Detour

22: The Call

I've been staring at the television blankly for one hour now. I just keep on blinking and not caring or even noticing what i'm watching at this moment. I don't know, is this cloud nine?

Since mom had left us, Cole's been laughing so hard and fuck, it's really turning me on. There, I admit it. I'm so turned on when it comes to Cole. His laugh, his grin, the way he winked, he shrugged, his brows when he's confused or concerned, the way he leans down on me and cupped my face and...

"Penny for your thoughts?" The couch sinked a little when mom sat beside me with a plate of cookies in her hand. "You're missing the movie." She grumbles with cookies in her mouth.

"The movie is great. Yeah." I took one cookie and eat it. "But the cookie is greatest." I munched on it and crossed my legs, facing her. "Mom?" I called out.

"Yeah?" She asked, her eyes sticking to the screen. We're watching The Time Traveler's Wife tonight. We're both on our pyjamas already and just waiting for Astrid to come and barge in our door for slumber party.

"I don't want...to go home just yet." That's the key. HOME. She instantly turned her face at me, brows furrowed, and a questionable face, that is. "I mean, I want to face Vince and all but what i'm worried of is..." I sighed, scared all of a sudden.

"You can tell me sweetie. Everything." She caresses my hair and put it behind my ear. My hair has grown already but it's never like mom's. Well, not yet.

"When will I come back here?" I haven't even leave yet here I am, asking her when will I come back here. "Will I even see Astrid? Or Cole?" My shoulders sagged.

"Of course you will. We will." She smiled, her eyes full of positivity. "We will invite them on Christmas, your birthday or mine. We will not gonna lose our communication with them—just like with Hariette." Her eyes flashed loneliness for a moment as she mentioned my brother's name that has turned to Hariette now. And turned officially to a lady now.

I smiled and put my hand above hers, squeezing it. "I don't know where is she in Europe mom but, she messaged me last week telling me to tell you that she's fine." Hariette and I don't really chat often but somehow, she managed to assure us that she's fine and she'll never forget her family—and of course, her gorgeous sister.

"I know." I raised her an eyebrow. "Before I went here in Amsterdam, she and I met at the airport to have some talk on what's happening in her life." I was about to cut her off that it's really unfair to me but she just shrugged it off. "Of course, as her mom—the most beautiful mom she can only have, had to make sure that she's fine. That even though years had passed," Mom lost in her own thoughts. "Nothing will ever change between her, me and you." She kisses my forehead.

I leaned my head in her shoulder after. "Even though you didn't told me that you two meet up, I still love you. I still love Harry and I really miss him." I chuckled, "And even though she's truly a woman now, I still want to look up to her as my only brother." I leaned away to only see her smiling and now scrolling in her phone.

Geez, are you even listening mom?

Her brows creased and i'm seeing wrinkles. "Oh. Astrid can't come tonight for slumber party. Something came up." She faced me As' text she just received.

I rolled my eyes. Astrid must be kidding me. "What do you mean something came up? She called me earlier that we'll both eat your cookies till you're out of supplies." I smirked.

She shook her head. "Something about her mother." She paused, taking a bite in her cookie as she thinks. "I think Emily called her tonight so Astrid need to run some things Emily had been telling her—"

"Like what you're doing to me—"

"Like what i'm—what did I do to you? I'm just taking you back home because summer is about to end and you haven't enrolled yourself yet. Is that a bad thing?" She whispered her last sentence that I totally just laughed it off.

"Alright, alright. Maybe Astrid is also needed to go home too." I sighed. "That's really sad."

"Cheer up now, you still have tomorrow." She lifts my chin up. "Even if Astrid's here with us, you still can't get your head cleared and have fun with us." I pouted. "I know who's in your head for one hour since I played that movie because if i'm wrong, you should've known Astrid cancelled our night—"

"She didn't called me! And I was..."

"Busy thinking 'bout Cole?" She raised her eyebrow as I felt fire creeps in my cheeks. "Well, check your phone! Astrid must've sent you a message or what. I shouldn't have made a lot of my cookies." She mumbled, changing the topic.

Oh no, you don't wanna know what happened after you left me with Cole, mom.

I'm totally kidding. He just waited for me to come inside my room before he'll shower in his room. Afraid we'll both catch cold and not enjoy our last night tomorrow. Yup. Our last night tomorrow.

And with those words, i'm absolutely burning up with my own fever.

My thoughts trailed off when I felt my phone's vibrating just beside my leg. I checked and saw an unknown number lighting up my screen. "Talking about the devil." I let mom see Astrid's call and she just nod at me as she focused on the movie again.

"Hey! Too bad you're not having mom's cookies." I took one bite and moaned through the phone to let her hear what she's been missing. "God, Astrid your biggest mistake is to not go into your neighbor's room tonight." I waited for her scream that'll probably bleed my eardrums but that didn't came. Maybe she hung up on me or something so I looked at my phone, seeing I got a text and the call is still going on. "Hey, you okay?" I was about to ask her how's her mom but my breath hitched and my hair from the back of my neck to the hair in my arms stood as I heard his voice.

"Hey." His voice didn't changed a little. That soothing voice like you just want to be carried in his arms still had that effect on me. But a little worst, it gives me goosebumps.

I was left speechless. My jaw dropped and mom has to mouthed "Who is it" to make my eyes blink. I instantly stood up and went to my room, still holding the phone in my ear. Seeing the call is still going on, I just wished he'd just ended it after he said a word. I lay down, hitting my head on my pillow and stared at the ceiling as I closed my eyes deep and bit my lip till it hurts.

I didn't know facing him could be this early.

"It's been a month and half." He started as my first tear for the last month of living here in Amsterdam came rolling down my face. This is so unfair. "I missed you Jess." His voice came hoarse and in that moment, i'm breathing shakily and bit my lip trying so hard to stop my tears and not whimper. "So damn much." That instant, all tears came contact with the matress.

And that's it. I drew one, long, shaky breath and put all of my emotions in one word as I felt my walls crumbling down little by little. "Vince."