free || sam mctrusty || twin atlantic

chapter sixteen

CHAPTER SIXTEEN ( WAIT WHAT!?)

In the middle of the night, I am awoken by a droning ring and a movement next to me. Slowly, I open my eyes. At first, everything is blurry and unclear. But eventually, my eyes adjust and I see Jamie rolling off the couch.

I prop myself up on my elbow and watch as she grabs her phone off the nightstand.

" Oh, hi, mum. . . okay?. . . wait, what?. . . oh, no," by this time, her eyes are filling with tears and I stand up and walk over to her. I give her a questioning look but she just stares at me. " I'll. . . be there soon, okay? Yeah, bye."

She slowly places the phone back on the armchair of the sofa.

" Jamie, what's wrong?" I ask carefully, but she just stares at me. " Jamie?" I take a caseous step towards her but she just falls into my arms.

I wrap my arms tightly around her as she whispers, " He's gone."

" Who?"

" My Grandad."

I keep expecting her to burst into tears but she doesn't.

" We need to go see my parents. Please?" she asks.

Although I am slightly nervous at the prospect of meeting her parents for the first time, I nod my head slowly. " Of course."

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At some point along the drive, I glance over and see that Jamie is crying silently, tears dripping down her cheeks and landing in her hands. At first, I want to comfort her, but then I decide she was always going to break down, and it's better to let her grieve alone.

Eventually, I find myself pulling up outside a house and watching as the curtain to what I suspect to be a living room is pulled open. It reveals and an older man, possibly Jamie's dad, with her eyes. But he's not completely grey haired like he should be at whatever age he is, instead, he has black hairs distributed through the white.

Another face appears behind him, a kind, round, motherly face, with completely white hair.

Both their eyes light up as Jamie climbs out the car, running towards the door.

As I pull myself out of the vehicle, I see that they have opened the door for her, and she is hugging her mother. Her father frowns ever so lightly when he sees me, and I begin to wonder if she even mentioned me.

" Um, mum, dad," she says as I walk towards the home, " this is my boyfriend, Sam."

Her mother smiles warmly at me, though I can see that she has been crying, and immediately pulls me into a hug. I resist the urge to laugh and hug her back. " Thank you for bringing her home, Sam," she whispers into my leather jacket.

When I pull away, her father smiles at me and shakes my hand.

They invite us into their home and we step outside. I am careful to remove my boots, not wanting to make a mess of their seemingly spotless home.

In the living room, a young boy, maybe twenty-three, waits. He glances up as soon as he sees us and pulls Jamie into a hug.

" Joe," Jamie's mother says, revealing her sons name, " this is Jamie's boyfriend, Sam."

He nods at me in greeting. " You alright, mate?"

I nod back, suddenly feeling vulnerable and shy.

" Have a seat, have a seat," Jamie's father says, gesturing towards a sofa. I smile at him in thanks and sit down, feeling the weight of the sofa change as Jamie sits down next to me.

" We all knew this was coming," her mother says solemnly, reaching for her daughters hand. " At least we can say that we did our best for him."

Jamie nods, biting back tears. " We can."

" You two can stay as long as you like," Jamie's mother says.

" Thank you, ma'am," I say, smiling sadly.

" Oh, please, call me Carol. My husband's Dale."

I laugh. " Okay, Carol, I'd like that."