One Road

Chapter 16

Jess sits at the end of my bed. She's jabbering on about some boy she really likes while I stare out of the window distractedly.

"Bri are you even listening to me?" She asks, scowling with annoyance.

I look back at her only to find that Jake is sitting in her place. He take my hands and smiles at me warmly. I smile back uncertainly, straining to look back at the window to catch sight of what I was trying to look at.

I can't remember what it was now, but I do remember thinking it was surprisingly interesting.  Maybe it was the snow that is now falling from outside. Was it doing that before?

Jake squeezes my hands gently.

"Are you okay Bri? You seem distracted."

I nod my head and look back at him, smiling forcefully. He leans in to what appears to be to try and kiss me, though I just lean back away from him in surprise.

My bedroom door bursts open and Tyler runs in, black hair wild and hoodie soaked as though he was walking through the rain to get here.

"Are you cheating on me Bri?" He asks angrily.

I shake my head and scramble up from the bed as quickly as I can.

"I'm not! We're not even going out!"

Tyler just shakes his head in disgust.

I look around at Jake but he's gone, same as Tyler. My stomach twists guiltily, as though I betrayed them both.

But I haven't have I?

I wake up on the sofa, wrapped in Tyler's arms, my back against his chest. Somehow I must have managed to roll over in the night. His nose is pressed into the back of my neck slightly, his breath light on me; causing goosebumps to rise along my skin.

"Tyler?" I ask quietly. His eyelashes flutter against the top of my neck as he opens his eyes slowly.

"Yeah?" He asks groggily. His voice is husky and low; adorable, just like most boys' morning voices. Except his sends faint chills up my arms. I yawn tiredly.

"What time is it?" I mutter, my eyes falling shut again.

Tyler leans one of his arms over me and picks up his phone from the coffee table. "It's 8:12."

"Oh my gods," I yelp, sitting up right instantly. "We're going to be late, school starts at quarter to and it takes about twenty minutes to get there from here!"

Tyler strokes my arm soothingly. "That means we have a spare ten minutes."

"And it takes longer than that to eat and get ready! We're so dead." I panic. I jump up from the sofa and Tyler sits up groggily, running a hand through his black loose curls of hair as he watches me rush around in panic.

"We're going to be fine, Bri. You'll see, we'll get to school right on time."

I finally stop, turn and look at him. "Have you got shampoo?" I ask seriously.

He blinks. "Yeah, I do."

"I'm going to need shampoo and conditioner. Otherwise I will be completely stressed all day." I inform him.

"Alright," he says soothingly.  "Everything you'll need is already in the bathroom. I'll get the water running and you just grab a towel. They're in the cupboard underneath the kitchen sink."

Tyler stands up and makes his way to the bathroom quickly. I pick up my bag with my clothes in and duck into the kitchen to grab a towel. I'm sure if I throw a hoodie over my top no one will notice that I'm wearing the same thing as yesterday.

I really should've thought this whole staying over thing through.

Even from the kitchen I can hear the water being run in the bathroom, though only so loud because of the open door. Thankfully not loud enough to drown out the sound of my ringing phone, buzzing continuously until I finally pick up.

"Yeah?" I answer.

"Briana." My mum says in relief. Her voice has an anxious undertone, and even now I can picture her eyes slightly wider than usual and darting around the room in panic.

"What's wrong Mum? Has something happened?"

"No, nothing is wrong Bri." She laughs. It's a forced laugh, a fake airy sound that is much different from her usual laugh. And she doesn't usually call me Bri, unless attempting a mixed stab at friendliness.

"Seriously, what's going on? You're scaring me."

She lets out a short sigh followed by a repeat of the forced laugh. "There is some news which I would like you to be home for. Is there any chance you can find your brother and both come back home?"

I blink. "Isn't James at home?"

"He was," she laughs. Nervous laughter that seems to accompany every sentence. "But he left for school before I had the chance to find out this fabulous news. Bring him back for me please, Bri. And quickly."

"Yeah, yeah of course." I reply, already picking up my bag and keys. "I'm on my way."

After I slip the phone back into my pocket Tyler pops his head around the door. He steps out from behind it and smiles at me. For some reason he hasn't got a top on, revealing a chiselled but slim body that I definitely don't have a ready mindset for.

He grins sheepishly. "My t-shirt got soaked by the shower." His eyes land on my bag and keys and he stops. "Where are you going?"

"There's a change of plan, I have to get home." I explain hurriedly, making my way to the door.

"What about school? You're going to be late."

"I'm sure my Mum will sort something out. She'll probably say that we have chicken pox or something stupid like that." I smile at him distractedly and undo the bolt on the apartment door. "Thank you for everything Tyler, it was all fun. And thank you for having me over."

"Any-anytime." He replies. He's still frowning as though trying to figure out what the hell I'm going on about. "I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

I nod. "Of course. And tell Jess that I had a M.S.A.H.B.O.E."

He looks at me blankly.

"Actually, I'll just text it to her."

I dive through the door, only shouting bye to him quickly before legging it to the lift.