Previously On Far Away:
Penny and Dylan are officially together as Chloe and Jake near the end of their trip to London. Thomas is a lot happier now that he is free of Isabella and Chloe is enjoying spending her time with him. It is discovered that Isabella has been bullied and fell into a depression since Chloe arrived and things ended with Thomas and Jake has been trying to help her cope but when Chloe tried to talk to Isabella, things went downhill and ended with a suicide attempt.
And Thats What You Missed On Far Away.
Chloe
"Chloe? Wake up! CHLOE!" I hear someone shouting as if from a distance. I try and remember what happened, where I was, what I was doing. Wait-- where am I now? I quickly try and sit up but blood rushes to my brain.
"No, no honey don't do that." Says a different voice which I recognize as Penny's. I open my eyes to see that I'm back at home - Thomas's home that is. My head is in Thomas's lap and Penny is sitting at the edge of my bed with Dylan watching, leaning against the wall.
"Where's Isabella? She needs help right now!" I say, trying to sit up again but Thomas just lightly pushes me back down.
"She's um.. well we aren't a hundred percent sure how she is now.." He looks up at Penny as if asking for help.
"Please tell me she's not dead." I say, immense guilt and despair rising in my chest.
"Oh lord no." Penny says quickly. "Apparently those girls ran for help and they were able to get to her on time. She didn't cut deep enough and missed the artery. She's recovering in hospital. Your brother is with her I think."
"Why are you all here?" I say, feeling even more guilty knowing that they chose me over her while she is obviously in a worse state than I am.
"You hit your head pretty hard and have a mild concussion." Thomas says, a little restrained. "We wanted to make sure you would wake back up."
"Okay well here I am, awake. Now go to Isabella. Please." I say, looking at Dylan who has been studying me curiously the whole time.
"You're a good person, Chloe." He says. "It wasn't your fault."
"I-I know." I mumble but the words fail to even convince me.
"Dylan and I will go." Says Penny, standing up beside her boyfriend. "But Thomas should stay with you, in case anything does happen."
"I'm fine!" I say, my voice squeaking slightly.
Thomas laughs, "Like a Little Mouse." I glare at him. "Penny's right. I'll stay with you. My parents couldn't get of work so they won't be home for a couple hours."
I look up at his face. How is he still attractive from this angle? I swear no one looks good from this angle. Dammit that must mean I look like a freaking turtle-potato hybrid right now. Where was I? Right. "Fine."
The pair say their goodbyes and exit, leaving an awkward silence behind them.
"So," I say after a few moments. "How awful would it be if I started calling you Tommy?"
Thomas groans, "you wouldn't dare."
I bat my eyelashes like a little kid, "please Tommy! Please?"
He laughs, shaking his head "no."
"But you call me 'Little Mouse'!" I protest.
"Thats different!" He argues back.
"How so?"
"I dunno, it happened naturally and only I call you Little Mouse. Your nickname for me would have to be more unique."
"I suck at coming up with nicknames" I sigh, looking up at the ceiling. "Can you help me sit up?"
"I dunno if you're ready-"
"Tommy!"
"Fine! Fine." He says, putting his hands up in mock defence. He props up some pillows behind my head and helps me to sit up and lean against them.
"So, Tommy-"
"Please don't"
"Ugh fine. But I need to think of something. 'Thomas' is too formal."
"Ouch." he says with a chuckle and I smile. "There she is."
"What?"
"The Chloe I know. The one with the strange ideas and cute smile." I feel my cheeks instantly heat up.
"Is it hot in here?"
"Nah, its just me, I'm too much for you to handle." He says with mock arrogance. He really has no idea.
"You wish." I say turning away to hide my blush. No Chloe, you can't go for Thomas. Not now. Not with Isabella.
I can't get her out of my head. every time i close my eyes i'm back in that bathroom, hearing her accusations and feeling the guilt. My heart feels like a hard lump in my chest and my eyes start to well up so I quickly blink the tears away.
