I looked up as the door opened. I’d been feeling a little irritated that Sam was late but more anxious about him than annoyed with him. Sam was a complicated character and had a bit of a tendency towards depression. I let out a sigh of relief. Finally… But instead of finding Sam looking at me with his big baby blues that always managed to make my insides go a little funny, my eyes met with Tom’s instead who was stood grinning at me with his gorgeous baby girl in his arms.
“Unca Tom,” she said, “What Guca doing?”
He chuckled, “Luca
is preparing the vegetables for tonight’s diners.”
She nodded earnestly, looking back at me, “That
what I said,” she responded indignantly, “Where Sam gone?”
I looked at Tom and raised an eyebrow, “She took
the words right out of my mouth, dude,” I said, “where the hell is he? He’s
supposed to be helping me prep.”
Tom nodded, his earlier grin fading fast, “He’s up
at the main house with True – she got a letter from his mother – looks like the
bitch is back out.”
My jaw dropped, “Oh, no.” I muttered as my heart
sank for him. I looked up at Tom, “He’s not gonna like that.”
Tom shook his head, a frown on his face, “I know.”
He agreed, “That’s why I came to find you – I was kind of hoping I could count
on you, to like, keep an eye on him or something. Make sure he doesn’t do
anything stupid…”
We both knew what he meant by something stupid.
Sam had high highs and very low lows. When he was low he definitely had
tendencies towards being suicidal. He was undiagnosed because he point-blank
refused to go to a therapist after his initial few sessions when he first came
to live with the Fletchers went badly, but I totally got the feeling he was on
some kind of spectrum leaning towards bi-polar and I worried about him. A lot. I
nodded, “Of course I’ll look after him,” I agreed, “He’s my best mate.”
Tom smiled and nodded, “I knew I could rely on
you.” He said, “He really trusts you, you know – please be careful around him
at the moment – he’s going to need us all to keep things really stable with her
back around messing with his mind.”
I swallowed. I would do anything for Sam, anything.
He was like a brother to me. I loved him… “You can rely on me.” I said.
Tom grinned, “You know what,” He said, “I knew you
were going to say that.”
Luca... Sam, Distracted... Coming Soon....
Emilio is becoming quite enraptured...
I hated shopping. It was probably the worst job of
the week for me but it was a necessary evil when I needed to eat…
I was just picking some oranges for a new dish I’d
been creating when I spotted my old mate’s sister – Truelove Fletcher. Now
there was a girl who’d blossomed into a beautiful woman…
I smiled as she wandered closer to me and then
feeling rather brave I decided I’d speak to her, “Long time no see, Truelove Fletcher isn’t it?” I asked, my heart in my
mouth that I really had recognised her and I wasn’t chatting up a total
stranger.
She
blinked and my stomach started to go into free fall. Fuck. I really had started
talking to a total stranger. What a fucking doofus....
“Oh, my
God!” She finally smiled back at me in recognition, “Emilio!”
I nodded,
laughing with relief, “You haven’t changed a bit.” I said. Well, she had – but
she was still entirely recognisable – she was so pretty. But then she always
had been. I’d always had a bit of a thing for her. Only Tate would have ripped
me a new one if I’d attempted asking her for a date back in the day... Now
though... hmmm.
She looked
at me with wide eyes, “Oh, God,” she said sounding utterly horrified, “I hope
I’ve changed at least a little bit – I no longer have braces on my teeth for a
start!”
That was
true... funny how I didn’t remember that about her. I grinned at her. She was
still as adorable as ever.
I turned
as I sensed someone approaching us. It was probably her boyfriend.... But no.
It was one of her many brothers... They all looked so alike – it couldn’t
possibly be anyone else. I smiled uncertainly at the scowling young man. This
had to be Tom. He was incredibly handsome – really well turned out as always –
and his arms were full of products. He’d always been a bit on the girly side
beneath his tough-guy exterior. He was always trailing after that Will guy that
True was friends with too...
Emilio... Enraptured... Coming soon...
I couldn’t wait to marry Will. Seriously, I could not wait. He was the love of my
whole life and I couldn’t imagine being with anyone else – ever.
We had a really great relationship but there was
one thing I regretted not telling him when we first got together – and that was
the small fact that I was named on my best friend’s daughter’s birth
certificate… I know, right…
Tom Fletcher... Riverside the Weddings... It's gonna be emotional... Coming soon...
#happyheatherafters #riverside
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