Forever and ever 2. The adventure starts now.

Part 14.

I felt deeply uncomfortable with his hand on my back, knowing that he didn't want that, but was just putting on a show so his mother wouldn't notice the argument. When the door opened and Nikki welcomed us, his hand slid off my back, slowly and provokingly.
"It's so good to see you again Nikki." I said and hugged her, Parker still holding my hand.
"Oh, I'm so glad it worked out. You know, after Tom had texted me earlier that you were already having plans for the day, I was unsure whether you would still come." He did what?! I turned to him only to give him the look of the devil. But clenching his teeth, he gave me no other expression and, to be honest, not even another glance before he walked past his mother into the living room.
"Is he okay?" Nikki asked, bending down to take Parker in her arms.
"Yeah, just a bit tired." She nodded, already knowing that behaviour of her son, yet she looked after him with more concern than ever. I should have too, I really should have, but I was too mad. I didn't care how Tom was feeling at the moment, because I too had reached the point where I would have preferred to collapse myself instead of doing my best to prevent him from collapsing.
"Where's Padday?" Parker looked around but couldn't find his favourite uncle anywhere.
"He is still with a friend, but will join us after dinner. Yeah?" The conversation between the two of them slowly died down the further they walked away from me. Until only the distant bustle of the kitchen could be heard. But slowly walking into the living room I saw that it wasn't Dom and Nikki cooking, but Sam. Just Sam alone with the pan swinging and the chef's hat sitting on his head. And damn it smelled delicious.
"Hey, need some help?" I asked, peeking my head into the kitchen to get a better view. He gave me one quick hurried glance, but quickly refocused on the cooker.
"Uh no thanks Y/N. I'm almost done anyway." True. Tom and I were the last to arrive, at least 30 minutes late. Which meant Ciara was already there and dinner was supposed to be done every minute.
She was just coming in through the garden glass door to get a second glass of wine when she ran into me.
"Argh, finally, you are there!" I nodded, agreeing with her, but turned again to see my husband talking to Harry. He already had a beer in his hand and I didn't quite know what to think of that.
"Yeah.." I said, keeping my eyes on Tom. His tense jaw, eyes fixed and somehow... dead on Harry's beer. He was about to catch my gaze when I quickly turned around again.

"You still haven't talked, eh?" She asked and threw me a sad smile which I could only return, trying to avoid her pitying gaze. I didn't need that, pity. I just needed approval. Help and maybe courage.
"No.." I said, shaking my head.
"That's fine. Maybe for the best, who knows?"
"Yeah, maybe." Silence reigned and even though Ciara managed to cheer me up after that, I still felt that look on me that made my knees wobble. Palms sweating and barely listening to the conversation, I still didn't dare turn around.
"Is he looking at me?" I asked, rolled my eyes to the left so she knew who I was talking about.
"Uhh" She stood up on her tiptoes and bent a little to the right until she was looking over my shoulder. Then she came back down with the same expression on her face and I wondered if that was the answer to him being distracted.
"I wouldn't say he's not not not looking." What?!
"Too many 'nots' for me!" I said and jerked around to answer my own question.
There he was, staring at me with his eyebrows drawn together. Felt like he was trying to strangle me. So I quickly turned around again in the hope that he hasn't seen me looking at him in the first place.
"Damn it Ciara!" I whisper yelled, fearing Tom could hear me through the walls.
"I know! What's wrong with him?" We both knew what was going on with him so I knew it was a rhetorical question to which I did not give an answer.
"DINNER'S READY!" Sam shouted as he rushed out of the kitchen with a plate full of hot mashed potatoes.
I was the first to help him carry the food to the table while Ciara called the others in from the garden.

Dom took the seat opposite Nikki at the very end of the table, next to Dom sat Ciara with Harry right next to her. In front of them were Lily and Sam, and at the other far end of the table sat I next to Sam and Tom sat opposite me next to Harry. That was the seating arrangement for both of us to look after Parker, but to be honest, I was still deeply uncomfortable knowing at some point during dinner I would need to look Tom in the eyes.