Chapter 12

“Z!” Neo exclaimed with excitement when he opened the door later that evening.

I guess Amantha didn't tell him I was coming. Maybe she didn't feel she could rely on me? I didn't like the feeling I got from that.

“Hey, Neo. I brought dinner.” I gestured with the pizza boxes. “Is Amantha home? I didn't see her car out front.”

“Not yet. She should be here anytime. Come in.”

Neo gestured me in and had me put the pizzas on the bar top. He shut the door.

“Have a seat. I'll get some plates,” he said as he disappeared around the corner.

I sat down on a stool.

Neo appeared through the kitchen door. “What do you want to drink? We have water, lemonade, or Pepsi.”

“Water’s fine.”

Neo opened the fridge and pulled out three bottles. He closed the door then crossed the floor to the bar. He gave one bottle to me and set the other two down on the bar’s surface before he went to a cabinet for some plates.

“What did you do today?” he asked as he carried the plates over.

I laughed. “I annoyed Amantha. Pretty productive day, if I say so myself.”

I twisted the cap off my bottle of water and took a drink of the cold beverage.

“You worked today, didn't you?” Neo asked. He slid the plates onto the counter.

I set the bottle down and shook my head. “I only work part time at Airplayne Adventures. I'm off Thursday and Friday. Then I work at the mud races over the weekend. Today was exclusively spent trying to guess Amantha's last name. ...And sleeping. But mainly guessing.”

Neo laughed and sat down on his own stool. “Did you guess right?”

“Not yet. But I have time. Any chance I can bribe you to tell me?”

“Nope. I'm staying out of it.” Neo grinned. “You're going to kick yourself if you don't guess it.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Why is that?”

He looked at me innocently. “No reason.”

A key scraped in the front door lock then a moment later the handle turned and the door swung open. Amantha came limping in using a cane.

“Hi, guys,” she said as she closed the door behind her.

She looked tired.

“Hey,” Neo said.

“Hi,” I echoed.

“I see Zion found his way back.” She tossed her purse and keys onto the coffee table and used her cane to walk slowly to her stool. She sat down beside me.

“I did. And I brought pizza.”

“Awesome,” she said. She sounded tired, too.

Neo passed a plate and a water bottle over to her.

“Thank you.” She smiled at Neo.

“You're welcome.”

Neo passed me a plate.

“Thanks,” I said with a nod.

Neo nodded back.

I cracked open the top pizza to peek inside. “Hawaiian.” I put the box on the counter by Amantha. The other two would be the specialty orders.

“Oh, you didn't have to...” Amantha protested.

I looked at her. Her tired face, blinking sleepily back at me, was framed by her pink hair. She looked incredible.

“I did have to. Please enjoy.”

Then I looked at Neo and smiled. “I was told this is your favorite.” I opened the top of the barbecue pizza.

Neo’s eyes grew wide. “Are you serious?”

“Hell yeah, man. Err... Sorry. Umm... Heck yeah, man. Dig in. There are two of them.”

“Thanks!” Neo took two slices of pizza.

I asked Neo questions about school while we ate dinner. It turned out he was a science geek who was doing really well in school. He planned to go on to become a doctor.

“That's amazing, Neo. You should absolutely go for it.”

A smile broke across his face. “Thank you.”

I ate a bite of pizza and glanced over at Amantha. She'd propped her head against the wall and fallen asleep.

I said, “Aww. Someone fell asleep. Hey, Neo, where's her bed?”

“End of the hall, door on the left.”

“I'm going to carry her. Can you make sure the door is open, please?”

“Sure.” The boy’s stool slid back, and he took off down the hallway.

I stood and scooped Amantha into my arms. She snuggled her face into my chest.

She smelled so good. My heart beat faster in my chest as berries filled my senses. Despite wanting to, I kept myself from kissing her head.

I carried a sleeping Amantha back the hallway. Neo stood at a door at the end of the hallway with the door open.

“Thanks, man,” I whispered as I slipped into the room.

A simple bed, end tables, dresser, and TV filled the small, dark room. The curtains kept any light from coming in through the window. The only light came from the open hallway door. Books and a clock were on the end table I could see.

Neo came in behind us and tugged down the bedding.

I gently laid Amantha down on the mattress, her head on the pillow. I unlaced her shoes and carefully pulled them off, sitting them out of the way on the floor beside the bed.

After making sure she laid comfortably, I pulled the comforter around her sleeping form.

I smiled and bit my lip ring. She looked cute with her hair spread out on the pillow like that.

I brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Sweet dreams, Amantha.”

I looked at Neo. “Does she need an alarm set?” I whispered.

He shook his head. “Her clock automatically goes off during the week.”

I nodded and whispered, “Okay, let's go.”

Neo and I stepped out into the hallway and pulled the door shut behind us.

“It's early,” I said. “Wanna get out of here?”

Neo looked surprised. “Sure.”

“Let's clean up where we ate dinner and leave a note for Amantha.”

“Okay.” Neo jumped into action and ran toward the kitchen.

Amantha would kill me if I took him to a party. Luckily, I had something kid-friendly in mind.

I walked into the kitchen to help Neo clean up.