"You alright Chloe?" Thomas says. Damnit I suck at hiding things from him.
"I'm fine, really." I try to tell Thomas for what feels like the 50th time. It was true, my head wasn't hurting at all. But the immense guilt coursing through my body is definitely 10x worse than a headache. "This must be really boring." I say, trying to change the subject.
"Not at all actually. I quite enjoy spending time alone with you." He says with a smile that melts my heart. I smile back and he quickly looks away. Stop it Chloe!
"You must be hungry. I'll get food. No Chloe I will. You need to let me take care of you." He insists before I can even open my mouth in protest.
He leaves the room and I grab my phone to quickly text Nat to update her on this awful day. I could also really use her support right now. No matter how many times people tell me, I still feel immensely responsible for what happened.
Me: natnatnatnatnatnatnat
Jason: at your service
Me: ugh no not you
Jason: wow i really feel the love
Natalie: I'm here
Me: thank god! Jason was making things worse
I explain the situation as well as I could to my best friends in as little time as possible as I heard the microwave beep from downstairs. I couldn't talk to Thomas or Jake about this... they were both too close to the situation. I could probably talk to Penny about it but she's with Dylan and I just really feel like my Canadian friends are my best options right now.
Natalie: omgomgomg Thomas totally likes you!!
Jason: no he's just being supportive!
Me: that's totally besides the point! I ruined someone's life!
Natalie: Chloe that's totally not your fault
Jason: yeah Chlo, they would've broken up eventually. I don't think Thomas could put up with her forever.
Me: but still...
Natalie: no. not your fault. she probably didn't even tell you the full story.
Jason: exactly, don't feel guilty. she probably has more things going on that affected her too. I mean her brother died not too long ago, I'm sure she's still affected by that in a way. She probably feels somewhat responsible for it
Me: I guess..
That had to be the end of the conversation because Thomas entered the room with a bowl of popcorn. I feel slightly better. It's true, there's probably more to the story. But just knowing I even contributed some of that pain.... my heart starts to hurt again. "Oh please tell me we are watching a movie!" I squeal, throwing my phone to the side.
"If that's what the Little Mouse wants." Thomas says, placing the bowl of popcorn on my bed. I scooch over and grab my laptop, making room for Thomas to sit beside me. Not the largest bed so we are forced to sit right next to each other. The heat radiating from his body gave me chills.... if that makes any sense.
"What do you wanna watch?" I say, popping a piece of popcorn into my mouth, trying as hard as I can to act normal.
"Horror movie?" I glare at him and he laughs. "No I don't think either of us would like that."
"How about a classic?" I say.
We both look at eachother with wide smiles on our faces.
"Cars."
"Monsters Inc."
"There is no way you think Monsters Inc is better than Cars!" Thomas practically yells.
"Have you even seen the beauty of the monster world and just the amazing ideas behind it. HAPPINESS IS STRONGER THAN FEAR! Come on Tommy that's way better than - what? Turn right to go left?"
"I can't believe what I'm hearing right now." He says, crossing his arms and looking away from me. "And we talked about the Tommy thing."
"Fine. Compromise?" I say, ignoring the nickname protests.
"Fine."
"Monsters University."
"You've got to be kidding me."
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We ended up watching the Incredibles and when I say watching, I use the term very loosely since we spent most of the time just talking. It was good to get my mind off of Isabella and the slight headache that had formed. I was telling Thomas about all the things I'm excited to show him in Canada next week.
Yes, next week!
I told him all about my school and my home and neighbourhood and my few friends. He didn't seem to care that I only had a few friends which helped get rid of a lot of my nerves, considering how popular he is here in England. I managed to get so excited that for half an hour, I actually did manage to push away my negative thoughts and reminisce about home. Thomas listened happily, grinning when I got excited and asking lots of questions about the city and school.
