It's been two days since the Brennan accident, and two days since Mum, Dad, and Joey came home. Mum was happy to hear I finally got my period, and Katie and Mum signed Caleb and I up for advanced biology classes. There is a limit to what the online schooling program is able to teach us, and we're gonna be learning biology in a program at a local school. It's a summer learning program, and the advanced students are required to go to it. We'll be there for three half day classes to catch up starting tommorow. It's at a private school a few towns away called Adams Memorial School. I hope it's nothing like Carter, where I was bullied. Katie went to check it out and said it seemed nice. Today Caleb's coming over and we're gonna have a chill day, and maybe meet up with Kurt and Alex at the mall. It's 9:56 in the morning and I just woke up, Caleb's gonna be here at 10:00. I know exactly how it will go. He'll push open the door and I'll pretend to be asleep and he'll come really close to me and kiss me before 'waking me up.' It happens basically every time he comes over in the morning, and it's really cute. I'm surprised he hasn't found out I'm not really asleep, but I love the little ritual and I'm not gonna break it. The door squeaks open softly and I hear feet padding through my room. I can feel him coming really close to my and then he kisses my nose lightly. I know what's gonna happen next, he's gonna tap my shoulder. A millisecond before he's about to touch me, I open my eyes, sit up, and yell "boo!" He gasps and screams at the same time, and I can't help laughing.
"Jesus Eb, you freaking scared me!" He says.
"Good morning Caleb," I whisper, he smiles. "I love you," I say.
"I love you too, but you're insane."
I laugh and grab him to pull him in close to me. I kiss his cheek and then his lips, and he kisses back. Then he joins me in my bed and puts his arms around me for a while. I love it when we just lay silently in bed together. It's so relaxing. Our breathing becomes in sync and I just want to live in the moment. It's perfect.
But of course Mum has to ruin the moment. "EBBY, CALEB, JOSEPH! DO YOU WANT MUFFINS?" She shouts up the stairs.
"Coming Mum!" I yell back to her. I step out of bed and Caleb and I go down to the island for breakfast. Joey is sitting next to Caleb. He's looking sad still, staring at his muffin and not touching it.
"What kind of muffins did the lovely muffin making Laura bake this morning?" Asks Caleb.
"Fresh strawberry," she says smiling at us. "Well, go on then, have a taste!"
I take a bite of mine and the bitter sweet strawberry tang erupts in my mouth, making it water. "Mmmm," I say, "you sure know how to make a darned good muffin." Mum laughs.
"Give it a go, Joey!" She says to my brother, who is still looking very sad. He has a bite and gives Mum a forced smile.
"They're good," he says. But he's not convincing anybody. Caleb and I exchange sad glances. We can both tell something's wrong with Joey.
The rest of the day goes on, Caleb and I watch New Girl together, but Joey is still imprinted in my mind. My poor little brother. I don't know why he's so sad, but something's bothering him for sure. Caleb and I are sitting on my bed, me at the foot leaning against the back of it with my stuffed animals and Caleb is facing me, leaning against the pillows playing Minecraft. It's around 12:00 when I close my laptop and look at Caleb. He looks up.
"What's wrong with Joey?" I ask him.
"I don't know, but something is going on," says Caleb, he looks concerned and sad.
"I wish the girls weren't at gym camp so they could keep him company," I say. He nods.
"Let's invite him to do something with us..." Says Caleb.
YOU ARE READING
Hold On Forever (A sequel)
Fanfictiona sequel to "the boy next door" this takes place in the summer of 2017. (June) (So they're still 14, but almost 15.) Caleb and Ebony's relationship has only grown stronger since the last book. They've finished school for they year, and Ebony has jus...
