Chapter Eleven
Three days later, and with the doctor's appointment finished, I was sat on the stairs waiting for Liam. He'd rang me and told me to “man up and get your butt back home”. He said he had something to tell me, or something along those lines. To be fair, I wasn't really listening at all.
“Here.” I turned to see Thom handing me a sqaure plastic box, filled with fruit. Yuck.
“What's this for?” I asked, holding up the box. I was a little confused. Since when did Thom give me presents?
“Good-bye present and something for the little one.”
“You know I'm not going to eat this.” I told him. “I don't do fruit.”
“You should. It would be better for-”
“Don't.” My tone was a warning to Thom. We'd already had a fight over him being too protective. The kid wasn't even his! I was thankful, I just didn't need to be told what was healthy and what wasn't. I'd already had that lecture from the doctor. Anyway, Cassie would make me eat healthier when I got back. I'd be living on rabbit food which sucked majorly. I didn't want to sustain a diet for a vegetarian. I liked my meat.
“Fine. Fine.” Thom's hands went up in an “I surrender” motion. “You know, I think Kelly's going to miss you.”
“I suppose he'll miss being frightened.” Kelly, who was not a woman, was terrified of me. He was one of the biggest men living at Thom's... hotel (as I've decided name this house) and yet little ole' me frightened the living crap out of him. It might have been when I screamed at him, calling him every name I could think of under the sun or because I'd repeatedly hit him in the crown jewels with some object. An apple, the remote, a tennis ball... you name it. Nothing sharp though – I wasn't a psycho.
Hearing a loud beep outside, I stood up and swung my backpack onto my shoulder. Time to go home and face the music (is that the right phrase? I'm sure it was). Great. Just what I'd been waiting for.
“Good luck.” Thom put a hand on my shoulder and smiled.
“Cheers. I'll need it – Cassie's probably wanting to kill me.” I smiled. Like she could. I was vicious when I wanted to be but I didn't really fancy picking a fight with Liam's girlfriend. Plus she wears heels. And heels really hurt. I'd had quite a few experiences.
“No, I meant when you go back to school. Didn't you have a mountain of work to do?”
“No? It's Wednesday. Only missed today.”
“What?” He shouted while I was walking away from Thom. Liam didn't appreciate people being late. If you were meeting Liam, you needed to be on time. Like a professional, which sucked when you were running late. It was one of the few things Liam couldn't tolerate.
“I'm only in on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays!” I waved before opening the door enough to slide out. I jogged down the steps and into Liam's silver car. It smelled like vanilla in here. Last time it smelt like oranges. He must have changed the air freshner dingy.
Sitting on the seat, I looked over to Liam and gave him the biggest grin I could manage. He gave a small smile back before starting the car. Instead of going towards Vienna Downs, the village where I was now living and had just learnt the name of, he drove down another road. A quieter road. One that looked familiar to a country lane in a range of horror films.
“You're not going to kill me, right?” I joked. I heard Liam chuckle.
“No. I'm taking the long way home. So we can have a little chat.”
“About what?”
“Apologising to Cassie.” Liam stated. My defence walls started to stack themselves up almost immediately.
“No.”
“Samara-”
“No way. I'm not apologising to her.”
“Yes, you are. She's my girlfriend and she lives with us.”
“I'm not apologising to her. I did nothing wrong.” Okay, that was a lie. I knew I'd done something wrong but I sure as Hell wasn't going to admit it. Not about Cassie anyway.
“Samara, don't be like this. At least not with Cassie around.”
“Be like what?”
“Annoying... spoilt... a brat. I don't know... rude?” I felt a little offended by that. I wasn't that rude!
“Thanks. Really. I feel so appreciated.”
“As your uncle, I know what you're like but Cassie doesn't. And she doesn't know about you being pregnant either.”
“That's not my fault.”
“Is it not?” He raised his eyebrows. “Who didn't want to tell anyone?”
“Alright.” I grumbled. “I'm still not apologising to her.”
“You wouldn't be you if you did.” He sighed. I wasn't giving up; my answer was going to be the same every time. I didn't like Cassie and I refused to apologise. It wasn't my fault she was so uptight! I didn't bother to reply to Liam's comment instead I just stayed silent. I pressed my head against the cool car window. We were only entering winter. I wasn't looking forward to the cold snow that was heading our way. And the ice. The ice was the worst; slippery, wet and cold. This year I would really have to watch my step which was why I was thinking about bribing someone to take me to Spain. Or would it still be cold? I had no idea. I had failed high school. Hence why I was retaking my GCSEs in sixth form... or college. See, I can't even tell if they're the same. They probably are. “So, Beau's got a big house.”
“It's not his.” Now I was sulking. The fact that Liam would take Cassie's side wasn't surprising but it did hurt. I was bonded to Liam by blood and what was she bonded to him by? The fact that she had tits, a cooter and that he could get laid with her? Which bond should have been stronger?
“So whose is it?”
“Thom's.”
“Thom who?”
