The Veil

Chapter Thirteen

Breakfast was fun, it'd been so long since we'd all been in the same room for an extended length of time, Andrew suggested making breakfast at the table a regular weekly thing, we all agreed but I could guarantee that after the first week we'd all get busy again, start doing our own things.  

The boys agreed to clean up, so I was left at the table with Jade, still laughing at Sky nearly tripping Tom up with all the plates in his hands. 

"So, what happened last night?" Jade asked, smiling after Tom walking through the kitchen door.

My heart spiked, worried she knew what had happened between me and Tom. 

"What do you mean?" I asked, as I composed my face before she turned, still smiling, to look at me. 

"Well, I mean, we've not seen you for days, you've been avoiding us all, and this morning, here you are, talking to Tom and everything. I obviously wasn't going to bring it up in front of the guys but what happened? Did you finally talk to Tom? Andrew said you were thinking about it" 

I quietly sighed in relief, she had no idea that I'd spent the night in Tom's room, but she was right, I had been avoiding everyone for days. 

I shrugged, "I talked to Tom last night. I couldn't sleep and I thought it was time we sorted things out." I looked down at a few crumbs on the table in front of me. 

"So you sorted things out? How? What's going to happen between the two of you?" She was eager, and I suppose from the outside it would be exciting, but for me it was confusing. 

Yes I'd spent the night with Tom, we'd kissed for ages and we'd laughed, but we hadn't really discussed anything, we hadn't settled anything.

I still wasn't one hundred percent positive on what I actually wanted to happen.

 And then his reaction this morning didn't help me feel any less confused.

I shrugged at her again and gave her a small smile, "We're not sure Jade. I just wanted to talk to him again. So we're talking." It was as much information as I could give her right now. "Would it really be so bad if something did happened between us Jade?" I asked her, looking back down at the table, moving the crumbs around with my finger. 

She reached across the table and put her hand on top of mine, I looked up at her and she was smiling at me again, "Not anymore sweetie, no. It wouldn't be bad." 

I sighed, and shrugged, still not knowing anything. 

The day passed quicker than I would have liked, the movie turned out to be terrible, it was a clear rip off of Transformers and I spent most of the movie trying to hold back laughter, but it didn't stop us all having fun. 

As we got back to the house Sky was waiting for us all in the living room, taking up most of the sofa as she sprawled herself out. 

Jade and Andrew had been giggling in the backseat like children all the way back from the restaurant and as me and Tom went to sit in the living room, they started up the stairs, giggling still. 

We all knew what they were going to do and Tom just rolled his eyes at me and lifted Sky's head up so he could sit down, he put her head back in his lap, and the way she was looking at him meant she wasn't moving any time soon. 

I sat myself down in the armchair again, swinging my legs over the arm to face the TV. 

We'd been watching an old episode of The Office for twenty minutes in almost silence when Tom turned to look at me, I noticed the movement but didn't turn to face him.

"Do you regret last night?" Tom blurted all of a sudden, I did glance over at him then and he suddenly turned away from me and started staring wide eyed at the floor like he'd had no intention at all of saying that. 

I had no idea what to say. 

I didn't regret it at all, I'd wanted it for three years, but what if he was asking because he regretted it?

What if he'd had the day to rethink it, realising that he didn't actually have any feelings for me at all, it was just a little crush on the new girl when I'd first moved in. 

Panic started to rise in my stomach, I had no idea what to say. 

I didn't want to embarrass myself if Tom regretted it, I wanted to save face and pretend I was okay with his decision, but if he didn't actually regret it and he wanted to know what I was feeling and I told him it meant nothing? 

I had no idea what to say to him and it was clear on his face that he was waiting for an answer. 

"Forget it, forget I asked." He started to get up from the sofa, Sky had already moved herself to curl up on her own side. 

I wanted to stop him moving, "I don't regret anything Tom!" I all but shouted at him, he stopped his movement of getting up from the couch, looking ridiculously like an old man hunched over.

I couldn't tell over the sound of the TV but I thought I heard him sigh as he sank back down to where he'd been. 

He finally looked over at me.

"Do you regret it? Is that why you're asking?" I felt just saying what I was actually thinking was the best way to go about this unknown situation. 

I'd never experienced anything like this before. Nothing had prepared me for dealing these feelings.

His eyes grew wide again, shocked, "No! Not at all. I just thought you might, because you know, you'd been quiet about it all day and you didn't tell Jade and I don't know." He sighed, his shoulders slumping in what looked like defeat. 

I decided to take control of this situation while I could, we both seemed to have been thinking the same thing, and lack of communication was only going to make everything worse. 

I got up out of the arm chair and went to sit next to Tom on the sofa, he didn't look up as I did, Sky did however, she was about to get up to crawl over Tom to me, I could see it, so I smiled at her and shook my head. 

She put her head back down on her paws, sighing as if she was fed up with me. 

"Are you going to look at me?" I smiled, hiding how nervous I really felt.

He turned his head sideways to look down at me, he was blushing and I could guarantee I was too.

My nerves were making me feel like throwing up. 

"I didn't tell Jade about us, because I didn't know if there was anything to tell, we both don't know where this is going? We didn't discuss anything last night. And I also thought after what Jade thought about us to start with, that maybe it wasn't the best idea just yet. There was also part of me that didn't want to think anything through until I knew how you felt, I didn't want to jump ahead and let my feelings take on a mind of their own, if you just wanted it to be a one night thing, or just sex, you know? So I'm just going to say this now, I've liked you for three years, I don't regret a second of last night at all. I would like it to continue, and also you're super hot so ya'know." I finished with a deep breath and a slightly awkward laugh.

I had wanted to stop half way through but I couldn't. I needed to get what I was feeling out there, so we could sort this out, one way or another. 

I didn't think he was going to say anything at first, his eyes were wide and I was terrified I'd scared him off, he stuttered for a second and said "I'm positive I'm going to fall in love with you Lily Grace." It was simple, and to the point. 

And it made my heart stop for a second.