i love you • formula one

22

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first person

~***~

Rosie was kind enough to help pack up my bag whilst I changed into suitable clothes to head home in. I decided on a simple pair of jeans and a thin knitted jumper as the sun had been obscured by a layer of grey clouds. My train was at three, meaning I was due in for London around six for as long as there aren't any delays. By the time it took to get back to Nicky's apartment in the London traffic, it should be around time for dinner. I managed to find a journey that didn't require any changes between Bristol and London as to minimise the journey time. For Nicky's sake, the fewer people I had to come in contact with, the better. The last thing he needs before a triple header is falling ill.

I felt a little guilty to have to phone up Oliver and ask if she could give me a lift to the station. It was too far to walk, otherwise I'd have chosen to not inconvenience anyone. Oli and I have always got on well and I expected him to ask less questions than his mum (Adam was working so couldn't do it). He luckily didn't seem annoyed about taking twenty minutes of his day to drop me off at the local station.

"Here," Rosie handed me my bag as I approached her at the front door. My mother still wasn't talking to me so stayed in the living room, and honestly I didn't want to talk to her at the moment, either. "I'm going to miss you, Lion."

I frowned, wrapping my arms around her shoulders. "I'm going to miss you, too," I replied, speaking loud enough so that she would be able to clearly hear me through my mask. "I wish I could take you with me."

"Someone needs to stay and look after mum," Rosie said with a shrug.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay doing that on your own?"

"My goldfish lived for two whole years - I've got this nailed."

I couldn't help but chuckle as I pulled away from the hug. "Um, Ro-Ro, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but mum and dad replaced that thing at least five different times. One of them was a completely different colour! How did you not notice?"

"What?" Rosie scoffed. I let the tragic news sink in as I opened the door. Oli was already parked in the drive and seemed to be walking to knock on the door just as I opened it. "No way!"

"Honey, fish don't change colour depending on the weather."

"That's not what mum told me."

With a roll of my eyes, I turned to the amused Oliver. His arms were folded across his chest and the crinkle in the corner of his eyes told me that his was grinning underneath his mask. "What's going on here?"

"Did you know my parents were changing my fish?" Rosie desperately asked. I could feel her glare as I walked out onto the path, laughing my head off at the fact that she didn't know. My sister was supposed to be the brains of the family. It's not like she was extremely young, either, because she got her first goldfish when she was nine.

"Yeah, I sometimes had to distract you so they could do the switch," Oli replied. "How did you not know? One of the replacements had bulging eyes because they were out of the type of goldfish you normally have."

"I thought he just had an eye infection! What the fuck?"

"Language," I scolded cheekily, pointing a warning finger in her direction as I loaded my suitcase into the boot of the car. "Quick, Oli, let's leave before she kills me, yeah?"

"I'll replace you like you did my goldfish!" Rosie called after me.

I mockingly blew her a kiss as she stood in the doorway. Oliver opened the passenger door of the car for me to climb in. Although I was going to miss her dearly and I don't know when I'll be able to safely see her again, I was glad I wasn't going to be apart of the conversation between her and my mother regarding the goldfish. Sweet, innocent little Ro-Ro. If looks could kill, both Oli and I would be dead. She still waved us off through her annoyance.