“Grey.” I let out a small sigh. My attention wasn't focused on Liam at the moment. I really wanted some biscuits. And some Malteasers. There were neither of my cravings in the house. I'm reluctant to admit that there were tears. Not just from me – from Thom and Kelly too. It's safe to say I made everyone suffer.
“Rich family. They've lived here for generations. There's even a myth to say that they colonised this village.” Liam informed me, nodding his head.
“They don't even live in Vienna Downs.” My tone showed how little I cared. It was genuinely interesting information but I wasn't in the mood to hear it from Liam. I just wanted to have some biscuits and chocolate. Oh, it sounded so heavenly! And a bubble bath to go with it. It sucked having to rush in the shower. The first time I had a shower, I had complaints from everyone. Rose had my back but when she left the guys ripped into me. Insults were thrown around and it was safe to say that by the end, we'd all gotten to know each other pretty well.
“They might have moved out of town. It's only five minutes away.” Five minutes my arse! It took me a good... hour (I'm not too sure on the timing) to walk!
“Is it okay if Dylan stays this weekend?”
“Dylan? Should I be worried?” Liam laughed. It wasn't funny, I think he was just trying to break the tension.
“No.” Was my short, blunt answer which kept the elephant, named Tension and was sat in the backseat, happy.
“Right.” He mumbled. We were going down a lot of country lanes; that I was sure of. For one thing, there were no cars and another was that it didn't look like a motorway. Bushes lined the road and it wasn't a smooth ride. I was bumping all over the place. I bet Liam regretted taking this way now.
“How long until we get back?” I asked, trying to break some of the tension away. I didn't like the awkwardness. I mean, wasn't I allowed to be annoyed at Liam without the awkwardness? What was so wrong about wanting that?
“Fifteen more minutes, maybe.”
~ * ~
“It's lovely to have you back, Samara.” Cassie said through gritted teeth and a fake smile. Was there anything real to this woman? Anything? Although it was a good thing that she didn't call me Sam again. God, how I hated that name!
“Great.” My short replies with adults were on fire tonight! “I'll be heading up to my room. Is that okay, Liam?” My tone was sharp this time.
“Yep. I'll bring you up something to eat.” Liam waved his hand at me while looking at some recipe book. I don't think he noticed my tone at all. I rolled my eyes, swung my bag over my shoulder and waltzed out of the kitchen. I didn't really want to spend time with Cassie. She'd probably be talking about her job and what she did. It sounded complicated and fancy so I blocked her out half the time.
Sitting on my bed, I let out a much-needed sigh. One that showed my relief. I loved Beau, and I loved hanging out with the guys but they were so loud. Plus, a pregnant woman needed her sleep. Me without sleep meant a lot of people would be suffering. I wasn't very nice when I was tired (although that could be an understatement).
Deciding to stop being in a mood, I reached into the front pocket of my bag and pulled out my phone. Finding Dylan's number, I called him. It rang three times before he picked up.
“Yo, whats up my homie?”
“You sound like an utter twat.” I laughed. “Still coming down this weekend?”
“Yep.” His answer was a little too short for Dylan. And he didn't sound right... he didn't sound like the cheerful Dylan I knew.
“Just you, I take it?”
“Yeah.” He said after a few seconds of silence. “I asked Jo but she said she was too busy.”
“With Harvey, I take it?” Last I heard, Harvey Dodds was Jo's latest conquest. She loved the guys more than I did. Always wanted a boyfriend and couldn't bear to be alone. But then push came to shove, and she'd fall in the arms of someone else. Jo was worse than me. At least I could stick to one guy each time. I think her record was five boys at one time. None of them knew, at least not until she slipped up. As much as I loved Jo, I had to admit she was a ho. Even Jo had admitted it herself (to us, not to her enemies. That would just be idiotic).
“Harvey? Man, has she not said anything to you?”
“None of you have.”
“Oh. Right. Yeah. My bad. But no, Harvey managed to slip into the group and Mason told Jo to back off.” Dylan informed me. See, I knew that Harvey was Mason's cousin and we all knew how protective he was of his family. We were lucky enough to be part of that. And Mason would not tolerate his family to be hurt in any shape or form.
“I'm sure he didn't say it that nicely.”
“Actually, for once he did. He didn't swear as much as he does. And get this, he didn't threaten her.” I pulled a face. Why would he? Jo wasn't some random girl. She was his friend.
“They're friends. What did you expect? Mason giving a death threat to Jo?”
“No, I mean, he didn't even sound too angry. He sounded kinda sad and disappointed. It was weird.”
“Oh.” I didn't know what to say. I tried to move away from the subject of Mason, especially if it was heading where I thought it was. I was not prepared for that. “Anyway, come to Liam's for about five on Friday, yeah?”
“Five?”
“Yeah. It's not a problem, is it?”
“Why five though?”
“I have school?” His response? Long, loud laughter. I should have known he'd laugh. Why wouldn't he? Me and the education system never went well together. It was unheard of until now, obviously. “Mature. Real mature, Dylan.”
“I'm sorry!” He said after laughing for ages. “It's just... you go to school?”
“Yes.”
“Liam forced you, didn't he?”
