The One

by Holly C. Webb

  “Thank you,” I replied with a grateful smile. “You must think I’m such an idiot, not to mention pathetic.”

  “I think you’re pretty amazing actually,” he said completely surprising me with his remark. He stared at me for a few moments before he released another long breath and stood up. “I should leave you to get changed.”

  “Right,” I said as I looked down at the dried blood that was on my dress, and my stomach heaved a little at the sight of the blood. I stood up too, as Seth walked to the door.

  “I will wait outside,” he said as he grabbed his hoody from the end of my bed, then made his way to the door. Before I could answer, he pulled the door closed behind him, leaving me standing alone in the bedroom. I had no idea what to make of Seth Reynolds, but he had definitely gotten under my skin.

  I sighed as I reached for the zipper on the back of my dress and yelped as I tried to grip it with my sore thumb without thinking.

  “Are you okay?” Seth's voice came through the door almost immediately. “You haven’t stepped on the broken glass have you?”

  “No,” I sighed miserably knowing there was no way I was getting this dress off without help. “I can’t unfasten the zipper on my dress.”

  I couldn’t be certain, but I was fairly sure I heard him chuckle through the door.

  “It’s not funny,” I pouted, but I couldn’t help but smile.

  “I’m not laughing,” he replied with a laugh, totally contradicting what he had just said.

  “UGGHH!” I cried with frustration.

  “Do you need help?” He asked, and I could tell he was trying not to laugh again.

  I didn’t reply for a moment, even though I knew that there was no way I could do this alone.

  “Yes,” I finally replied with a sigh.

  Slowly the door opened, and Seth came back into the room. He was now wearing his hoodie, and for that I was grateful. He smiled at me, and I couldn’t help but smile too.

  “I’m glad you find this funny,” I sighed as his smile turned into another chuckle. “I’m such a disaster.”

  “Yes, you are,” he laughed as I turned around so he could reach the zipper. My whole body trembled as I waited for him to unzip me.

  “You have nothing to be afraid of,” Seth said as he stepped behind me. “I promise I don’t bite.”

  As he reached for my zipper, I could feel his breath wash over my back, and it sent a shiver through me. I held my breath as he eased it down.

  “There,” he whispered without attempting to distance himself from me. “Do you need me to help you get changed, or can you manage from here?”

  “I think I can manage,” I whispered as my heart hammered in my chest.

  “Okay,” he said as he slowly stepped back. “But once you’re dressed, I am going to clean up that glass. I don’t want you hurt again.”

  “Okay,” I nodded, as I turned and smiled at him. “Thank you, Seth.”

  “My pleasure,” he replied, as he returned my smile. “I will wait outside.”

  Once I was alone again, I stripped off, before I pulled something clean to wear from my wardrobe; this time choosing a top and skirt that I could manage without any help.

  When I finished dressing, I walked to the mirror on my wardrobe door to check my reflection.

  I guess I will have to do, I thought to myself. You’re in so much trouble Sav. What the hell are you going to do?

  When I was ready, I opened the door, and found Seth standing outside, leaning against the wall across from my bedroom waiting for me to come out. He smiled when he saw me and stood up straight.

  “You all set?” He asked, giving me a questioning look.

  “Yep,” I replied with a smile.

  “Great,” he grinned. “Now, once I get the floor cleaned, we can head back to Sylvie’s.

  “Okay,” I replied giving him a grateful smile. “And thank you, Seth. For taking care of me I mean.”

  “My pleasure,” he replied with another grin, before he headed into my room to clear up the glass.

  Yep! I sighed to myself. You’re in big trouble.

  Chapter 7

  Seth

  The drive back to Sylvie’s was weird, to say the least. When Jared asked me to collect Savannah, my first reaction was to say no fucking way. Savannah and I alone in a car was the last thing I wanted, but I knew I couldn’t refuse without making Jared suspicious. So, like the sad asshole I am, I got into Sylvie’s car, and went to collect my best friend’s girlfriend, and prayed to God I didn’t do anything stupid.