We'd be getting to Canada close to Christmas. Thomas told me how it would be weird spending his first Christmas away from home, but that he's still excited for the experience. In those couple hours of the Incredibles my bond with Thomas grew even stronger.
I promised him he would love Poutine and that the CN Tower isn't scary considering the height doesn't get to me. We were laughing, remembering that day on the Eye and how scared I was. I can't believe that was over a month ago. Time really went by fast in London.
Jake walks into the room in the middle of our laughing. He has a look of utter disgust on his face as he takes in the scene before him. "Wow Chloe. Seriously?" he says.
"Jake how's-" I start but he cuts me off.
"How's Isabella? Why don't you go check on her yourself if you really care, instead of sitting here flirting with her ex-boyfriend. In fact, isn't that one of the reasons she's where she is right now?"
My heart falls and the guilt and insecurities I had earlier all come rushing back at once. I stand up and look at my brother, surprised to see that he's crying. That's a big deal, Jake doesn't like to show emotion. I try to apologize, explain myself, show him how terrible I feel for the whole situation but instead all I manage to get out is "Shut up."
"And you," he says, turning to Thomas. "I thought you were better than this."
"Jake, your sister has a concussion. Someone had to stay with her in case anything happened and she couldn't go to the hospital to see Isabella. She tried, I didn't let her." Thomas tried to defend me, but Jake wouldn't have it.
"Of course, take her side. Just like Bella said. I can't believe you two. I can't believe I need to go another 3 months with this. I can't believe I'm related to someone so selfish." He shakes his head sadly.
"Shut up." I say again, tears streaming down my face. What's wrong with me? I've never felt like this before. So guilty. So responsible.
"Wow Chloe, nice comeback. I really didn't see that one coming." Jake rolls his eyes. His tears stopped, replaced by a face of rage that I haven't seen before on my brother.
"Chloe feels bad Jake. Really, really bad. And you're not helping right now." Thomas says.
"I think Chloe can talk for herself can't she? And she should feel bad. It's her fault! I wish mom and dad never sent her here with me!" He practically shouts this last part.
"Why do you care so much!" I yell back. 'I'm sorry' I try to say. 'I didn't want this, I'm sorry'.
"Maybe because it's not right? Maybe because I've been where Bella is now and I know what it's like and I don't think anyone should go through that. Maybe because she's my friend and you're my sister and you did this to her? Maybe because I also feel responsible because I couldn't stop it?" All his words come spilling out of his mouth, and his tears start again.
"I'm sorry." I finally say, fully crying. "I'm sorry Jake. I didn't know. I feel awful. I didn't know this would happen. I never thought it would. I thought she didn't care. I realize I'm wrong now and I feel awful, but please don't make this harder on me. I need you and Isabella needs you. Please don't put this between us. I would take everything back if I could. I'm so sorry."
To my surprise, Jake walks over to me and gives me a hug, leaving Thomas awkwardly standing to the side. "You know you can always talk to me right?" I say through tears, taking in what he said that he's been where Isabella now is.
"I know. I-I'm sorry. It's just so much. I don't know what to think. I feel horrible too. I was trying to blame you because it's easier but I know that it's stupid and I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
I look over Jakes shoulder at Thomas who's eyes are wide with shock. I shrug at him, showing that Jakes actions are just as surprising to me. Maybe this trip to London didn't just bring my closer to Thomas, Penny or even Dylan, but it brought me closer to my brother.
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A/N
OMG ITS BEEN SO LONG IM SO SORRY.
To be honest I wasn't sure if I was going to write more since the last chapter. I really wasn't sure how to move on from it.
But I saw all your comments and support and I decided that I needed to write more for you guys and for all your dedication.
I'm sorry that my writing is so crappy in this story. It's really all over the place. I've been thinking of going through it and fixing it up but honestly I don't have the time oops.
Let me know what you think!
I'm really excited to get to Canada and introduce the new characters to you guys!
Thanks Little Mice!
-ChloeXx