“Sure, Daddy. Thank you.” She stretches up on tiptoes and kisses his cheek.
“Cheers, Mick.” I nod at him gratefully as he waves over his shoulder, disappearing into the crowd.
Saph twirls some hair between her fingers, grinning smugly. “Well, that was a shame, wasn’t it?”
Mitch shakes his head. “You can be a real bitch, Saph.”
She shrugs, and I put my arm around her shoulders, squeezing slightly.
“She’s only a bitch when it benefits her friends, and that was her best move yet.” I grin and release her.
“What Sam said.” She shoots a look at Mitch. “And, Samuel, we have to make a plan to get Miss Jennifer back to you.”
“I wish it was that easy, Saph. I really do.”
Her eyes twinkle slightly, her lips curving up on one side. “Maybe it is – and maybe you’re just too dense to think about, and do, the obvious.”
“Why do I get a feeling I know exactly what you’re about to say?”
She grins. “Follow me.”
~
JEN
“So, ideally, what we need to do is hire a hit-man to dispose of Barbie?” Hannah summarises as I pour milk over my Cookie Crunch cereal.
I chuckle a little. “Well, if you have the money for that, I’m not going against it.” I sit at the table opposite her. Daisy is sitting on her knee, her chubby hand opening and closing as she tries to grab the spoon my sister is so deftly keeping out of her reach.
“Maybe we should kidnap her, who-” Hannah’s eyes flick to Daisy. “Um, share her out, then use the money she makes from that to hire the hit-man?”
I snort into my breakfast. “She already gives it for free. Besides, we probably wouldn’t get much for her anyway.” I sigh, letting my spoon clatter against the side of the bowl. “I dunno, Han. What am I meant to do? I don’t wanna be without him, but as long as she’s sticking her bitc- Um, tiger claws in, I don’t know if I can be with him, either.”
“If he’s a real man, he’ll kick her right to the curb and then he’ll come running over here like his butt is on fire with extreme declarations of love.”
“Butt! Butt!” Daisy giggles. Hannah sighs. I smile a little.
“I’m not sayin’ he ain’t a man…” I trail off as Hannah’s amused eyes meet mine and I laugh silently. “But, I don’t see him giving “extreme declarations of love” anytime soon. I mean, hello, he used to wear his trousers halfway down his ass before I started pulling them up every time I saw him.”
My sister smirks. “Why am I not surprised at that?” She shakes her head. “The point is that if he really wants you as much as he says he does – and Lexy – then he’ll be waiting when you least expect it to surprise you.”
“And drop to his knees, proceeding to declare his undying, unrelenting, unconditional love for me, while a string quartet plays in the background and candles flicker romantically around us. Right?” I challenge. “Because he’s more likely to turn up with a dominos and say “Jen, you’re my girlfriend, and that’s that. Let’s go to bed, pronto.””
She snorts. “But you’d go, right?” She wipes Daisy’s face and puts her on the floor.
“Damn straight I would.” I grin. “I’d be official doolally if I didn’t.”
“So why let the Queen of Crayola get between you?” Hannah’s eyebrows shoot up.
“Because,” I begin in a quieter voice. “I respect myself too much to constantly fight against her.”
“I’m proud of you for that, Jen, I really am.” She puts her hand on top of mine. “But now you have to ask yourself if you respect you and Sam as a couple, and if you respect you enough to fight for it against all odds. That’s what love is. It’s fighting for each other no matter what’s thrown at you. It’s holding on tight to the thing that makes your heart race and your breath hitch. And love is the pain I see every time I look in your eyes – the pain that’s there because he isn’t.”
Tears prick the back of my eyes, one slowly making its way to the corner of my eye, dripping out slowly. Hannah gets up and walks around the table, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. I let myself sag in her embrace, more tears falling.
“I miss him, Han.”
Her hand strokes down my hair slowly, and I hear her sigh softly. “I know, sis. I know.”
Chapter Fifteen
JEN
If I have to listen to this chirpy little f**ker next to me hum for another five minutes, I might just stick my pastels up his ass.
Of course, it’s not bad enough I’ve spent six hours at university when I haven’t yet completed the given seventy-two hour mourning period for a relationship, and had my sister’s words buzzing around my head like an annoying fly – my final class is all on expression of emotion.
I’ll tell you emotion. Emotion is the growing want to impale Mr. Hummingbird here with not just my pastels, but quite possibly the sharpest object in my art kit.
I clear my throat, and he glances at me. I give him a meaningful look. He carries on his humming.
“Ahem!” I cough out. He turns his face towards me and stops humming.
“Can I help you?”
“In fact, you can. Please stop that dreadful noise, or my project for today will leave my canvas and move onto a live object.” I smile sweetly.
He grunts and turns back to his work. Silently. Oh, thank the Lord of witty comments.
The rest of the class passes without incident – or humming – and I breathe deeply when I step outside. I finish before Lexy today, so I head straight to the bus stop situated outside of the campus. I’m distracted by a familiar red car and my steps falter. No. A weekend is not long enough.
Samuel steps out of the car and walks around it, opening the passenger side door. He raises his head, his eyes clashing with mine.
“In,” he orders. I shake my head silently. I can’t. “Jen, there’s no point you going home on the bus when I’m here. Just get in the damn car.”
I glance at the timetable. It is a fifteen minute wait – but looking at him is like seeing my heart walking around outside my body. It’s like seeing my future dangled in front of me, and it’s having everything I want and need in touching distance.
I take a deep breath in and walk towards the car, pausing before I get in.
“Thank you,” I say quietly.