  When she opened the door to her apartment, I thought my heart was going to explode. She was stunning. My heart did drop a little when she looked so thrown to see me standing there instead of Jared, and honestly, I didn’t know what to think.

  I thought that maybe she was still upset about what happened in the kitchen earlier that day, and I had considered apologizing to her. But then the thought occurred to me that if I apologised, would I just make things worse. How could I say that I was heading back to the house and saw her crying? Would she even tell me why she had been crying, and did I want to know the answer?

  So, I did the only thing I could do; I kept my mouth shut.

  When I heard a crash coming from her room, I had no idea what the hell had happened, but my protective instinct kicked in, and I needed to make sure she was okay. I hurried down to her bedroom without thinking and rushed straight in. Then when I saw the blood, my first aid training just took over.

  Being so close to Savannah was so hard. I tried to focus on just fixing her hand but touching her, having her so close to me just confused me and mixed up my feelings for her even more than they already were. I wanted her. It was that simple.

  And not just because she was beautiful, and she really was truly breath-taking. No, it was more than that now. The more time I spent with her, the more I liked who she was as a person too.

  She was sweet, caring, funny and feisty too, but there was this other side to her, something I saw in her eyes. At times it was almost like looking at a reflection of myself, like her soul was as damaged as mine. It was like she could see inside me, and I could see inside her.

  But the fact remained, she was with Jared.

  That thought frustrated me beyond words, but once more I resolved to put my feelings for her aside and be the friend that my best friend deserved.

  Releasing a deep sigh, I pulled the car to a stop at a set of traffic lights.

  “Are you okay?” Savannah asked as she looked over at me.

  “Yeah,” I lied and forced a smile. “I guess this jet lag is still kicking my ass.”

  “I bet,” she said as she too smiled before she turned and stared out at the road ahead. “I meant to ask. How did it go with Jolie today?”

  “Good,” I replied, and this time my smile was genuine. If nothing else, I was happy that Jolie and I had managed to talk things through. “We talked and cleared the air. She even came with me to pick a new car.”

  “Sounds great,” she replied as she turned to me once more, and I could almost feel her instantly become more comfortable with me. “Did you pick one?”

  “Yeah,” I said as I glanced over at Savannah and smiled. “I’m collecting it tomorrow.”

  “Wow!” She exclaimed, and she seemed genuinely happy for me. I liked that when I talked, she seemed interested in what I had to say. Most girls usually lose interest in anything I had to say, unless it was about them, but with Savannah it was different. She cared about others, and she was interested in what they had to say. In the few short conversations I had with her, it was clear she had a good heart. “I can’t wait to see it.”

  “I will take you for a drive,” I said without thinking, and instantly realised what I had said, so I quickly added. “With Jared, and of course Jolie.”

  “I would like that,” Savannah replied before she turned back towards the front of the car while I watched her closely, and she smiled. “The light is green now.”

&nbs
p; “Shit!” I said, and quickly put the car into drive, just as the car behind me beeped to tell me to move my ass.

  We drove the rest of the way in silence.

  When we reach Sylvie’s house, we had barely climbed out of the car when Jolie came rushing out through the door.

  “I thought you guys weren’t coming,” she said as she hurried down the front steps. “Where have you been?”

  “I had a bit of an accident,” Savannah quickly explained. I knew she was reassuring Jolie. She held up her hand, showing off her bandage. “Seth was kind enough to take care of me and patched me up.”

  “Oh, God!” Jolie exclaimed. “What happened?”

  “I was just clumsy,” she shrugged smiling at Jolie, as she linked my sister’s arm, leading her back up the steps into the house. “It looks worse than it is.”

  I stood by the car, watching them disappear into the house, wishing I didn’t have to go in too and sit through a family dinner that I knew was going to be extremely uncomfortable. I wished I could just leave, but I knew Jolie would never forgive me if I did. So instead, I sighed as I turned back to the car, pulling my bloodied t-shirt from the back seat, then headed into the house.

