Sweetly Yours

Chapter Eighteen; Sweetly Goodbye

Sweetly Yours

Chapter Eighteen; Sweetly Goodbye

Okay, okay.

Maybe I had exaggerated the tiniest bit, I’ll admit.

So, there wasn’t fifteen minutes left before my parents came to collect me, there was half an hour. Admittedly, that wasn’t that much of an exaggeration, but it wasn’t like there was much to do for me to get ready—all I needed to do was put on my clothes, hunt down my coat that Mrs Bright had put away somewhere after it had dried on the radiator on my first night here, I really needed to do something with my hair, and clean my teeth (during my stay, Mrs Bright had leant me a spare, brand new toothbrush that she kept for so-called ‘emergencies’). Oh, and give Jamie his Christmas present.

I had decided that it was the right thing to do. After all, all of this had been caused by that stupid little package, so I might as well fulfil its initial purpose, right?

Right.

And of course, now that Jamie knew about the present and my feelings, I could give it to him face to face—and hopefully, it wouldn’t be awkward. Or, too awkward, would be the more correct phrase.

I’d just demand that he open it tomorrow, so I couldn’t see his reaction.

Now, that would be awkward. Extremely so, indeed.

It was one of those gifts that you needed to mull over and contemplate for a while, you know? Because your initial reaction wouldn’t necessarily match your ‘afterthought’ one.

For once, I was feeling quite confident. I was confident in myself, along with my decision. It wasn’t a cocky kind of confidence, just an, I’m sure of myself, comfortable kind of confidence, you know?

And so, once I had zoomed my way out of the lounge, I scarpered into Jamie’s room, hands flaying out to snag my clothes which were folded up neatly onto the chair of Jamie’s desk. Once they were firmly and securely planted in my grasp, I made my way out of Jamie’s room a little more calmly than I had entered. I walked across the hallway smoothly, entering the bathroom and flicking the brass lock.

Slowly, and for the last time, I slid off Rayna’s old pyjamas. I got dressed slowly, realising that there was a part of me that wanted to prolong my leaving. Once I was dressed into my clothes—which really did need a wash, by the way—I made my way over to the sink, before proceeding to brush my teeth.

After a few minutes I had minty fresh breath, and I then washed my face quickly, splashing on some cold water just to make sure this whole experience wasn’t a dream.

It wasn’t all a dream, thank gosh.

That would be utterly heartbreaking.

I snagged the hair tie that I had used yesterday off of the side cabinet, scooping up all of my hair into a high ponytail at the top back of my head. I pulled the strands, teasing them through, before pulling sharply on the clump, securing it all in place. I glanced in the mirror, brushing a few loose hairs away from my face.

I smiled at my reflection—no, not for vain reasons, but due to the fact this would be my last time looking into this particular mirror, my last time staring at my red and blotchy make-up free face and not being able to fix it up, my last time at having to wear these clothes all crumpled up and beginning to smell a bit off.

After a detour at the toilet, I took one last glance at the room, smiling at the pristine tiles, the not a speck of dirt on any of the white countertops. Guess either Mr or Mrs Bright was a neat freak—I’d place my bet on Mrs Bright, though.