Picture Perfect

Chapter Twenty-Four - Elliot

Hi all,

Apologies for the delays, I unfortunately have health complications that are soooo much worse when it's warm and humid, so I tend to decline in the summer and perk back up in the autumn/winter. Hoping that after this last heatwave (England does not often get hot, but when it does, we are thoroughly fucked as nowhere has aircon - our bloody roads melt and everything!) the weather will finally calm down and I'll have a brain again.

Love, Cam.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Elliot

If meeting Tyler's parents and sister mid-argument with Sorcha wasn't awkward enough, my re-introduction to them would be coming at a welcome-home party for his injured daughter. It wasn't my first choice, but I was just glad Saskie was coming home safe.

My job, as dictated by Sorcha, was to get Tyler, Colin, Andrew, and Saskie home without giving away that there was a party, despite the fact that I somehow also had to pick up a cake. The cake was in the boot of my car, secured tightly in a box, bubble wrap, and another box.

I turned into the ward, carrying four iced coffees, and a large Nutella doughnut. The ward was pretty empty, except for the bed crowded by three adults at the end. They were all laughing as Saskie, wide-awake, regaled them with a story. It looked as though Colin was drawing something on her purple leg cast.

"I bring coffee," I announced, trying to interject lightly.

The four of them turned to look at me, although Colin and Andrew were mostly looking at the coffee with a blatant hunger. I barely noticed. Tyler looked at me, and his face flooded with relief, as though he'd been hanging on until I got there. I handed the coffee off to the guys, and leaned in to kiss him gently.

"One sec," I told him, and turned to Saskie. "Hello, Princess Car Crash."

Saskie giggled. "Sign my cast!"

"I'll sign it in a sec," I said. "Your dad is drawing something on it!"

"Sign it after!" she insisted cheerfully, as though everyone hadn't spent a day and a half terrified and waiting for her to recover enough to talk properly.

"I will, I will," I laughed, and then handed her the doughnut box. I'd asked Tyler beforehand if she was allowed to eat, and he had said 'please feed her, she's driving me nuts'. "Have your doughnut."

Saskie's eyes lit up, and I knew I'd bought myself at least five minutes. I took Tyler's hand and said, "I'm borrowing you for a moment. C'mon."

Tyler let himself be pulled out of the chair and followed me down the corridor and out of the ward. There was a little visitor's room just down the hallway, so we went and sat in there, glad of it being empty.

"You okay?" I asked, the question I'd been dying to ask him since I'd received that horrendous message from Sorcha.

Tyler sighed, and leaned against me. "I don't know. I'm just keeping on."

I shifted my arms so he was wrapped up in them, and kissed his forehead. "You want to talk about it?"

"I think I kind of need to stop talking about it," he admitted. "I've been doing nothing but talk about it repeatedly, I'm kind of numb." He sighed, and nestled in closer. "I'm sorry I didn't take your calls - I just wanted to make sure I was there when Sask woke up, and then I didn't dare leave her in case she exploded or something when I wasn't looking."

I smiled. It hadn't been especially nice to know he was going through something alone, but Sorcha had kept me informed, and I knew he wasn't avoiding my calls. "Saskie is the priority. I knew that when we started dating, okay?"