FLYING | Sequel of FALLEN (NaNoWriMo 2022 WINNER)

5.

"Would you mind driving me home?"

"To Sophie's?"

"No... To Manchester."

-

After seeing Marcel's hesitation, I came up with a plan. We stopped by his flat to get his luggage ready. We'll spend the night in Manchester before heading to Cambridge tomorrow. I text my brothers that I'm coming back to spend the night at Mum and Dad's with Marcel.

"Who knew you'd miss me so much!" Simon texted me on the way.

But he also informed me he has been working the night shifts for the past three weeks and that I should have known his schedule since I had been living with him during that time. He's right...

I had set my hopes up for William and Cynthia to be there, but I'm yet again disappointed. I should have known my brothers live busy lives. William is staying with his in-laws following his father-in-law's knee operation and can't be there. He wants to help them the best he can since Cynthia is working full-time and he is taking online courses for his psychology degree.

I instantly regret the idea of going back to Manchester without my brothers there. I secretly wanted them to distract me and shield me from Marcel. But instead, it'll just be my parents, Marcel and I. This will be weird... It doesn't have to be! They have met him already. I guess it will be some kind of test.

I turn my head slightly, trying my best to be subtle, and stare at him. I look at his traits, his skin, trailing down to his arms, to... I take a deep breath, and calm myself. We can be friends. I turn my head again, but only to be caught this time. Our sights cross, and I hurry myself with an interest in the horizon.

"Will your brothers be there?" He questions me with a quick glance down at my phone on my lap.

"No, unfortunately." I sigh, still looking at the horizon. "It'll be just us and my parents."

"What made you want to go back there so quickly?" He questions me and I need to think through to come up with an answer.

"I don't know... I need the distraction and the security. I feel balanced and happy at my parents'. I've spent so much of my time away from them. I guess I want to make up for all the lost time. What about you? How has it been with your mother?"

I change the subject to him instead of me. I don't know why I haven't asked about that sooner. I've wrecked their relationship before I left this summer. I exposed our relationship, his mother's, Kate and Paul's, Andrew's murder... I don't know how they've coped with the truth.

"Honestly, it's been very good. For the first few days when they reopened the case, it was like my father died all over again. We didn't talk. Until we did. We talked about everything. Your doubts, Paul and Kate, and how Paul disappeared just as fast as Kate when Mister Alexander got convicted. I've never seen Mum so defeated. I didn't know what to do. So, we both decided to reach for help."

"I can see that it has helped you."

"Us. I've never been more sure of what I want in my life." He answers, and I fear that he speaks about his feelings for me and that it becomes too sentimental. I change the subject.

"Does that mean you'll publish your book?"

"No... It means I'm writing another novel." He briefly answers, I turn my head to look at him with a frown on my face.

"Why not?"

"Grace, I wrote it under wrong pretences."

"But the final version is incredible. You can't let that go to waste."