Bitter (wlw) (teacherxstudent)

seventy-three

"Oh. Yeah. I guess so" I chuckled, feeling a sudden surge of happiness and excitement at realizing I was actually about to show Ellie the house I grew up in. "Come on, let's head inside" I added as we walked to the doorstep and I rang the doorbell.

I gave my girlfriend a last smile of reassurance before the door opened in front of us, revealing both my parents behind it.

"Hello, you!" my mom said, pulling me into a hug before I could say anything. She was dressed in her usual silk blouse and wide legged trousers attire, her dark hair cut into a perfect bob.

"Sam!" my dad said as he joined the hug, the usual welcoming smile planted on his face, and his what I remembered to be grayish hair looking more white.

"Hi mom, hi dad" I said, all of the nervousness I'd been feeling completely fading away after that hug. It felt good to be home. "This is Ellie" I added, turning towards my girlfriend who definitely didn't look as relieved as I felt.

"Hello, darling" my mom excitedly said, pulling her into a hug before she could even say anything.

I'd forgotten to mention my mom was a very affectionate person with everyone to her. And maybe I should have, judging by the surprised look on her face to which I couldn't help but laugh to myself.

"Nice to meet you, Mr and Mrs Collins" Ellie politely smiled, as I placed my hand on her back and gently rubbed my thumb on it in reassurance.

"Oh please, you can call us Mark and Catherine" my dad shook his head. "It's nice to meet you" he placed a hand on her shoulder with a nod.

"You're gorgeous! I love your hair! And Ellie is such a nice name, is it short for Elena or what?" my mom just went on.

"Oh, thank you" Ellie said with a giggle. "It's short for Eleonor, actually. But no one ever calls me that"

"Well, that's a lovely name. I'm glad you're here, Ellie"

"I'm very happy to be here" she said, looking up at me with a smile, which made my heart flutter for a second.

"How was the journey?" my dad asked.

"It was fine. The train was half empty, not very surprisingly. But it's good to have a bit of space to breathe after a week in London" I chuckled.

"Oh, I imagine. Did you two enjoy London? Had you been there before?" he asked Ellie.

"No, I'd never been outside of the US until now actually. I loved it, it was great"

"It is great, isn't it?" he nodded. "We'll let you two settle down now, you can tell us more about both London and New York later"

"Do you want some tea? Are you hungry?" my mom predictably asked.

"I think we're good" I said after making sure Ellie agreed. "Maybe after we've settled down. Thanks mom"

"That's perfect. We'll let you settle down, then" she affectionately patted my cheek, the smile on her face still as strong as when we'd walked in.

I sighed in relief as I took Ellie's hand in mine and started walking towards the flight of stairs that led to where my bedroom was.

"You need help with the suitcase?" I asked. "I can lift them both"

"No, it's okay" she mumbled, looking around with an almost shocked face and not saying anything until we arrived at the end of one of the two corridors on the first floor.

"This would be my bedroom" I said as we walked into the room I'd spent eighteen years of my life in.

"How did I do?" she asked as soon as I closed the door.