repeat// 5SOS

we are positive about this one

Luke

"Good morning mum and dad,"

The bedroom light flicked on and I squinted, seeing Gabi at the door with two plates of toast.

"Good morning,"

"I made you breakfast,"

"Oh! Thank you,"

"I am trying to be positive,"

"Well that's a good way to start the day," I said, elbowing Sierra's side to wake her up, "Have you eaten?"

"Yes. I am going to shower now,"

She passed us the plates, then swiftly left the room, Sierra slowly waking up beside me.

"We have toast,"

"From where?"

"Gabi,"

"Oh, that's nice of her,"

"She's trying to be positive,"

"Ah,"

We were viewing two houses today, and I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but I really appreciated the effort Gabi was putting in. I expected some snarkiness, but the day now had the potential to go smoothly.

After we had eaten, we both got dressed into nicer looking clothes and Sierra did her makeup; Gabi came through in joggers and a cami top, her hair in a messy bun.

"Oh,"

"You can wear that,"

"You're gonna put on your nice shoes though,"

"You're not buying the house,"

"Okay. Can mum do my makeup?"

"We don't have time, I'll do it tomorrow?"

"Okay," she mumbled, crouching down to Petunia, "Is tomorrow where we sell our own home?"

"Someone is looking round, yes,"

"And I am going to pack my room up,"

"Yeah. We will both help," I said, crouching down beside her, "You can choose the music,"

"Okay,"

"C'mon, we need to get going,"

I kissed the top of her head and she did the same to Petunia, then I gave her a piggyback downstairs and she put her trainers on. Sierra put some black boots on to go with her dress, and I wore my 'nice shoes', then we headed out without the wheelchair as we wouldn't really be using it.

Gabi begged me to sit in the back of the car with her, so I did, watching videos that she wanted to show me on her phone. That was enough to tell me she was very upset, because she was getting clingy.

When we got there, she looped arms with me and twisted the ring on her finger as we waited for the estate agent, who arrived promptly.

It was a gorgeous house. The outside was well hidden by trees and a large fence, as well as a gate, and the driveway set the house away from the road. There was space for two cars at least, as well as two garages, and the front door was placed on a porch.

Sierra had chosen this one.

Inside there was a large entrance way that led to an open plan kitchen and living room, and there was a downstairs bathroom and an office. The garden was large, it even had a pool (something we didn't have at home because swimming was often off limits to Gabi when she was sick, and I hadn't wanted to make her upset when she was younger), and a bar area with a barbecue built in.

I had to admit, it was incredible, but I knew the price and I just wasn't sure about it knowing Gabi would be moving out in a few years.

Upstairs there were three giant bedrooms, the master one having a balcony and an ensuite. There was also another smaller bedroom, and two more bathrooms.

Sierra was very excited, and she started planning where Gabi's bed could go, and what would be on the balcony. It was beautiful, and I would adore living here, but it felt so big and unnecessary like her apartment. Ultimately we would be two people.

"Do you like it?"

"I do... it's very big," I said, "Very big,"

"You don't like it,"

"I do! I just think it will feel a bit lonely when Gabi ultimately moves out,"

"I guess. Can we at least still consider it?"

"Of course. It is beautiful, it's a good find. I like the front being quite hidden,"

"I thought that would be good. I know it's a lot of bedrooms but it means we can have lots of people over,"

"I like the kitchen,"

"We can think about it then," she said, kissing my cheek, "We can go to the other property now,"

"Sounds like a plan,"

We got back in the car and put the directions in, meeting the estate agent at the other property, which is the one I had found.

Similarly, it had a well covered front garden with a decent driveway, and one garage. There was no porch, but an array of flowers either side of the door, which led us into a hallway. A toilet was on the right, and further down there was the living area, with a separate kitchen.

The garden was still quite big, but there was no pool, and instead there was a large gardening area and a firepit.

Upstairs there were four bedrooms, three of them being double rooms, the fourth being a good size for an office. There was no balcony, but the master bedroom was still a good size, and the windows were large which let in a lot of natural light. There was an en suite, and a second bathroom upstairs.

"You're way better at house shopping than me," Sierra said, looking out the window to the garden, "I quite like it,"

"Me too,"

"I liked the open plan kitchen and living room but we can make this work. It feels more like a home,"

"Do you like it?" I asked Gabi, receiving a small nod in return; her arm was looped round me again, and her lip was very chewed.

"Do we want to put an offer in or view any other places?"

"There's not many houses round here, honestly," Sierra said, "We could put in an offer,"

"It's close to the uni campus, there's a bus. And you can choose either of the rooms, and the small one can be an office,"

"It's nice," Gabi shrugged, unlooping our arms, "Please can I wait in the car?"

"We don't want to live here if you don't like it,"

"I do," she said, taking the keys from Sierra's coat pocket, "I'll take the bedroom to the left of yours. The window faces the garden,"

She left, closing the door hard on the way out. We also went downstairs, hand in hand, taking one last look around.

I had to push away the sadness and frustration about this all, and think about how it was a fresh start with my new family. However the thoughts of leaving behind all the memories still nagged at the back of my mind. I had to keep them at the back.

"So what do you think?"

"We'd like to put an offer in please. We er... we think this is the one,"