Chapter Seven
It was a Sunday and I was laid on my bed with my head on Caiden’s lap. He was fiddling with my hair and I was thinking about Nathan.
“I’m going to live with him in London,” I said. Caiden stopped what he was doing and I looked up at him.
“Why? Aren’t you happy here?”
“Yes. Of course I am. I just want to live with my dad. And he wants me to live with him.”
“But you can’t leave Gloucester.”
“I can, Caiden. And I’m going to.” I sat up and he got off my bed. He sighed and rested his head against the wall.
“I don’t want you to go,” he said.
“I’m sorry.”
“Why can’t you stay here? You’ve got the perfect family and everything.”
“Because I need to be with my dad. I’ve spent most of my life wondering who he is. I thought that he was a let-down but it turns out that he didn’t even know I existed.”
“What about me?” he almost whispered. He walked over to me and took my hand in his.
“I don’t want you to go,” he said.
“You’ve got other friends.”
“It’s not the same. You’re my best friend.”
“Caiden, this is my dad we’re talking about. Do you know what it’s like living your whole life with parents that aren’t actually yours?”
“It’s not about your dad, Alexis. It’s about you moving two hours away,” he replied and let go of my hand.
“You have other friends.”
“That’s just it though, isn’t it? You’re willing to just let our friendship go. If I’m not as important to you as you are to me then there’s no point in me sticking around,” he said and pulled my bedroom door open.
“Caiden.” He walked out of my bedroom and across the landing. I stood by the door and watched him.
“I guess I’m just a stupid girl to you then! But whatever, Caiden! I’ve got my dad. So just go!” I shouted. He looked up at me and shook his head. Then without another word, he left.
I marched back into my bedroom and slammed the door before running over to the window and watching Caiden walk down the driveway. He didn’t look back. He just kept on walking. I felt my eyes fill with tears. How could he be so inconsiderate? He had other friends.
*
From: Dad
Hi, Alexis. I’m on my way to pick you up now. We’re going to a theme park. I hope that’s okay x
I smiled at the text before shoving my phone into my pocket. This was the first time I was seeing Nathan since my mum found out about him. She didn’t want me to move out but she really had no choice. Nathan was my dad and he had rights. It’s not like Nathan was forcing me to move to London. I wanted to. The date was set. The twelfth of December. That was a month from now. Nathan wanted me to move in before Christmas. I wanted to spend Christmas with him but I was used to spending the morning with my foster parents then the afternoon with Caiden. Caiden hadn’t spoken to me since last Sunday. It was Saturday now. I sighed and pushed the thought of him out of my head.
“Alexis! Your dad is here,” my mum shouted up the stairs. I smiled, pulled my jacket on and grabbed my bag before leaving my bedroom. I went down the stairs and found Nathan stood by the door.
“Hey, Lexi,” he smiled.
“Hi, Dad,” I replied and my smile grew wider. He opened his arms and I hugged him. It was kind of weird how it felt okay to hug him when I barely knew him. I had texted him and he told me a bit about his band and about his family. He told me that his mum was thrilled to find out that she had a granddaughter. And that Jasmine couldn’t wait to meet me.
“We’ll be back tomorrow morning,” Nathan told my mum. She nodded and I left the house with Nathan. We got into his car and he set off.
“Tich?” I asked.
“That’s new. Not Daughter?”
“No. I’m in the mood for Tich today.” He smiled and put a CD on.
“Oh, I love the Candlelight EP.”
“Me too,” he replied as he drove down the road. There was a comfortable silence between the two of us for a while.
“I’ve found a school for you in London,” Nathan said breaking the silence.
“Oh, great.”
“It’s an all-girls private school. Is that okay?”
“Yeah, I go to one like that now.”
“Great. Do you have a group of friends there?”
“Yes. I have three best friends there. Olivia, Chloe and Mia,” I answered.
“Have you told them that you’re moving?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“What did they say?”
“Not much really. They said they’re going to miss me and that it won’t be the same without me. The four of us used to catch the bus into town when it was raining because no one was there. We wouldn’t actually buy anything. We just messed about it the rain until we were completely soaked,” I explained with a smile on my face.
“Maybe they could come and visit some time.”
“Yeah, that’d be great.” I was going to miss them so much but not as much as I would miss Caiden. I wanted him to visit every weekend. I wanted to Skype him every day. The truth was that the hardest part of this was leaving him. I hadn’t seen him in a week and that was killing me. No matter how much I tried not to think about him he always came back into my thoughts. Everything reminded me of him.
“Do you have any tattoos?” I asked Nathan.
“No, why?”
“Caiden and I said that when we were old enough we’d get a tattoo for each other. He said that he would get ‘green eyes’ and I said I’d get his name on my wrist with a love heart.”
“That’s sweet.” I smiled at the memory but then remembered that he wasn’t here. He hadn’t been for a week now. I missed him so damn much. I’d never gone this long without seeing him or talking to him. We always went on holiday together. His house was like my other home and my house was like his. I just wanted to see him and to hear his voice. I wanted him to fiddle with my fingers like he always did.
“Are you okay?” Nathan asked.
“Yeah,” I replied.
“I don’t think you are, Lexi. You’re crying.” I put my hand on my cheek and wiped away my tears.
“Sorry,” I mumbled.
“Don’t be. What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Caiden and I had an argument. I haven’t spoken to him since Sunday.”
“Oh, Alexis, I’m sorry. Why don’t you ring him?”
“Because he doesn’t want our friendship anymore. He walked out of it.” Nathan pulled over and turned to face me.
“Why’d he do that?” he asked.
“Because I’m moving to London.”
“He can visit.”
“I know but believe me when I say that it’s not enough. He’s my best friend and I can’t live without him.”
“Okay, Sweetheart. Don’t cry. We’ll sort it out. He probably just needs time to think. Just give him some space.” I nodded and he wiped my tears away.
“Your eyes don’t sparkle when you cry,” he said and I smiled.
“Thanks, Dad.”
“No problem.”
___________________
Hey guys! Bad news...me and Steph are going on holiday tomorrow so we won't be able to update until the 12th/13th. I'm sorry :( We'll have a two chapters ready for you when we get back though! I'm sorry to leave it with Caiden and Alexis like they are. But don't worry! Next week will fly by and then you'll be able to find out what happens next! Yay. Thank you so much for all your reads, votes and comments. We can't believe how much you all like this fanfic. So thank you again. Love you lots x