My Sweet Punishment by Amelia Brooks (little red riding hood ebook free .TXT) 📗

Suddenly the guy grabbed me by the palm and, looking into my eyes, said seriously:

“And you’re still the same...” and there was so much tenderness in his voice that I immediately felt awkward, “... my Mia.”

The next moment, my mother came into the kitchen and gave us a strangely satisfied look. Then she said that James’s doctor had called her. The boy was already awake.

Liam realized that now we will definitely not be up to him and, thanking for the warm welcome and delicious tea with cookies, went on the way out.

“Liam honey, come to dinner,” my mother said suddenly. “There will be aunt Suzy with her daughter and her husband. Do you remember Lily? Let’s have a family time.”

Lima looked at me for some reason, answering my mother:

“Of course, Mrs. Brown. I will come.”

After my childhood friend has left, my mother and I immediately rushed to the hospital, and within an hour we were approaching the walls of a private clinic.

In the ward, we were met by a friendly nurse who monitored the boy’s condition all the time. The conditions here were really good. There was even a large plasma screen in front of the bed. James hasn’t noticed us yet. He was lying on his side watching a cartoon.

“James, my boy!” it was obvious that my mother was so close to crying.

These last days of waiting and knowing anything had been so hard for her.

“Hey, little fighter,” I leaned over and kissed my brother on the cheek.

James was very happy to see us. Of course, we can see that he was still weak, but he was holding on, just fine. A real man grows up.

Later, a doctor came to see us. The boy’s kidney is already working, so everything is fine. In a week, James can already be taken home. The man will give us recommendations for proper child care and prescribe all the necessary medications.

And in the evening, we were already sitting at the large dining table in the living room. Mom, me, and aunt Suzy. There was also her daughter, my cousin with a husband, who stopped by to take her home. A little later, Liam joined our company. He solemnly handed me a bouquet of red roses and thrust a large box of cake into my hands, not forgetting to kiss me on the cheek.

“Hey, our Mia, finally, had an admirer?” my relative exclaimed when Liam entered the room and greeted everyone.

“It’s just Liam, aunt Suzy,” I snorted and suddenly caught my friend’s puzzled look. Like, ‘What the hell?’

“Oh, exactly!” My aunt slapped her forehead, and I grinned at her reaction. Looks like it’s a family thing that our wits are sleepy. “Well, you certainly became a ladybird. Do you have a girlfriend now?” yeah, my aunt is definitely lacking tact.

I rolled my eyes mockingly as I sat down next to my friend. Well, Aunt Suzy was as usual. Her favorite hobby was working sometimes as a matchmaker. Especially when nobody asks about it.

But Liam did not swallow my aunt’s bait. The guy had deftly changed the subject and was already talking about his adventures in another country. Even I listened with my mouth open. He graduated from high school there, played on the football team, then college, an internship at a cool firm. Was he really only 8 years away?

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. But everyone was so engrossed in the conversation that they didn’t even notice it.

“I’ll get it,” I said, hurrying to get up from the table.

Most likely, it was the neighbors. They often come to see us. Therefore, I was not at all alarmed by someone’s late visit, but as it turned out in vain...

“What are you doing here??” I almost shouted, with my eyes widening in surprise.

It was Collins who was standing on the landing and now glaring at me with an extremely unkind expression.