Woohoo! Chapter update. I'm really sorry about the wait you guys, to be completely honest I lost a lot of motivation to write not too long ago and thanks to isolation it seems I've found it haha!
I think I was getting stuck on the fact that I felt the story wasn't going anywhere but I've managed to rework a few of my plans and here we are!
I really hope you enjoy - it's a medium sized one this time and I'm hoping the next chapter will be a giant one but who knows as of yet.
Thanks guys, I really hope you're all well and surviving as best as you can :) xxx
"What was that about?" Asked Dan, as he rounded the corner to get back to Alyssa's.
"Just some guys being assholes and making us feel uncomfortable. You should've heard her, Dan, she was brilliant: She told those arseholes right where they can go," said Lys as she fist bumped the air and Dan chuckled with a grin.
"It was stupid, I shouldn't have done it," I twiddled my thumbs on my lap from the back seat and hoped that no one would look back to see me. Whatever vote of confidence I'd achieved in the club was gone and the anxiety that was riddling my body was back.
"It wasn't stupid, it was brave. You showed those guys that girls can't just be spoken about without us fighting back. You're an inspiration,"
I laughed, I was hardly an inspiration but I wasn't about to stand around while they made me feel uncomfortable.
My head was still spinning alcohol and the road started to sway like the waves on Brighton beach early in the morning.
I closed my eyes and tried to relax without falling asleep in the back of the car - something that I used to frequently do after a night out. But low and behold, I was woken up the next morning in Alyssa's lounge room on the couch with a glass of water on the coffee table and two Asprin by the sizzle and smell of bacon coming from the kitchen.
I eased up on my elbows and rubbed my eyes firmly revelling in the feeling of scratching a nights worth of smoke and haze from my eyes.
"Good morning sunshine," Dan peered round the corner at me with a cheeky smile and a spatula in his hand.
"mmm," I groaned and looked around me to see my shoes placed neatly by the coffee table and a packet of face wipes resting on top of them.
God Alyssa really is the best. I pulled the packet over and struggled to pull a wipe from the packet so I could freshen up my face.
"How did I get up here? I don't even remember falling asleep," I mumbled over to Dan who chuckled.
"Well, you woke up when we got home but you all but fell from the car so I carried you up. You were exhausted Alex," his brow creased as he looked at me.
I continued to wipe my face with the cool facial wipe and sat up on the couch.
"Sleep like I've been sleeping and you'd be exhausted too,"
"Isaac still bothering you?" asked Dan as he flipped eggs and bacon onto a tray.
"Just the idea of him and I've had a few other things bothering me." The thought of Dan being Lucy's dad popped into my head and instantly made me feel nauseous. I peered over to him from the corner of my eye to see him watching me. "I'm worried about Lucy," I started, watching his face carefully for any sign of a tell.
I certainly didn't have the courage to straight up ask him but I had enough to make him nervous.
"Why's that?" he was interested enough to ask and his head tilted to the side.
"Well-" I was cut off by the loud yawn of Alyssa as she stretched in her doorway and made her way to the kitchen.
"See Alex, I don't think I can exchange this one: he makes us breakfast," she snorted at Dan's mock emotional injury and hugged him tightly from the side. Dan leaned down to peck her on the lips and looked at her in a way that Isaac never looked at me. My heart thumped a little and it hurt.
"What were you saying Alex?" Dan looked back over at me with a smile on his face and I just couldn't bring myself to say the rest.
"Oh, I don't even remember," I forced a smile and stood up to join them in the kitchen and get some food in my tummy.
As with every Sunday after a night out you typically spend the day lounging around, either too exhausted to do anything or nursing a hangover, watching movies and doing nothing. So, it was no surprise when Monday rolled round and I was getting up and getting ready to take Lucy to school.
Luckily, Isaac didn't come home last night so I didn't have to see him and explain why I kissed him the other night... or why I kissed another guy that very same night. Just the thought of his lips against mine made my heart flutter and I couldn't tell if it was good or bad.
