Him & I

- CHAPTER 19 -

- F O R G I V E A N D ? -
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Olivia
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"Hey, Sweetpea."

Hamish smiled sadly as he slowly rose to his feet. He didn't move closer. He didn't take a step back. He just stood where he was, his eyes wholly focused on me and my movements.

My mouth was moving...but I wasn't saying anything. I felt a presence behind me and a pressure on my shoulder as Jason laid his hand to rest on it, squeezing gently. I looked down at my feet, unsure of what to do. I was heavily conflicted. On the one hand, Hamish was my brother and I'd missed him hugely, hating the nightmares I had had last night - On the other, I couldn't forget what had happened not too long ago.

I think the prevailing feelings overcame me and before I could hold myself back, I was flying across the room, landing heavily in my big brother's arms, sobbing away into his neck.

I felt how tightly he was gripping on to me, one hand on the back of my head and the other arm completely wrapped around my body. He was quietly crying too as he kept on whispering 'sorry's in to my hair, over and over again.

I don't know for how long we kept on hugging, but when he pulled away, it didn't feel long enough.

He gently wiped away the tears under my eyes and grabbed onto my chin, pecking me on the nose.

"I'm not going to ask you to forgive me, Ollie - I just beg that you know that I would never, ever hit you. Ever. I'm so sorry I looked blindly over the situation with Talulah. She's gone for good now." He promised me, holding my gaze intently.

I deflated in relief, throwing my arms around his neck, and burying my face in the hoodie he was wearing.

"Of course I forgive you, Ham." I murmured into the fabric, "We all make mistakes." I added on, kissing his cheek before returning back to the hoodie.

I felt his whole body relax before he tightened his grip around me again, pulling my body even closer.

After a few more minutes of hugging, Hamish and I reluctantly parted, staying with Drew and Jason for supper. Hamish helped me get my small bag of things packed up and then he drove us back home, which I was slightly nervous about, considering what happened the last time I was there.

"Home sweet home, Sweetpea." Hamish smiled down at me as we walked through the front door.

I nodded slowly, making my way to a sofa in the sitting room where I curled up in a ball in exhaustion. I heard Hamish chuckle as he came up behind me. Leaning over the back of the sofa he pressed his lips onto my forehead and then reached down to pick me up. He laughed at my protests but soon grinned in triumph when I gave up struggling against his strong hold.

Walking up the stairs with me in his arms, he made his way to the bathroom. He was leaning against the sink as I brushed my teeth and then I went to my room to get into my pyjamas as he quickly popped downstairs to get a few things done.

In no time, he was back in my room ready to put me to bed.

"Under the covers, Ollie."

I dived into bed, waiting in excitement as he walked over to tuck me in.

"Caterpillar?" He asked, a knowing smirk spread across his face.

I nodded vigorously in answer, making him grin widely.

He started to tuck the duvet underneath my sides, essentially packing me tightly into the bed like a cocoon...hence the caterpillar.

"Why so tightly, Ham?" I giggled as I squirmed about, trying to move in vain.

"I don't want you going anywhere." He whispered, brushing hair out of my face and kissing the top of my head.

I stopped moving, my heart melting in awe.

"I love you, Hamish." I said

"Love you too, Munchkin," He kissed both my cheeks, "Sleep well, Sweetpea."

"Night-night." I called as he slowly closed the door behind him, flicking the switch as he went.

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I'd woken up in the middle of the night surrounded by darkness. It hadn't been due to a nightmare; I just sort of...woke up. I think my windows must have been left open, but my curtains were blowing wildly and I have to admit...I was very scared. I made the last minute decision of dashing out of my cocoon which had become unravelled in my sleep, and made a beeline for Hamish's room, almost crashing into my bedroom door as I hightailed it out of there.

I saw Hamish's lump on his bed and, not wanting to wake him up, crept around to the opposite side and slid underneath the covers, crawling closer to the warmth of his body. I snuggled up close before realising I was suffocating underneath the duvet; I quickly moved upwards towards air.

Hamish must have sensed my presence in his sleep and he rolled over, slinging an arm over me, bringing me closer to him. I snuggled back and quickly fell into a deep and peaceful sleep.

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"Sweetpea, wake up." Hamish whispered into my ear.

I groaned and let out a very strange noise as I stretched out as much as I could. Hamish chuckled beside me, tucking a loose curl behind my ear.

"Did you have a nightmare?" He asked, worry taking over his face.

"No, don't worry." I smiled, "I just woke and the wind scared me." I admitted, snuggling back into the covers.

Hamish clearly wasn't happy with my reluctance to get up and quickly whipped off the covers, leaving me all exposed to the cold, and grumpy. I huffed loudly, scrunching up my face and crossing my arms tightly.

This only made Hamish laugh in mockery as he left through the door to go downstairs.

"Be down and dressed in fifteen, Ollie!" He called over his shoulder, "and don't you roll your eyes!"

How did he know?!

I was happy to have weetos for breakfast again. Talulah always wanted either pancakes or bacon and eggs, and however good they were, weetos and their chocolatey goodness always made my day so much better.

"Time to go, Ollie." Hamish reminded me, taking my bowl away to the sink.

I nodded, walking to the front door to locate my shoes and school bag, easily finding them before heading out to the car to collect Bobby from JB.

Bobby was surprised, to say the least, that I had already forgiven my brother, but after the initial shock, I think he understood.

We entered the school, as on any other Tuesday, and walked off to our first lesson for the day. Now that everything had been straightened out at home and I didn't really have anything that was preoccupying my mind, I felt that everything would be alright and that I had nothing to worry about. Well, it was the truth; days turned to weeks and weeks to months, without anything disrupting our life. Unfortunately, what goes up, must come down.

▸ ◂  END OF CHAPTER 19 ▸ ◂

Thank you so much for reading! Sorry this one wasn't that great...I'm losing a little motivation as I've been thinking about other stories I'm writing. We're not far from the end (sad, I know) but I've been thinking about the sequel, that I've been planning and I'm so excited to get started! Please comment and vote! Toodles! - 🐝