Professor Cumberbatch

Part 25

"Merry Christmas, Amelia!" My mum exclaimed cheerfully as I walked down the stairs. Her and Zoe were already sitting on the sofa drinking hot cocoa and wearing their pyjamas.

"Merry Christmas to you too. And to you, Zoe." I went up and hugged them both from behind, then went into the kitchen to get my own mug of cocoa.

When I rejoined them, Zoe started bouncing up and down and asking to open presents. Once again, there wasn't much, but I don't think any of us cared because we had each other.

After we had opened presents and eaten a large breakfast, we settled back down on the sofa to spend the rest of the day watching Christmas movies.

At one point, my mum put her arm around me and started massaging the back of my neck. It felt so nice, especially since I hadn't been sleeping well and my body was sore. I nuzzled against her and eventually fell asleep.

I don't know how long I was out, but when I woke up, it was dark outside. The fireplace was on, and both mum and Zoe were still watching movies. I groaned as I sat up and stretched my arms.

"Oh good, she's alive," my mum chuckled. "We were starting to get worried."

"Ha ha, very funny," I said rather groggily. "I haven't been sleeping well so I guess I was just exhausted."

I saw that they both had fresh hot cocoa because it was still steaming, so I went into the kitchen to get myself some as well.

As I was adding in the marshmallows, my mum called out, "Honey, who's Ben?"

I froze and set the bag of marshmallows down on the counter, gulping. "Ummm... He's just one of my friends. Why do you ask?"

"He's trying to call you. Your phone is out here on the couch."

I hurried out to grab my phone, but before I could decline the call, it ended anyway. I tucked the phone in my pocket and then went back to grab my cocoa without saying anything.

"Shit, shit, shit..." I thought to myself. "Fucking hell, Benedict!"

I took a few deep breathes then went back out to the living room, trying to act like nothing had just happened. I sipped my cocoa and watched the TV, but both my mum and Zoe were watching me instead.

"How come you haven't told us about Ben before? Is he a new friend?" Mum asked.

"Yeah, Janessa and I haven't known him very long," I lied. "He was probably just calling to wish me a Merry Christmas. I'll call him back later."

"Is Ben your boyfriend?" Zoe asked.

I took another sip of cocoa to delay my response, but of course my cheeks had to turn red before I could respond. Just thinking about Benedict made me blush.

"Oh he's definitely your boyfriend!" Zoe giggled. "Mum, look at her cheeks!"

"He's not my boyfriend," I snapped. "He's just a friend. That's it."

"Well if he's not your boyfriend, you want him to be then. You're blushing, Amy!"

"Well you're embarrassing me, Zoe. He's not my boyfriend, just leave it at that."

"Girls, girls... Settle down. Zoe, stop asking Amy about Ben. Amy, stop snapping at your sister. She's just curious about your friend," Mum was smirking on that last line.

"Will both of you just leave me alone? I'm trying to enjoy Christmas with my family, not have you both prying into my love life," I groaned.

"So he is your boyfriend!" Zoe hopped up, pointing at me accusingly. "Amy has a boyfriend! Amy has a boyfriend!"

Mum laughed and hugged me lightly. "Oh darling, please tell us more. How did you meet? What does he look like?"

I shook my head and bit my lip, trying to hold back the tears I could feel coming. "Please just stop... It's complicated, okay?"

Mum saw how upset I was and finally realized that I didn't want to talk about it. She got Zoe to stop and turned the movie back on, then put her arm back around me in comfort.

I blankly stared at the screen for a few minutes before excusing myself to use the toilet. That's when I started sobbing, enough to the point that I got sick. Reaching for my phone, I decided that I was going to call Benedict and tell him what happened.

"Amelia, darling... Merry Christmas," He said as soon as he answered the phone. But then he heard me crying. "What's wrong?"

"They know that we're together. Well, at least, they know that I'm dating some guy named Ben. I didn't want them to know but you called me when I wasn't near my phone and they saw your name, thankfully not your picture, and then they kept asking me about it and I wasn't answering questions but they got it out anyway," I kept rambling, getting myself even more worked up.

"Woah, woah calm down. Take a deep breath," he said softly. "It's going to be fine, Amelia. I promise you, nothing is going to happen."

"I just... I kept asking them to stop, but they wouldn't listen. It's frustrating because now they're one step closer to finding out about us. I've literally just been getting sick, Benedict, right before I called you. I'm so nervous."

"As I said, nothing is going to happen," he spoke reassuringly. "If they do find out though, it's just something they're going to have to deal with. My parents aren't too happy about it, but they said that as long as I'm happy, they'll accept it."

"Okay, I trust... Wait, what?!" I whispered in almost a shout. "You told your parents?!"

"Hey, in my defense, it was a similar situation. They kept asking about my love life, and I was trying not to tell them anything, but I love you so much Amelia... It's so hard for me to suppress my feelings about you."

"Oh my god," I groaned, gripping the sink as I felt like I was going to be sick again.

"I tried to hide the fact that you're one of my students, but it wasn't that hard for them to figure out. So I just told them the truth, but I may have twisted it a bit, like when we actually started dating. They don't know you're pregnant either."

"Well I'm glad that they're not too mad, but I really wish you wouldn't have told me this right now. God, my anxiety is through the roof." I took a few more deep breaths, trying to calm down so I didn't throw up.

"I'm sorry, I just thought you should know," he apologized sweetly. "And I'm really sorry, but I have to go. We're about to have dessert and I don't want to keep them waiting."

"It's fine. Go enjoy the rest of the night with your family, Benedict. I'll try to stand being around mine," I said whilst forcing a laugh.

"I love you, Amelia. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Benedict."

I sighed and hung up the phone, then threw up once more. After brushing my teeth, I went back downstairs to rejoin my family, acting much more cheerful than before.

END OF CHAPTER