“That doesn't matter! Can you stay on topic here?”
“Yeah... yeah sure!” I could imagine him wiping away a tear. I had such lovely friends! “You sure you don't want to be picked up?”
“Fuck you, arsehole.” I swore before putting down the phone. I could hear his laughter before I'd even hung up. Damn that boy! I loved him to bits but sometimes he was the biggest arse around. But he was also the sweetest guy, deep down inside. That was why I knew he'd be perfect for Beau... for now at least.
“Your language is appalling. You know that?” I looked to see Liam resting against the doorway.
“I am aware.” I smiled. I was still slightly annoyed with him. If he was expecting me to apologise to Cassie, he was surely mistaken. I noticed a plastic tub in his hand, and it started to smell of Chinese in the room. “Is that for me?” I motioned to the box. Man, that looked appealing.
“I'll only give it to you if you listen to me for a few minutes.” Liam bargained. I shrugged and nodded. I really wanted whatever Chinese he'd gotten me. I knew it'd be something delicious. Especially if the legendary Mr. Wei had cooked it for me. His food was to die for.
“Fine. Sure, whatever. Sit down then.” Liam nodded and walked in slowly. Almost as if he was wary of what my reaction would be. Sometimes people tended to be weird around me. I had no idea why. I thought I seemed like a sane person. “So, what is it?”
“Mars, as much as I love having you here, you can't keep acting like a child.” I opened my mouth to protest but Liam stopped me. He gave me that weird look that parents give you and held up a hand. He'd placed the food down, luckily. “I know you don't like Cassie. Hell, everyone knows it! But she's my girlfriend and she's living with me. You need to accept that. You might not like it but you're here, Samara. Doesn't that show something?” That I can tolerate the bitch? I suppose. I wasn't going to say that out loud though. I didn't really want Liam to scream at me. He was using his 'calm' voice at the moment and if I said the slightest thing wrong, it would escalate quickly. I knew that. I'd been a witness to it. And when Liam gets mad, he gets scary mad.
“I guess.” Was my answer, along with a shrug. What else could I say? I really didn't want to be shouted at.
“Alright. Well, at least it's a start. I'm not going to make you apologise – you made it clear that you wouldn't. I just want you to be more respectful of her, okay?” I nodded. “Good. Also, Cassie and I are going out this weekend.”
“Where to?” I was curious now. Were they going to take Veronica with them? Oh... I'd be thankful to whoever lived above the clouds if they did.
“We're going to a hotel for the weekend. To Rivercreek,” Liam was silent for a millisecond before adding, “oh, and we're not taking Veronica either. She's staying here with you.” Damn the bearded old man. Damn him!
“Okay.” I said, trying not to let a sarcastic “Great!” slip out suddenly. That wouldn't have been cool. Not at all.
“Cassie's also letting her have a party here,” I was surprised at that; Liam had never let me have a party here (and I was his own blood!) but there was no point in protesting. I could see how pissed off Liam was. I could just tell, “so I have a favour to ask.”
“A favour? Moi?”
“I want you to make sure that nothing gets broken and that this party doesn't get out of hand.”
“What makes you think I'm so willing? How do you know I won't be joining the dozens of reckless and louds teens who'll be trashing your house?” I joked. I regretted saying that almost straight away. Liam looked even angrier. My bad.
“Don't joke like that! And I think that a certain someone is why you won't be drunkenly falling over the place.” I glowered. Thanks Liam, really. It's not like I want to be reminded that I can't get drunk or smoke any more. Which reminded me: I should be getting nicotine patches. I really need a ciggie but I didn't want one. I knew it was bad for the baby. Like, insanely bad.
“Fine. Thanks for rubbing it in.”
“It's no problem. Anyway, here's your Chinese. I'll leave you to it. Enjoy the TV,” the TV which I hadn't noticed until now, “and tidy your room. Do you really want Dylan to see it like this?”
“Dylan's seen my room at its worst. It's fine. By the way, what's in the tub?”
“Honey lemon chicken. Enjoy!” He waved before leaving me alone. Picking up the tub, I sighed in despair. No fork. I wasn't a cave woman - I couldn't eat it with my bare hands! I didn't even have a tissue! Growling to myself, I pushed myself off the bed and headed downstairs. My life wasn't looking too good at the moment. Was this what I was in for? Despair and misery?
If I ever saw the guy who impregnated me, I'd make him pay. I'd make sure he regretted sleeping with me. In fact, I'd make his life a living Hell.
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Thought I'd give Mars a less dramatic filled chapter. Doesn't seem to be fair if she's got drama constantly! Apologies for not uploading sooner! But thank you to all those who are reading :)
Also, at this time, the story is in November.. roughly. I needed to work it out (again) because I didn't write anything down and she's at about 10 weeks! Also, I wasn't sure if I'd mentioned the name of the town at all - if I have, just let me know (I did check throughout the chapters but still...)
P.S. If any words are missing an 'n' could you please point it out? (especially in the sentence.. otherwise I'm gunna be lost) because my 'n' button doesn't work properly. Thank you! :) xx