  “There you are,” Sylvie said as I stepped through the front door, closing it behind me. “We were getting worried.”

  “Yeah,” I sighed and offered her a smile. “We got a little side-tracked.”

  “I heard,” Sylvie said as she walked closer to me, giving me a strange look. “Are you okay, sweetie?”

  “Yep,” I shrugged, forcing a smile on my face. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “I don’t know,” she sighed as she rubbed my arm. “You haven’t been yourself since you got back.”

  “I’m okay,” I assured her and gave her another smile. “I guess it just feels weird being back here after so long. Like I’m a little disconnected.”

  “You’ll settle back in; you just need some time,” she said as she hugged me before she held me at arms-length. “Now come on, your family is waiting for you.”

  “I’ll be right in,” I said with a smile as I held up my bloodied t-shirt. “I need to get something clean to wear.”

  “Okay, sweetie,” Sylvie replied as she turned back towards the kitchen. “We can wait for you.”

  “No, it’s cool” I assured her before I turned, hurrying up the stairs. “You guys can start. I won’t be long.”

  Once I had changed into a clean t-shirt, I took a deep breath before I made my way back downstairs. As I reached the door, I heard a voice I didn’t recognise. It was a girl’s voice, but I knew it wasn’t Jolie, Sylvie or Savannah, and I was pretty sure it wasn’t Matt’s girlfriend, Kim. So, I had no idea who it was, but for some reason, a sickening knot formed in my stomach.

  “Here he is!” Jared exclaimed as I walked into the room. Instantly I was greeted with a loud cheer as everyone was quickly on their feet to welcome me home. First Matt shook my hand, before his girlfriend, Kim hugged me tightly, telling me how much I was missed. Then Danny and his boyfriend Tom were the next to greet me. Danny hugged me tightly. I knew that he had missed me a lot.

  Even though Jared was my best friend, I was pretty close to Danny too. I was the first one he came out to when he was still only eighteen. I remembered how terrified he had been telling Jared and Matt that he was gay. There was nothing I could say to him to assure him that he really had nothing to worry about. In the end, I had been right.

  I still remembered the day he told Sylvie. I had agreed to be there with him when he did. Till the day I die, I will never forget the words she said to him that day.

  “Are you still my son?” She asked him as he sat before her sobbing. “Are you still the little boy that climbed into my bed whenever there was a thunderstorm?”

  “I am,” Danny whispered as his tears continued to fall.

  “Then who you love doesn’t matter to me, Sweetheart,” Sylvie said as she took his face in her hands and smiled at him. “The only thing I want for you to be is happy. Tell me that you’re happy.”

  “I’m happy,” Danny said as he tried to smile through his tears.

  “Then I’m happy, too,” she replied then added with the biggest smile I had ever seen. “And I am so incredibly proud of you.”

  That was the day I realised that my own mother had failed miserably at being a parent. I was sixteen years old, and I was more of a parent to Jolie than she had ever been to either of us. I vowed that day I would always do whatever it took to take care of her.

  “Seth,” Jolie said as she appeared next to me. “There is someone I want you to meet.”

  A girl appeared next to her, giving me a warm smile, but there was a look of uncertainty in her eyes.

  “This is Callie,” Jolie continued. “She’s Sav’s friend. Remember I told you about her?”

  “I remember,” I replied as I forced a smile on my face, but inside I was anything but happy. I glanced over at Savannah. I was surprised to see that her face was completely unreadable. “It’s nice to meet you, Callie.”

  “You too, Seth,” Callie said in a warm, friendly voice, as she offered me her hand. “I have heard so much about you.”

  “Well don’t believe any of it,” I offered, trying to seem as casual as I could, but inside I was fuming. I had made it clear to Jolie that I had no desire to be fixed up with anyone, but clearly she didn’t take that on board.

  It wasn’t that Callie wasn’t pretty, she was. She was a little taller than Savannah, with auburn hair, and she was pretty in an obvious kind of way. Maybe under different circumstances, I might have even liked her. But right at that moment in my life, I was not interested in being pushed into a relationship I really didn’t want. It wasn’t fair for anyone, least of all Callie.