"What's wrong Alex? You've been quiet all day," said the every perceptive Lucy as we drove home from school with the rare sunshine glowing through the windshield.
"Nothing at all Miss Lu, I'm just focused on which park we drive past has the best sunshine for us to kick the football around today," I smiled down at her and was met with a beaming grin.
The sun favoured us and kept its glorious rays on our skin the entire afternoon. When I began to hear Lucy's stomach growling from across the green I called a time out for us to walk across the road and pick up a snack.
"I want that one," said Lucy, her fingers pressed against the glass cabinet as she pointed to a chocolate croissant. I pursed my lips as I questioned whether or not that was the best choice for an afternoon snack but decided yes when I thought back to the salad sandwich I'd made her for lunch.
I paid and we wondered back over to the park where we'd left the soccer ball to sit and nibble in the sun.
"My dad said he can't come home tonight," said Lu, her eyes squinted against the sun as she watched cars drive past and people walking their dogs.
"Oh?" I asked, careful not to push for any more.
"yeah, I think Jeff's going to come stay with me but that won't be til late," she frowned and my heart ached for her. Poor thing, I wished she could come have a sleepover with me but I had a feeling Stanford would say no and I couldn't say I really wanted her meeting Isaac as of yet - especially since I didn't even know what was going on there.
"Well, I spose we better make the rest of today extra special hey? I'm thinking we kick the football around a bit more, then we'll go home and I'll make fried rice for dinner while you so your homework?" I brushed crumbs from my hands and stood up, spinning the football in my hands.
"Get rid of the homework and we're on," She said, her eyes twinkling with the smile adorned her mouth.
"Nope, homework or no fried rice," I kicked the ball over to her and she pestered me with compromises until the sky went dark and we could no longer see.
No matter how hard she tried I still ended up getting my way and so, while she was speeding through her maths homework like a pro on the island counter across from me, I was chopping up vegetables for our dinner.
"Hey Lu," I interrupted her train of thought as I tipped bowl of rice into the pan. She peered over to me silently answering me, "What happens with parent teacher interviews?"
"What do you mean? Have you never been to one before?"
I chuckled a little at her confusion.
"No, no I have don't worry, I just mean does Stanford take you?" I served up a portion in two small bowls and placed a fork in each. She took hers from the bench and hopped off the stool to go sit on the couch.
"Oh, sometimes. Sometimes I don't go, once dad took me and other times they just email Jeff everything." She stuffed a mouthful of rice into her mouth and a few grains toppled onto the top of her shirt.
"Steady on, you want to actually get it in your mouth you know,"
She bared a rice filled grin at me and I snorted then tucked into my own dinner.
Lucy wandered off to bed not long after 7pm and I hung around in the kitchen catching up on uni work I'd missed the last week. Luckily for me, all of my lectures and seminars were all recorded so any that I had missed I was able to catch up on pretty quickly. In saying that, however, the thousands of distractions running rampant in my head were about to do me in and so, with much struggle to keep my eyes open I lay my head on my paper and fell asleep.
I woke to the sound of my phone buzzing beside me. It was 8:30pm and my neck ached from the angle I'd been resting my head. I checked my phone to see a message from Isaac wondering where I was.
*As usual, I'm at work and will be home soon.*
I started to pack up my things with foggy eyes and a sore throat. I piled my books into my bag and popped them by the door so I wouldn't forget to pick them up on the way out, and carefully made my way up to Lucy's room to check that she was asleep. Sure enough, she was tucked into her bed with the lamp beside her casting a soft light across the room.
I'd made the mistake of turning it off one night and had her wake up as I did so terrified of the dark. The memory made me smile as I had to sit with her for 15 minutes until she fell asleep so she knew that there wouldn't be a monster lurking in her room.
As per usual, I left a lamp and the kitchen lights on, locked up the door and made my way to my car.
