Long Way Home

10. Theo

Hesitantly, I ran over to the side of the room, pulling the emergency fire handle and watching them as there was a rumbling in the pipes of the building, rushing closer and closer.

Water burst from the sprinkler system in the ceiling, quenching the flames on Ollie's hand, causing a cloud of steam to rush up into the air of the diner. His dirty blonde hair fell flat on his head, covering his forehead. His clothing stuck to his body, giving him a bedraggled look.

Swearing one more time he turned, kicking a chair as he stormed towards the door, puffing the water away from his mouth. Nicole ran forwards and placed her hand on his shoulder, turning him around. His expression softened as he looked at her but he then shrugged her hand away, opening the door and walking out into the open.

Nicole ran out after him, shouting his name and ordering him to come back. She sounded nervous and uneasy as if she thought she'd never see him again. "Ollie! Please!" Her cries died down as she got further away from the diner.

I stayed where I was, exchanging a nervous glance with Jade, completely stunned by the events of the last two minutes.

"I-I...didn't mean for it to go that far." She blinked and looked out of the window, water still spraying over her head.

Following the pipes, I managed to find a switch to turn the sprinklers off, leaving us standing alone in a puddle-filled diner. "It's alright...I think. He gets angry a lot." I replied to her, sighing slightly.

"Have they got a thing going on?" Jade sat down and rested her elbows on the table, looking at me inquisitively.

I shrugged, considering it for a while. "They might. He doesn't seem like one for caring though."

"He's so hot." She admired, sighing deeply and tracing tiny shapes on the surface of the table, seeming completely at ease with saying what she was thinking.

Not knowing what to say, I walked out of the room and into the kitchen, beginning to cook the burgers which had defrosted slightly. I helped myself to another can of Coke, savouring the taste of the sweet, bubbly, sugar-packed liquid, feeling it fizzing down my throat.

I plated up the burgers, tucking them into a bun and adding some salad to the side which had stayed ripe and juicy due to being refrigerated.

Just as I placed them on the table, Nicole walked in, wiping her eyes which were red and blotchy from crying. She sat down beside me and stared at the burger, sniffling once more.

"Is he coming back?" Jade asked her straight away, raising an eyebrow and tucking into the burger.

"Hey, give her a break! Can't you see she's upset?" I defended her, rubbing Nicole's back slowly.

She sniffed again, rubbing her eyes with her sleeve. "No, it's ok Theo. I don't know. He was kind of angry but I think there's something else wrong with him. He's upset about something, I think it's the letter."

"Why the hell should he be upset about the letter!?" Jade exclaimed through a mouthful of burger. "It's our ticket home!"

"But it said that one of us definitely isn't missing home. I don't know about you two but I'm missing my mum." I admitted honestly, looking at their reactions.

"I miss my Dad." Nicole said, taking a deep steadying breath.

"Same here..." Jade added, taking a small sip of Coke.

"So that leaves Ollie. Take a second to think about it, has he told any of you where he's from and what he enjoys and misses back home?"

"He's from California. But he didn't say which part. He doesn't speak too much and when he does it's not about himself." Nicole figured, frowning a little. "But why wouldn't he want to go back? I don't understand..."