  “Come on,” Sylvie said as she sat the big pot of chili in the centre of the table. “This chili isn’t going to eat itself.”

  She gave me a smile that said she knew I wasn’t thrilled with the set-up, and that she understood.

  “This wasn’t my idea,” Jared sighed under his breath, clearly sensing that I wasn’t happy.

  “Let me guess,” I grumbled at I took my seat, and glanced at Jolie. The moment her eyes met mine, she gave me the widest grin.

  During dinner, I answered what felt like a million questions about my time in Australia, but despite everything, I found that I eventually began to relax, and even enjoy the night.

  I hadn’t realised how much I missed everyone, or the closeness that this family had; a closeness I had a privilege to be part of.

  It turned out I did end up liking Callie too. She was sweet, and kind of funny. But I would have been lying if I said there was a spark; there wasn’t. As much as I didn’t want to, I liked Savannah. It was that simple.

  After dinner, we all headed out onto the patio and sat around the large fire pit Sylvie had and drank bottles of beer.

  “Can I have one?” Jolie asked, giving me a pleading look, but I knew she already knew the answer to that one.

  “Sure,” I replied with a sarcastic laugh. “When you’re twenty-one.”

  “I’m nearly seventeen,” she grumbled, as she crossed her arms and pouted. “I’m almost old enough to have sex, but I’m not allowed to drink.”

  “I don’t make the rules,” I sighed, trying my hardest to ignore the sex comment.

  “Then maybe I should just have sex instead,” she said with a grin, knowing that it would wind me up.

  “If you ever want to leave this house again,” I said giving her a warning look. “You will not even go there.”

  This was greeted with laughter from Jared and the others, but I didn’t take my eyes from Jolie, letting her know I meant what I said. She smiled at me, but I could see in her eyes she was not happy. I had no idea how I was ever going to cope with this kid on my own.

  “Come on,” Jared said, clearly missing the uneasiness between Jolie and me. “I don’t think you’re the right person to be talking about celibacy, do you?”
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  “This isn’t about me,” I replied, a little more abruptly than I had meant to. “This is about my kid sister. I know what teenage boys are like. They are like you and me, and that’s not what I want for her.”

  “What’s wrong with me?” He asked as he casually draped his arm around Savannah, drawing her closer to him. The stab of jealousy that cut through my heart almost took my breath away. “I think I’m quite the catch.”

  He pulled Savannah even closer to him and kissed her on the lips. As he did, my stomach heaved with pure jealousy.

  Without even thinking, I stood up and clenched my fists at my side; but thankfully, before I said anything, common sense kicked in, and I blew out a deep, steadying breath.

  “I’m going to get another beer,” I said as I walked around the chair I was sitting on. “Does anyone else want one?”

  “Me,” both Matt and Tom replied in unison.

  “I’ll help you,” Callie said as she suddenly stood up, and gave me a strange look. I nodded, then without saying a word, I turned and made my way into the house.

  Once I got to the kitchen, I pulled open the fridge and stared at it for a moment, giving myself a moment to collect my thoughts.

  “Are you okay?” Callie asked from behind me after a couple of moments, making me jump with fright. I had almost forgotten she was standing behind me.

  “Yeah,” I replied as I turned, giving her a smile. “You want a beer?”

  “Sure,” she replied and gave me a warm smile. “Thank you.”

  I pulled a bottle from the fridge and twisted off the cap before I handed it to her. Then I reached in and grabbed another and opened it for myself.

  “Cheers,” she said as she held out her bottle to me, smiling at me from beneath her long lashes.

  “Cheers,” I replied as I tipped my bottle against hers, then brought the bottle to my lips. I closed my eyes, as I took a long sip. As I did, I knew Callie was watching me. I could feel her eyes burning into me.

  Maybe you should go for it, I thought to myself. It’s not like you can have Savannah. Maybe fucking Meggie hasn’t helped you. But someone a little less easy might be what you need.