My Future Husband

Chapter 113

This is so funny.

Just when I think we’ve all stopped being teenagers, I come into my house to find Leah hiding under the covers of my bed refusing to move.

“Get up, you sad fuck. We’re going out.” Got to love Brie’s version of a pep talk.

“No! Brie, I swear my life is over and I’m never leaving this bed!” I’m having some serious déjà vu here.

“Come on, Al, it’s only a missed period. Let’s go get you a stick to piss on and find out before you freak.” Leah’s arm pokes out from under the covers, snatching a bag of chips off my side table and dragging them back into her cave. That’s probably not a good sign.

“No, I live here now! The blanket fort is my home, where Jayce can’t come near me with his super-fertile fertilising stick!” I bite into my hand trying not to laugh, but Heather genuinely looks traumatised at the idea of having another sibling. You can’t blame her, she’s already got her hands full with Bonnie and Clyde as it is.

“Al,” Brie tries to pick up the edge of the blanket, but Leah just slams it shut again. “Babe, come on. We’ve been through this before, you know your cycle is all fucked when you’re stressed, and we’ve had so much of it lately. What if I pee on one with you?”

“Fine, but if I’m knocked up then you’d better be knocked up too, because I’m not going through this alone! If you’re a real friend, then you’ll suffer with me!” Ah yes, needing your bestie to be in pain when you are, the definition of friendship.

“Well that’s not happening.”

“What?”

“I said yes babe, absolutely, I’ll get Steve on it right away. Just please come out of the blanket.” She finally emerges like an angry little butterfly from her cocoon, Cheetos crumbs all over her lips that I hope are from stress-eating.

“Wrangle the inmates, we need to get to the shop before it closes.”

“It’s okay, Mum. I’ve got them, you just go.” She hasn’t got them. She’s just started back in school and Cara keeping her up all night means she’s already falling behind and scrambling to keep up, but of course she volunteers to help anytime she thinks her mum needs her.

“Heather.” She pretends like she can’t hear me.

“Are you sure, darling? I appreciate it, you know how hard Cara is to control in a supermarket. There’s just so many opportunities for her to find a sharp object.” Well she’s not wrong there.

“I’m sure, you go.” Brie drags her soul-sister out of the house to determine her fate.

“You shouldn't have done that.”

“It's fine.”

“It’s not fine, Heather.” I’m really starting to worry about her. She already put a ridiculous amount of pressure on herself, but since what happened to Elba, it’s only increased. It’s like she feels she’s living her life for two people now, but it's too much. “Baby girl, you have to start putting yourself first, or all this weight on your shoulders is going to make you snap.”

“I can handle it.” I’m not saying she can’t, she’s probably the strongest girl of her age I’ve ever met, but life isn’t about just handling it. She’s passionate about fashion, her designs are incredible, and she hasn't sat at her sewing machine in weeks.

Am I a terrible person for hoping someone will come along and push her out of her bubble? She doesn’t need to be controlled, in fact if anyone tried it’d probably cost them their life, but she just needs a nudge. She has an amazing friendship with Liam, but he does everything she wants, what she needs is someone to hoist her out of her comfort zone.