Interdependent (Book 2 in EBTWOG series)

Chapter 6

I pause on the second to last step, feeling my breath escape my body, as the nerves of what is about to happen, take over. I don't get long to dwell on it as I hear small feet come running over to me. I smile down at Sophie who is staring up at me, a smile on her face.

"Mummy, come and see what I did with Stormy's mummy," she says, extending her small hand up to me. I forget about every anxious thought as I take in my daughter, and just focus my attention on her.

"I'd love to see, sweetie." I walk down the remaining steps and meet her at the bottom, taking her small hand in mine. She tugs me forward, towards the sofas and where most of the boys are sitting. I look at them, feeling embarrassment and guilt at them knowing I have been keeping things from them. I know that technically I don't need to tell them anything, but part of me, although it may be deep down, wants to. I want someone that I can confide in and share my worries with. Someone to tell me that everything is going to be alright.

I smile slightly in greeting when they look to me from the TV. They turn the sound down slightly, as I feel Sophie let go of my hand and walk off to find whatever she wanted to show me. I sit down on the sofa, bringing my legs up to sit cross-legged.

"How are you feeling?" Ashton asks.

I gnaw on my lip slightly. "Better," I say honestly with a smile. Better than what, and on what thing, I don't clarify. Yes, I feel better on the tiredness front, but everything else that was there before I fell asleep is still there.

Sophie comes running back over to the sofas holding a piece of paper. When she gets to me, she tries to pull herself onto my lap. I lift her up, placing her on my lap facing the TV, so I can see what she wants to show me. I look down and see that the paper is covered in dried pasta in the shape of a flower.

"Wow, Soph, that's amazing," I tell her, holding the piece of paper with her.

"They said they're going to put it on the fridge," she tells me, a huge grin on her face. I wonder who 'they' are for a moment, but Trystan supplies the answer for me,

"Yeah, Sophie was going to put it on our fridge for us, after she showed you. We can admire it every day then. I think we've got a little Brody in the making."

My heart melts at how Trystan and Ryder are wanting to have Sophie's art on their fridge. I would try and put her artwork on our fridge at home, here and in England, but somehow, I don't know if it would be my Mum's boyfriends or maybe even my mum, but it would either end up in the rubbish or ruined. I would yell at my mum about it, but it continued to happen.

"Why don't we go and put it on the fridge now," Trystan suggests. Sophie pushes herself off my lap and runs towards the kitchen, Trystan following behind her at a slower pace chuckling slightly.

Jesse slides towards me on the sofa.

"You sure you're alright? Ashton said you seemed like you didn't want to go back to the hotel."

Without Sophie here I have no way to avoid the question, without doing it obviously.

"I... I just didn't like being there anymore."

"Why not?" Ryder asks having come back into the living room and hearing our conversation. I turn and see that he's holding some paper and a bunch of colouring pens and pencils.

I sigh, deciding to go for the less complicated answer first. It seems like I always have to do that these days, why can't I just have one thing to worry about.

"I don't want to rely on you guys too much. For money. You're paying for my accommodation. I don't even have enough money for my rent, so even if I wanted to, I can't go back to my apartment without the risk of getting kicked out. I don't know how I'm surviving to be honest." I leave out the relying on them for taking care of my problems, and everything else.