Just A Boy (ON HOLD)

Chapter 18

***Chapter 18***

The shift was short and mainly uneventful. For most of it only one of the other employees and I were working.

Around midday Laila came to the till next to me, but we barely spoke. We had a silent understanding that if she didn't bother me then I wouldn't bother her.

Not long after Laila had arrived Annie, Finn and Claire came into the shop with a middle-aged man I didn't recognise. After I while I briefly remembered Claire mentioned that their dad was coming to town today, so I thought it was safe to assume that was him.

He didn't look that similar to the others who all had matching blond hair and facial features, but Annie and Finn clearly got their striking blue eyes off him. His eyes sparkled even in the slight gloom of the coffee shop. His laugh was warm and filled the room as the family joked around.

Well wasn't today a good day to be a dad, I thought bitterly as Finn came over to me to order.

I smiled involuntarily at him as I took the order and continued beaming as I served them a few minutes later. I think something is wrong with me, I thought internally.

Everything was just as normal as I served a handful of customers, though there were barely any and it was supposed to be peak time. Every few minutes I couldn't help myself and I glanced at the table were my friends sat.

Laila turned to look at me from her till and shot me a glare.

"I know you like Finn, it's obvious as hell. I just want you to know he's mine, when he's done with you, he'll come back to me like always." She said condescendingly and flounced off to serve someone.

A frown broke out on my face instantly. What was Laila thinking? Maybe she was smoking something, a part of me joked. I almost laughed at the stupidity of what she was saying.

Why did she think I liked Finn? Obviously I did like him, but why did she care and why did she say he was hers. Wow possessive much?

And what did she mean 'when he's done with me'? There was nothing going on between us at all. Nothing, nada, niente, nein. I think I made up some of those words...

That was it, I had officially gone crazy.

Fortunately my shift was over so I hung up my apron and began my walk home. I looked up at the sky, that had been brilliant blue only a few hours ago, which was now heavily littered with grey clouds. A dab of wet landed on my arm and then the heavens opened.

The water that pelted down onto me felt like a thousand tiny bullets and I took me a moment to realise it was hailing. The angry balls of ice dropped like lead to the ground and I picked up my pace rapidly.

Finally I reached the house and I opened the door quickly, grateful for relief from the war nature was waging outside.

I ran up the marble stairs, while my hand grazed the wooden banisters out of habit, and up to my room. The first thing I did was run myself a warm bath before slipping into the relaxing water.

As the rain slowed I heard the sounds of a car pulling up outside and squeals as everyone ran inside. I slid lower as the water lapped evenly over my body. The rain had stopped and the water was near cold when I finally pulled myself out of the bath.

Back in my room I was tempted to get straight into my pyjamas and then into bed, but I stopped when I saw a note on my pillow.

You're welcome to join us for dinner at 6.

-Claire

I let out a small sigh and went out to the wardrobe to get dressed again. My clock said it was 5:30 so I only had half an hour to get ready. I dried my hair quickly and tied it in a plait before I threw on whatever clothes I could find. My other clothes were still soaking so I put them on the radiator to dry and slipped on my flats before going downstairs.

In the lounge Finn was sitting on the sofa watching TV and I heard Annie with Claire in the kitchen. Instinctively I turned to head to the kitchen, but just before I moved Finn looked up and saw me.

"Oh hey Katie." he said smiling softly. "Do you want to come watch Doctor Who with me? This episode's kind of scary." He said sheepishly and patted the sofa seat next to him. I almost laughed at the thought that the school's bad boy was scared by a TV show, but agreed quickly and crossed the room to sit next to him.

"How's work going?" Finn asked breaking my attention away from the show. His question caught me off-guard. I hadn't really spoken to him for a few days.

"Good I guess." I replied. There wasn't much to say about my job; it was so simple I'm sure a monkey could do it.

"What do you think of that girl, Laila?" he asked. I frowned slightly at his question.

"She's okay." I said briefly. "Do you know her?" I said trying to sound innocent.

"Oh yeah, just from around, I guess." He said casually, but I knew he was lying. They definitely didn't look like casual friends. "Anyway how's your boyfriend?" he asked, trying to maintain the casual attitude, but it seemed like there was something he was hiding.

"W-what?" I almost choked on the air. "I don't have a boyfriend." I spluttered quickly as my cheeks flamed red.

"You know that Alex guy." He probed further. I frowned again, who was Alex? The answer hit me suddenly.

"Do you mean Adrian?" I asked. He nodded and I almost laughed. "I'm not going out with Adrian! If anything, he's going out with Emma."

"But you went on a date with him." Finn said looking puzzled. I couldn't stop myself this time and had to cover my mouth before I exploded into a fit of laughter.

"That was the worst date I'd ever been on, well it's the only one I've been on, but anyway I've been trying to set him up with Emma for a while now." I said after taking a moment to stop laughing. Only a few moments later I heard Claire call us for dinner and as I stood up I could've sworn I saw Finn smile to himself, but my mind was probably playing tricks on me.

The rest of the family was seated round the table when we entered the dining room and I took my normal seat opposite Finn. Opposite Claire at the other end of the table was the man I'd seen in the café, he was unmistakeably their dad and he smiled warmly at me as we started supper.

Dinner was relaxed and full of friendly chatter as everyone talked about their days. The others had caught up with their dad earlier, but there were still lots of things for them to talk about. They included me in the conversation, but I was glad none of them brought up my encounter with my dad.

The meal passed quickly and I was glad to sink into my bed later and fall asleep quickly.

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What's this? An update for the first time in over a year? I don't believe it!
Yeah anyway I'm back but I can't promise it will last. Oops... Sorry guys I will try though.

xoxo