You Were Never Honest (Never 2)

“Definitely you Oscar, ouch,” says Benjamin when he gets an elbow to the gut.

“Eli put me down before I kick you on purpose.”

He sets me down with a pout, before he’s smiling at his own antics. What am I getting myself into with this guy?

“Can I speak to you for a second?” I can hear the nerves in my voice and my eyes are flitting around the room, this has me feeling antsy. A part of me wants to run while another is dying to see where this could go, just a taste of happiness. Surely even I deserve it sometimes.

“Sure, feel free. Don’t worry about us we won’t listen at all,” says Dimitri as he rests his head in his hands and stares right at us.

“Come on, we’ll go in the living room,” Elijah says before taking my hand, but Devlin beats us there.

“Stop making it so difficult for them, go sit in the conservatory and I’ll bring out your breakfast once it’s done,” thank you Elisa, she is Wonder Woman for sure.

We take a seat on this wicker sofa thing, it’s engulfed in pillows and surprisingly comfy.

“What’s up, like you know you can’t break up with me right. Seeing as we’re not together,” and now he’s slapping himself in the face.

Damn I’ve really got him nervous, oh no Eli calm down. I’m not thinking as I kiss him, I need him to shut up and calm down for a second so I can actually speak.

“Listen, Eli thank you for bringing me here and letting me see you guys in action. I’ve loved getting to know your family and seeing you at home in your element.” A soft smile is gracing my lips and I hope he can see how much I mean this. “I’ve spoken to your Mum, and she helped me realise that wanting more than one guy isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as long as it’s for the right reasons and we can all be honest with one another. I don’t know if this is something I want but I do know that I want you, I just need to know what I can and can’t handle first,” that last part whooshes out almost on one breath. My nerves won’t let me draw this out.

“Whatever you decide baby, I’ve got your back. You want me and only me I’m down for that and if you want the other two well that is a-okay with me. It helps that I already like them,” he says with a laugh and just thinking about Amias makes my heart hurt and a little harder to catch my breath.

“The last week with Bella was amazing, we went swimming every day. Went to the movies and did some shopping and spent so much time just chatting away. I can’t wait for school to start, which is shocking me so much right now,” I say on a laugh to Eli down the phone.

How can I not ring him? I’ve spoken to him on the phone every day since I left his place and now, I have to go back up to Norfolk and spend the rest of my summer with dear old Dad and my Mum, happy days… not.

Hang on, that isn’t right. Why is Dad driving a hire car, he has his own? Oh no, what has he done to it now?

“I've gotta go, I’ll call you later,” I say hanging up the phone. Before turning my attention to my Dad. “Dad, what’s going on?”

“Hennie, I’ve missed you so much,” he says as he wraps me in his arms and I’m loving it. Daddy’s girl through and through.

“I know you’ve been worried about your friend who’s in the hospital, so I thought we could spend the rest of your holiday here.” He drops a kiss down onto my forehead, before pulling back slightly so he can look at me. “I’m renting a cottage close to the beach and it’s only a short drive to the hospital, and I was thinking, this way, I could maybe meet a few of your friends while I’m here.” This

is making me so happy, but is it too good to be true?

“Hang on, your serious. I can’t believe it, how did you get Mum to agree?” I ask, but it’s not needed.

He looks so tired and he can’t even look at me, guess she’s back in rehab already. Mother and wife of the year for sure.

It’s not long before I’m climbing into the car and he’s driving us to the cottage, it’s so quaint and cosy. Damn there’s even a fireplace, I love this place. Giving Dad another hug, I can feel his sigh blowing through my hair.

We spend the evening eating pizza and talking about school, I want to tell him about the bullies and the emails but I’m not that stupid. I’m just glad I finally got myself a new email address, at least I won’t have to access the other one anymore. I’ll get Mattias to divert the important emails to me and then I won’t need to know what else those vicious twerps are sending my way.

The credits are rolling on The Nun and I can’t believe Dad is absolutely sparko. I liked the film, sure it was a little slow to begin with but it made me jump. What more do you want from a horror? I guess I may as well go to bed, but before that I better ring Eli. Oh no, I’m becoming one of those girls. And the scary thing is, I think I like it!

It feels so surreal, being back here in the hospital. I don’t even know why I’ve come, I just don’t like the idea of him being alone. I can’t help wondering why his parents would leave him here, I’m not going to presume things but it’s their son. Surely one of them could have stayed back to keep him company, what if he wakes up and no one is here?

“You’re back, it’s so nice to see you girl. How is your break going?” asks Maria and I cannot believe she is hugging me.

“It’s okay, I’ve spent some time with my friends and I got back yesterday. I would have come sooner but I haven't seen my Dad in a while,” why do I feel guilty as I say this?

“Don’t worry about it, my favourite patient is doing well, and the swelling seems to be easing. Fingers crossed we’ll have better news when his parents get back.”

She shouldn’t really be telling me this, but she’s a lover of romance and thinks we’re love's young dream. I am so not going to a good place when I leave this world, oh bugger!

“Has he had any visitors the last couple of weeks?”