Seven more than I needed

Chapter Twenty-Four

School wasn't all that great. It was such a stressful period for me that my brain was trying to block out most of it. I was there, but I wasn't. 

Victoria, Emma and I weren't hanging out as much. It was my decision but it still left an empty hole in my chest seeing them laugh and have fun during breaks. James and Eithan would often join them. I tried to avoid watching them interact because Eithan and Victoria had gotten closer. 

Every time she touched him or he laughed at her joke I could feel my blood boiling through my veins. I wanted to scream. But I couldn't... and I wouldn't. I had broken up with him and he was moving on. I had to be okay with it.

As for Noah, he was spending time with his chess club. Interesting boys but they seemed to be allergic to female attention. Maybe that's why he joined, he wanted to get as far away from female attention as possible. 

I was pretty lonely. The only person I had to talk to was Mylo but he was pretty busy with his studies. I missed Oliver so much. We would facetime a few times a week. When I saw his face I just wished I could crawl through the screen and squeeze him into the tightest hug.

My birthday was coming up and I wasn't even excited. I was preparing myself for the loneliest birthday ever.

I groaned and turned into the driveway, frowning at the sight of the unfamiliar car. I opened my bag and took out a treat for the friendly Doberman laying near the door. "Hey Casey" I smiled and gave the treat to her, receiving a polite wag from her tail.

I walked inside slowly and threw my bag somewhere to the side, going to get a much-anticipated glass of water. Something felt weird but I couldn't put my finger on it. I felt a sting in my heart, remembering that the others had skipped the last 2 periods to go have fun. 

I took a deep breath after I finished my icy cold water and proceeded to walk up the stairs with the strength I didn't have. 'It's so quiet here' I thought to myself as I entered my room.

I stood frozen at the sight of the tawny-haired boy laying on my bed. We looked at each other in silence that was broken with my gasp closely followed by a scream of joy. "OLIVER!" I exclaimed happily jumping on him, making us both laugh. "Hello. I appreciate the warm welcome" he joked and hugged me tightly. "Oh my god! What're you doing here?!". I could tell that I was screaming but I didn't care. Just seeing his face made me feel 100 kilos lighter.

He smiled "I came here for your birthday silly". I frowned in confusion "But my birthday is in 12 days?". "Well, I can leave and come back if you want. I thought it'd be a nice early gift though" he chuckled. I giggled and playfully punched his arm "Idiot. We spoke yesterday why didn't you give me any hints?". "I wanted to tell you so badly but It's way better now that I managed not to" he grinned happily.

"Okay, maybe you're right" I nodded with a giggle. "So what's new? What did I miss?" He asked casually. The question gave me flashbacks I wasn't ready for. I bit my lip and looked down, trying to hide my blushed ears with my hair. "Uh oh..." he said and put his phone to the side. "Tell me everything". 

So I took in a big breath and I did.

* * * * *

Oliver's arrival was just a surprise to me. My dad and Elynn, of course, knew all about it and came home excited to see him after all this time. The house was still pretty empty. Harry was at work and James was at Emma's house. Lando was at football practice and Noah was probably at the chess club. Mylo, Oliver and I were chilling on the couch talking about movies. 

I was playfully showing my jealousy seeing how much Oliver and Mylo had in common. I was never a die-hard fan of movies and series, I was more into books and animated movies, and I was starting to get a little bored as I heard them list every single Netflix series that has ever existed.