What happens after Trey

Chapter 10

“But, Mum!” Perry whined childishly.

“Do not but me Perry McNelly, we’re going and that is that,” Mrs McNelly’s tone was hard and parent-like. “Your uncle is only in town for the weekend and you haven’t seen him in ages.”

“But it’s going to be so boring,” he complained.

“Deal with it, the three of us are going to spend some time with family.” I wasn’t stupid, I got the hint when she said the three of us, meaning Perry and his parents. It’s not like Mrs McNelly didn’t like me or anything, at least I hoped she did, she was probably just sick of me being around all the time. She was a different kind of mum to mine. When we would come up for the summer, we’d spend most of our time at my place. My parents were a little bit less strict and they weren’t usually stressed when we did something wrong. Mum never cared if we got sand on the floor, or if we forgot to take our shoes off at the door. Even the fact that my parents were known as Stuart and Monique while the boy’s parents were Mr and Mrs McNelly and Mr and Mrs Rogers was a bit of a giveaway.

“Perry, I agree with your mum,” I said, gaining me a surprised but appreciative smile from his mum. “You should go see your uncle.”

“But, I don’t want to leave you by yourself all day!”

“I’m not a little kid, Perry” I reminded him with a sigh. “I can look after myself for one day!”

“Then it’s settled,” Mrs McNelly clapped her hands together. “Go and get dressed Perry.” Perry’s not stupid either, he could tell that was the end of discussion on this topic. He got up with a grumble under his breath and trudged up the stairs, leaving me alone with his mum. We sat in silence for a moment.

“Thank you,” she said suddenly. “I really appreciate you agreeing with me.”

“Oh, well yeah, it’s not really a big deal,” I assured her.

“No really, it is,” she argued. “He would never have listened to me. You on the other hand, he’d do anything you say. He really cares about you, you know. We care about you too, David and I. I hope you know that. You’re like a daughter to us, even if we’re a bit slack on showing it sometimes.” I was blushing hotly and a lump was forming in my throat.

“Thank you,” I whispered, keeping my eyes glued to my hands, clenched in my lap. She smiled kindly and got up, patting my shoulder, as Perry came back into the room.

“I’ll just go find my handbag,” she said as she left. Perry flopped onto the couch, giving me a half-hearted glare.

“Thanks for that,” he said bitterly. “I don’t think you realise how boring this is going to be. Plus, my uncle’s staying at his usual hotel. It’s really old and it always smells like cat pee.”

“You’ll live,” I shrugged.

“Will you?” he suddenly turned serious, his eyes sceptical while I rolled mine.

“Relax, Perry, I’ll be fine!” I assured him. “It’s kind of hurtful that you assume that I’m incapable of keeping myself out of trouble for one stinking day!”

“It’s not that,” he mumbled. “It’s just, I worry about you.”

“I know you do,” I sighed as I got up and sat with him on the couch, leaning against his firm chest. “But you don’t have to, I’ll be fine.”

“If you say so,” he still didn’t sound sure.

“I do, so you’re going to go to that smelly old hotel, see your uncle and have a good time, and that is an order!” He laughed and I felt it blowing through my hair onto my scalp. A tingle ran down my spine and I breathed out shakily. There was something about being so close to him, having his arms around me, it just felt right somehow, safe. I knew nothing could hurt me as long as he was there, but I had a feeling there was something else. It was just a niggling feeling in the pit of my stomach, but even that felt nice, all warm and comforting.