Cole pushed himself up off me and reached down the side of the bed for something. He threw one of his trainers at her, but she managed to jump out of the way before it hit her. “Shut up, Mia,” he growled.
Mia laughed and stepped out of the room. I really hoped she wouldn’t tell my parents about this. Not that we were even doing anything! I didn’t want them to think anything was going on with Cole because they probably wouldn’t let us be alone together.
Without looking him in the eye, because my face was flaming in embarrassment, I quickly kissed his cheek and hopped off the bed.
Just as I got out of his door, I heard him sigh.
“Are you ready, sweetheart?” Mum asked, placing a protective arm around my waist as I entered the room. I didn’t reply to her question because Dad stepped forward in front of me.
“Let’s get you home. School tomorrow.” He smiled and stroked his hand down the back of my head. I nodded in agreement and slipped past them both, giving a little wave to Cole’s parents as I headed to the front door.
“Thank you for tonight,” Dad said to David and Jenna politely. “You’ll have to come to ours soon.”
“You’re welcome, and you know we’d love to,” Jenna responded.
I took a deep breath and watched them exchange their goodbyes. It looked so normal, just friends thanking each other, making plans and saying goodbye. I was the only one that could see through the fa?ade.
“Why does it take them ten minutes to say bye,” Jasper moaned, appearing at my side. Where had he been? I shrugged. They would say goodbye and then start another conversation. It went on like that for a while.
“We’re leaving,” Jasper called loudly. Mum gave us a little wave of acknowledgment and went back to chatting about Dad’s business, which, judging by the recent hushed phone conversations and his stressed outbursts I guessed was in trouble.
I walked home with Jasper. He hung back and walked at my pace. I could tell by the way he glanced over at me that he wanted me to hurry up, he was probably keen to get home so he could play computer games.
“Shit.” Jasper cursed. “You got a key?”
I sighed in exasperation and shook my head. My key was in my school bag in Cole’s bedroom.
We both turned and looked back at Cole’s house, just as our parents were walking along his path. Mum had my school bag over her shoulder. Thank God, I didn’t have to go back and get it. I wasn’t ready to see Cole again.
Dad unlocked the door and let us in. “Make sure you do any work you missed today, Oakley,” he instructed, nodding his head towards the bag that Mum let slip off her shoulder.
I nodded and took it from her. I felt so tired from an extremely long day, and just needed to be out of the way, so I went straight to my room. Just as I snuggled under my thick puffy covers, my mobile beeped with a text message. I knew it would be from Cole. Not only was he the only person to text me apart from my parents and Jasper, but he also sent me a message every night.
My stomach was fluttering as I opened the message. It said just one word, ‘Night x’ I loved the x. A kiss.
I hit reply and typed, ‘Goodnight x’ but I didn’t send it. I never sent them. Not ever. I saved the message in the outbox with all the others and sighed. My eyes filled with tears. I desperately wanted to reply to him, but I was too scared of where that might lead.
I woke up in the morning to the sunlight streaming through the middle of my curtains and someone gently shaking my arm.
“Oakley, time to get up, sugar,” Mum whispered softly. “Are you feeling okay? I don’t normally have to wake you.”
I rubbed my eyes to try to wake myself up properly. Last day of school today. Finally. I pushed myself up and smiled. My head was pounding, and I just wanted to stay in bed, but Dad worked from home on Thursdays and Fridays and I knew he wouldn’t be happy if I missed another day. He would complain about my grades too. It wouldn’t look good for his perfect family image if his daughter’s grades were anything less than As.
“Okay. Well, breakfast will be ready soon. I’m making scrambled egg on toast. You need a good breakfast for your last day at school.”
She left me to get ready and I wasted no time in packing my bag and changing into my uniform. It was far too hot for the school blazer, but the teachers didn’t seem to care about that. I took a deep breath before brushing my teeth: just one more day to get through.
When I got downstairs for breakfast, Cole was already sitting at the table eating scrambled eggs. “Morning, Oaks,” he mumbled, chewing on his food. I hated my name being shortened, and he knew that.