one since I started during freshman year says a lot.

"Thank you," I reply gratefully. "It means a lot."

"No worries mijo," abuela grins. "Now have some more paella!

Before I can protest she shoves a large helping of paella onto my plate. I shrug before digging into it. Appetite or not, I could devour anything abuela cooks. Her cooking is phenomenal.

As I'm about to spoon the last spoonful of paella into my mouth, Mia slams her palms down on the table and stands up so fast her chair tumbles to the ground behind her. In surprise, I jump back, my spoon cluttering to the the plate, rice spilling everywhere. The sounds of the cutlery shaking fill the air and Valeria clutches her heart with her hand in shock. Even Sofia seems to be frozen, her little hand paused mid way in the air where she had been attempting to shove food into her mouth.

"I can't do this anymore," Mia seethes, lurching forward, her palms out stretched in front of her like she's about to strangle me. I shove my chair back abruptly, my eyes widening into saucers. What the fuck?

Before she can clamber over the table to get to my throat, Isabella and Grace promptly shove her away and Grace yanks Mia away out of the room by her hair, mumbling apologies about ruining dinner after her as she pulls Mia through the hallway and what I'm presuming is up the stairs.

Isabella's tongue darts over her bottom lip nervously. "Excuse me," she mutters before briskly rushing off after her two friends.

I stand frozen for a second, my eyebrows drawn together in confusion and my mouth gaped open in shock.