I yawned a handful of times for struggle to find one that really hit the spot and got into my car at exactly 9pm. I drove slowly back to my flat with the sound of my sick engine coughing all the way and as if the gods had requested it, the sound of Kingston's voice poured through the radio like velvet and surrounded me. Despite it being chilly I creaked the windows down a little with the old hand winding crank and let the air swirl around me mixing with Kingston's voice. The song finished as I pulled into the garage and the swirling air coming from the windows suddenly felt icy cold rather than refreshing.
Staggering my way slowly up the stairs and trying but failing to find something to say to Isaac when I walked in through the doors I felt the wave of anxiety plume and crash in my stomach.
I opened the door to find Kim's shining blonde hair glowing from the kitchen and Isaac sitting on the couch. As though with impulse I wanted to snub her but remembered that she had actually been a friend of mine only a few weeks back.
"Hey Kim," I mumbled as I removed my keys from the door.
"Hey Alex, Isaac and I just finished a pizza do you want some left overs?" She showed me a plate covered in clingfilm she was about to pop in the fridge.
"No I'm fine thanks, I already ate." I smiled at her plainly and made my way to the bedroom to drop my bags.
Isaac surprised me by coming up behind me and touching my shoulders.
"Hey," he said, a small smile playing on his lips. He fidgeted with his fingers a little as he looked like he was searching for words to say.
" Hi," I felt confused as I dropped my purse onto the bed as though I was missing something.
"How was your day?" he asked rubbing small circles onto my shoulder and I relaxed softly into his hand.
"It was fine, hey, did I drop a bag at the door?" I looked around the doorframe searching for the bag of books I'd packed up it in the kitchen at Lu's.
"No you didn't, listen Alex, I'd really like to talk about the other night,"
I nodded to him grabbing my purse again and checking my watch. 9:25pm... surely, if I just crept inside and grabbed the bag it would be fine, I left it at the door after all.
"Where are you going?" He looked heartbroken, as though I was running from him.
"I'm sorry Isaac but I left a book at Lucy's that I need," I said as I walked to the front door.
"You can't get it tomorrow morning?" he asked, as he watched me fumble for my keys in my bag.
"No, I'm really sorry but I need it tonight because I have to return it to the library tomorrow and I need to get this assignment done. I'll be right back I promise, then we can talk," I gave him a tight lipped smile and ran out the door quickly trotting down the stairs and into the garage.
Luckily since my car was still warm it didn't take the usual decade to start out and before I knew what I was doing I was roaring to Lucy's. Pulling up at the front nothing looked too different to when I left it.
"Perhaps Stanford isn't there yet," I muttered to myself as I crept out of the car quietly and softly clicked the door softly. I tip toed through the garden and opened the front door just a fraction to grab the bag. I didn't even look in, just stuck my hand through to grab the bag but I couldn't feel it. I peered through the small gap and my bag was no where to be seen.
"Shit," I whispered to myself trying to not start panicking. Do I just leave and get it tomorrow? Seemed a bit silly to come all this way just to turn round again.
I opened the door a little wider and checked the surroundings. No one was there thank god. I shut the door softly so it didn't even click as the lock slid across and cast my eyes around the hallway.
Finally, I spotted the strap of my bag poking out from the study door way. I took a deep breath and stealthily made my way over and hid inside the room to gather both the bag and my nerves.
I couldn't hear any muffled whispers, I couldn't hear any clinking of cutlery or any noise whatsoever which made me hope with all my heart that Stanford nor Dan were here.
The butterflies in my stomach were about to erupt out my throat and so I felt now was the best time to make a break for the door. I crept slowly around the staircase and held my breath for fear that any noise would wake Lucy up.
Yes! I made it to the door and just as I reached for the handle I was stopped dead in my tracks.
"Alex?" came a males voice from the top of the stairs.
*gasp* who is it? Who could it be? Is it Dan? I noticed no one questioned whether or not Isaac has a twin....
I know there are a few mistakes and I'm gonna fix them today or tomorrow I just really wanted to get this out there.
Let me know what you think guys! Your support keeps me going and knowing you enjoy this is makes me more motivated to write!
Stay safe, stay well, stay home!
All my love, Charlotte xxx