Is This True Love? (DNF)

Chapter 28: "Grandmother"

Thanks to ItsALolbitShow for being a great ideas person, providing sources and inspiration for future chapters.
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George POV.

I sat upstairs looking through the window, watching as Clay and Niki conversed with each other while walking out to the car. I was honestly surprised they let me stay here while they were gone but I guess it would be considered shitty of them if they had kicked out someone who had been through a breakup like I had just gone through.

The two of them didn’t bother locking the door, I mean there was no point when we were in a safe town on a safe island, plus I was here if anything did happen. They quickly drove away in the direction of the bridge off of the island, a sense of importance due to the fact they had a loved one in the hospital.

I could only imagine their situation, I myself didn’t have many loved ones, the only people I could name at the moment were Sapnap and Karl. Most of my connections, my safety net, had been torn apart from beneath me long ago, or not so long ago. But they were able to leave so easily, so calmly.

I envied that, the ability to leave the island so easily. The bridge wasn’t flimsy or unstable in any way, but it just reminded me of the losses I had endured. Close friends of mine who I had pushed to the back of my mind so I didn’t have to mourn them anymore. But now that I had thought about the rushing waves for the first time in hours

Even though the bridge was strong, steel and concrete reinforced for thousands of kgs of weight, I had a distrust of it. All of the memories would just keep flooding back, just like the rough waves coking in with the tide that night when I…

I looked back out of the window, a much better distraction than sitting here and thinking about the painful past. Just watching the traffic go by, counting the cars, thinking about what had happened with Clay earlier this morning. That was honestly a weird thing to think about, the fact that I was going to hook up with the blond.

We’d only known each other a few weeks, but we had grown quite close during that time, in fact I’d go so far as to call us friends. Plus I had just had that reveal about Fundy yesterday. Was I this willing to have a rebound hookup this soon? I honestly wasn’t sure.

From between the gaps in the houses I could faintly see the water, glinting in the sunlight, as though it was staring at me, taunting me for the loss I had gathered from it. At the sight I turned away from the window and retreated to the bed, choosing to lay myself back down so that I wouldn’t end up feeling faint.

Clay POV.

“So you and George?” Niki asked, and I chuckled awkwardly as I looked out the window. Although I didn’t say anything it was clear that that was an answer for her. Even if I didn’t say anything though she would easily be able to see because it was being filmed on half a dozen different platforms.

“I would never be with someone like that.” She said after getting my silent answer from me. “I mean… he is nice, but the relationship would be so public, I could never deal with that.” Then she hesitated. “...Are you in a relationship with him?”
“I’m not sure,” I responded. “Like we’ve only known each other a few weeks.”

“I’ve noticed.” She said, her hands holding the wheel. “I swear you and him have only seen each other half a dozen times, plus both of you know that you are going in a week or so.” Neither of us spoke for a while, watching as we reached the bridge and slowed as a truck passed us.

“Speaking of the fact I am meant to be leaving in a few weeks…” I began. “Do you think that he is upset about what’s going on between the two of us?”
“Yes.” She said, It was brief and blatant and made me worried that whatever the conversation was about was even worse.

After passing over the bridge, she pulled over at the side of the road. Due to all of the trauma that had been dumped on him, he tried to avoid deep water as much as he could. We were able to park here without being caught. The moment that she had pulled into a spot on the side of the road, she began fiddling with the radio dial.

I knew that Jimmy was likely listening in to our conversation, waiting for the blond woman to get connected with us so that he could speak. When she let go of the dial and leaned back, she addressed her boss. “Jimmy?” She asked. “We’ve crossed the bridge.” There was a moment as the other processed what she had said before he spoke.

“Clay, hi.” He greeted, not talking to Niki at all. I understood that she was probably in communication with him from earlier, but it still felt weird. “I was wanting to talk with you about George.” The tone didn’t appear overly angry, and so I cautiously lowered my guard.

“Yes?” I questioned. “What about George?” I could feel Niki’s gaze on me and resisted the urge to sweat. “There isn’t anything wrong, is there?”
“He was supposed to be spending the night with Karl and Sapnap.” Jimmy told me, a reminder from what he said last night. It was slightly firm, disappointment lacing his words. It made me uncomfortable.

“I remember.” I said, giving a small, curt nod. “You wanted Karl to comfort him, but because I was in the area George chose to go with me.”
“And then you and George slept together.” He said, putting extra emphasis on ‘slept’.

“We slept in the same bed.” I corrected him. “But we have not slept together.” Then I added on. “It was to comfort him after Fundy cheated on him.”
“And was the kiss also to comfort him?” Jimmy asked and I blushed, falling silent again. I felt Niki looking at me and Jimmy was likely looking at me through a camera as well.

The woman beside me continued to sit quietly and patiently, listening to Jimmy. He was her boss after all and had nothing at stake in this conversation. "I don't want you attempting to pull any of your usual shit with him Clay, understood? Do not sleep with him."

When I didn’t say anything he continued to talk. “The comments have been going crazy all night, Clay. They were all excited about the fact you two were sleeping in the same bed and kissing.”
“Well comments can get wild.” I tried to reason.
“We are going to have to find a way to deal with this.”

“I understand.” I said, my hands found themselves clutched together on my lap. “What are you planning on having us do?”
“I will be talking with your agent.” Jimmy said. “We will discuss what to do and get back to you later today, understood.”

“Sure.” I replied. Then Jimmy hung up. I lowered my gaze, trying to hide my smile from Niki and Jimmy. Speaking of the blond woman.
“So what do you want to spend the day doing?” She offered. “Since there is no point in us going back home after we told George we were visiting family all day.”
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1272 words.