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I jumped and leapt into his arms, grateful that he caught me. I kissed his cheeks, forehead and then his lips. The kiss turned too heated for company, and we disappeared upstairs.
Adaline
I convinced Callum that he didn't need to come to my parent's house with me. I was tired enough from the flight I wouldn't care too much about their snide remarks. I had money in the bank. My buyer had transferred the funds, and the court picked up the comic half an hour ago. Callum relented and went for a run with Buster.
I cycled to my parent's house. When I propped my bike against the concrete wall in the garden, the first thing I noticed was that it was tidy. The grass had been mowed, and the spare tyres were gone. The back door opened with ease when I pushed down the handle. As I stepped into the kitchen, I stood motionless. The washing up was done, the floor was clean. It was a transformation. I don't think I'd ever seen it this tidy since I'd lived at home. Dropping my bag in the hallway, I crept down the corridor hoping to detect if both my parents were home.
My dad's jeer told me he was home, and then my mum had a coughing fit. I'd decided on the flight home that life was too short and that I would forgive them for taking the money. I was done being angry.
“Get in here child, stop loitering at the door,” my dad yelled.
He faced the door to the living room. He'd moved his chair. My mum's chair had moved too, and then I realised why when I stepped into the room. On the wall that had the doorway was the biggest TV I had ever seen. I thought Callum's was obscenely big, but this one I was looking at could be a small movie screen.
“Where did you get that?” I asked pointing to the monstrosity. I half wondered if the internal wall would take the weight of the TV.
The sofa and only available seat in the room sat underneath it. Retrieving my bag, I sat carefully on the settee cushions and relaxed back, looking from one parent to the other, waiting for an answer.
“I won on the horses. We got a cleaner in, to spruce the place up. The bathroom is repaired, and we got that TV,” my mum said.
There was something wrong, her words didn't match her expression. She was lying, but I didn't know why she would bother on my account. I pushed this thought aside and spent the next hour quizzing them on their life in the last three weeks since I'd last been. Having money in their bank account turned them into pleasant people, parents I liked. They weren't this happy when I lived here so they must have had a large windfall.
Mum and dad both lit up a cigarette at the same time, so I opened the window nearest me an inch. They answered my questions well enough, but the side glances were unnerving me. What were they worried about?
Then I realised.
“If you think I'm here for money, you don't need to worry. I've let the fact go you stole my fifty grand. I've moved on,” I told them. Their shoulders sagged at my announcement, but the worry was still in their eyes.
Reading people's body language was my super power, and they were still worried. I said I would pay for fish and chips and walked to the corner chippy to get their order. When I returned, they were having a blazing row. The raised voices were just noise, but my dad's face was straight ahead of me. As he’d heard me slam the front door, their conversation stopped. I walked straight to the kitchen to lay up the food. They didn’t bother to help, so I brought everything in for them, placing their food on a beany tray.
I picked at my food, still tired from the flight. Mum and dad were muttering quietly. They always did this, thinking I did not understand what they were saying. This time I didn’t care, they were pleasant, and I was trying to make an effort.
I had emails to deal with for the charity, and I wanted to contact Roland again to see if I would buy the other comic he had stuffed under his bed. I put my headphones in when my dad turned on the horseracing above my head.
An hour later I looked up to my dad and froze. As I read the words he said, I leant forward to fully concentrate, pulling the ear buds from my ears.
“Say that again?” I asked him.
“Say what?” He countered.
“Say again what you just said to mum,” I commanded. My fury took control of my hands, causing them to shake.
“I don't remember, you know my memory,” he hedged.
“You're a gutless shit. At least own it.” I yelled.
I stuffed my laptop and phone into my backpack and left my half finished fish and chips on the sofa. If they wanted it, they were welcome to the food. It would be the last time I visited for a while. My rage filled my legs as I cycled back into town. I couldn't go home, I'd kill the first person I saw. I couldn't go to Steph's place either, Elliott would tell Callum where I was. I peddled past my home and down into the city centre. Chaining my bike to the nearest bike rack to the promenade, I trudged onto the pebbles and sat down. Picking up stone after stone, I threw it blindly ahead. I was aware enough of my surroundings to know I wouldn't harm anyone.
The gala ball wasin three daystime. Everything was set, all I needed to do was arrive in the morning, talk to Adrian about any last-minute changes, and then my responsibility was done. My racking sobs caused my chest to ache. Callum’s betrayal was too much to handle. I had money, my laptop and a pair of feet. I risked leaving my bike locked outdoors and hailed a taxi.
Callum
The sun crept over the horizon a little after eight this morning. I'd been for a run, pounded the pavements of Brighton trying to expel my frustrations. I had no idea how I would fix this. I expected an argument or a kick in the balls but to disappear and not come home, was an overreaction.
Adaline was missing. Elliott knew where she was, but he refused to tell me.
When Adaline and I went to her parent’s house, we would leave around five in the afternoon. Our routine would be to come home, and I would cook us dinner. We usually ate around seven each evening. I left it until eight until I called Adaline. My calls went straight to voicemail. Text messages went unanswered. Bynine o'clock I was frantic. Elliott sent me a message to tell me Adaline was safe but needed time to cool off.
My heart sank at those words. If Adaline was angry, that meant one thing. Her parents hadn't kept their promise. I'd called Scottie for advice. An eighteen-year-old was giving me advice about my relationship. Elliott said I was on my own to fix what I’d done. My worthiness of Adaline's love plummeted the moment I couldn't fix it.
