Down But Not Out

Chapter 44

"Well it won't hurt you to come home and have a rest will it?" my dad asked and I rolled my eyes. Yes it would actually!

"Dad, you and mum don't seem to understand that I don't want to come home to rest. I can do it here in my hotel room" I sighed down the phone and Summer gave me a sympathetic look behind me in the bathroom mirror.

I'd just finished having a shower as my phone started ringing announcing my dad was calling me. He'd been trying to persuade me for the last five minutes to come home, but just like every time I'd spoken to my mum I was digging my heels in, determined to wait it out here in London. My parents still didn't seem to understand that and Summer was able to hear everything because she was standing behind me brushing my hair out for me since it had grown and she'd offered to brush it and straighten it for me. I think she was eager to do something just to show me she was still here supporting me. I was grateful because Summer meant everything to me, she is my best friend after all.

"Okay fine, be stubborn then Liz. We're coming down" my mum announced and I frowned at my phone.

"What? Why?" I asked suddenly confused.

"Because we're worrying ourselves silly down here. Your dad has a friend who doesn't mind driving us down. You know Alan right?" she replied and I sighed but smiled at the thought of Alan. He was cool and I'd liked him from the minute I met him. He was in his late fifties just like my dad, and he was still working. His job was a prison officer.

"Yes mum I know Alan, but I'm fine. You don't need to come down" I said sounding confident, but my mum was stubborn just like me and when she put her mind to something, no one could talk her out of it.

"Well we're coming down. We should be there in a few hours" she said before cancelling the call. I rolled my eyes and groaned at my phone before slamming it down on the surface next to the sink.

"They're coming down then?" Summer asked brushing my hair through because she'd just finished straightening it. I huffed a sigh and glared at her reflection which caused her to wince and I looked away. I hadn't meant to glare at her, it was more that I was glaring at her to show her that them coming down had really pissed me off. I had enough dealing with my own emotions as well as Elissa when she broke down last night on the way back to the hotel as Kayleigh and Chris settled in to watch over Josh. I couldn't deal with my parents telling me to come home.

Today symbolised the end of the third week that Josh had been in the hospital, and the second week that he'd been on life support. Everyday for the last week Kate and Richard had looked even more doubtful about Josh's recovery and I was here at the hotel having a shower- as well as going out for food as the girls thought I needed it- while Elissa and the guys stayed at the hospital in case her parents thought it was a good idea to give up on Josh. They had all promised to call me in the event that something did happen and I'd grudgingly accepted the lunch invite as Summer thought I'd eaten enough hospital food, but the food wasn't that bad.

"Come on then Liz, you're ready to go" Summer stated and I sighed before following her out of the bathroom and then the hotel room. I didn't take anything with me except for my phone which I slid into my jeans pocket as Summer had offered to pay. Well when I say Summer, I meant the guys gave her the money to take me out to get proper food, and drag their girlfriends along as a way to let me have a 'normal' day. There was nothing normal about today though, there hadn't been anything 'normal' about my life since Josh got stabbed, and I hated being away from him because I was worrying so much. Okay so maybe I can relate to what my parents mean but that doesn't mean that I want them to come down.

Summer locked the door behind me before we made our way down to the reception where Ivy, Christy and Kayleigh- who had been making me call her by her nickname of Kay- were already waiting at the cluster of couches near to the elevator. We smiled at each other and they all hugged me individually since I hadn't saw much of them.