by G. Bailey
I have to hope she will forgive me for Elena, and I’m fucking scared shitless that she won’t. This is the most scared I’ve ever been, even as a child, when I was getting punched by all of my dad’s friends, doesn’t compare to the fear I have now. I’ll spend the rest of my life treating her the way she deserves if she gives me a chance to.
I shake away my thoughts and change into some blue shorts and a black vest. I slip on some trainer socks and my trainers before heading to the kitchen. I bump into Blake and back away, realising he is making out with my sister in the middle of the stairs.
"Seriously, you have a room for that," I say loudly, realising how damn awkward this is as I move past them.
"All right, Daddy, chill." Blake laughs as I walk away, raising a finger at the fucker, and I hear Izzy whack him in the arm, followed by Blake’s overdramatic, “Ouch.”
I shake my head, laughing internally at the pair, and grab a bottle of water before making some toast. I have half an hour before I meet Luke at the gym, so I play on my phone. While I wait for the toaster to pop, Harley and Elliot walk in. Elliot looks better today. The serious edge never leaves my brother, but at least he isn’t looking like he could punch someone just for sneezing today.
"Did you have a good night?" I ask Elliot.
"Something like that. I have company upstairs, so can you let her out when she wakes up? I have to get to the club; the builders are having trouble with a wall or something." He groans, pulling on his leather jacket and grabbing his helmet from the side.
"I'm not kicking your one night stand out." I hold up my hands at him as he glares at me.
"Later," Elliot shouts, grabbing his keys.
Harley shouts, "Get your ass back in here," but it's too late as the door closes. Not long after, I hear the loud noise of Elliot’s bike as he drives off.
"Sorry, bro, I'm meeting Luke at the gym so I’ve got to go," I say with a grin.
"Are Blake and Izzy here?" he asks hopefully.
"Erm, they're in their room," I say, rolling my eyes as Harley groans.
"For fuck’s sake. Fine, Elliot damn well owes me," he says, walking out.
I laugh and leave for the gym. By the time I get there, I’m ten minutes late due to heavy traffic. Flashing my card at the receptionist, I walk in. I eventually find Luke running track outside, and I wait for him to stop.
"Hey man, how's my nephew and soon to be sister-in-law?" he asks, doing stretches, and then takes a drink.
"Good. I'm trying to find somewhere for us to live. We talked, and she is looking at houses with me tomorrow." I grin, and Luke gives me a high-five.
"I'm seriously glad for you, bro," he says as I do a few stretches myself.
"Thanks. Let's run, boy." I grin as he punches my arm, the fucker is strong.
"Who are you calling ‘boy’, asshole?" He laughs as I run off ahead of him, and we do ten laps around the track before heading inside to lift weights.
I’m halfway through my weights when a shadow stands over me. I put the weight back and sit up to see a very angry Elena staring at me. She leans in to kiss me, but I push her away.
"What the hell are you doing, Elena?" I ask angrily, and I groan as she looks on the verge of tears. I don't want to upset her, but I need to at least get her the hell away from me. I watch as her emotions change from upset to mad in a couple of seconds.
"You can't just dump me! Who's the girl?" she demands loudly, and everyone in the gym turns to look. I want to get up, but I can't without being too close to her, and I don't want that. I see Luke walks over from the corner of my eye.
"Elena, it was never serious between us, so I don't see why you’re acting like this,” I say, trying to calm her down; if anything, she looks angrier. Even with the load of makeup she has on, I can see how red her face is.
"What a load of bollocks, it wasn't serious!” she mimics my voice before she carries on shouting. “We have been fucking for months, and you didn't keep any of the other girls around."
I look at her now with her fake, blond hair and overdone makeup. I think the only reason I touched her was because she looks nothing like the girl I'm in love with. I can't tell her the reason I let her hang around was that she reminded me Maisy was really gone, and that it was my fault. I think being with Elena was a way to hate myself and remind myself daily what a fuck up I am.
"I should have said no months ago. Look, you need to leave and stay away from me. You’re a pretty girl, you'll find someone else," I tell her gently, while she gives me a look that would kill me if looks could kill.
"Come on, Elena. I'll walk you out now," Luke kindly says as he comes to stand at her side. She slaps me hard across the face before kissing my cheek. I push her away, and she smiles in a plastic kind of way that reminds me of a doll.
"You've always been mine, Sebastian, and I'll wait for you," she promises before walking out. Luke glares at her and shakes his head at me.
"She is all sorts of fucking crazy, dude," he mutters.
"I know." I cringe, watching as she stomps away.
"Be careful, bro," Luke says, watching her walk away, worriedly.
"I will. Are you looking forward to finally being able to legally drive soon?" I laugh, changing the subject. If Luke realises, he gives nothing away as he grins at me. I smile back, knowing Luke has been driving since he was fifteen. We all learnt to drive around then. The police will let everyone around here get away with anything for a pay check.
"Funny, dude. I'm looking forward to the presents." He grins.
Harley offered to let him have a house party, but Luke wasn’t interested at first until I changed his mind and reminded him it doesn’t matter if anything is wrecked. I laugh internally, knowing Luke will just pay with his inheritance to replace anything that is broken or messed up, and Harley will pretend it didn't happen. He doesn't like us using the house very often, so it's a nice surprise.
I remember back to all the parties we used to throw when Harley was away on work or whatever. Harley would wake us up loudly and make us clean the house, and then work our asses off at his gym. I don’t think he knows it, but working at the gym helped us calm our anger and stopped us getting in more trouble than we could have a few years ago.
"Are you still not planning to go to university next year, bro?" I ask, knowing we have all been encouraging him to go to college or university. Luke refuses, saying he just wants to work at the tattoo studio, which, I'll admit, he is damn good at, but I still worry.
"Don't start, dude, it’s my choice. I don't give a shit about any other kind of work. I know it's not great pay, but I don't need the money. Eventually, I'll be good enough to open my own shop and hire staff myself." He smirks. Clearly he has it all planned out; I just hope he sticks to it.
"All right, I had to ask. Has Harley been bugging you more, then?" I ask.
"Yeah, fuck, I get that he feels responsible for us, but I can make my own choices." I nod at him, letting him know I feel the same way.
I'm thinking of dropping out of college and letting Maisy go back; she always loved school, and her favourite was history. I know she wants to work in a museum, she is damn smart enough for it, and it would work out well for her. Harley has offered for me to become a partner at the gym, with my investment helping to build a new expansion.
My thoughts are interrupted when my phone rings. I nearly drop it in excitement when I see it’s Maisy.
"Hey, Maisy, you okay?" I ask when I answer.
"Hey, I’m just on my break, and I remembered I didn't tell you that the scan is on Wednesday at three. I thought you could meet me there," she says, sounding almost nervous. Does she really think I would say no?
"Sounds good, are you still okay for twelve tomorrow? I could pick you up," I say.
"No, I'll drive to yours and then we can go from there. I haven't exactly told my parents about me being around you again yet," she mumbles, sounding guilty.
Her parents are a piece of work. In all the years we dated
, they tried to break us up and openly told Maisy how disappointed they were in her for dating me, usually in front of me. Maisy always begged me not to say anything, but it was hard not to.
"I understand. I like speaking to you again. I fucking missed you, May," I say, looking down at the workout bench.
"I missed you a lot, too," she says, and I can't help the big grin I have. Finally, she admitted she misses me, which I am taking as a good fucking sign.
"I have to go, my break is over soon. See you tomorrow, Sebastian," she says while I hear her moving around.
"I'm looking forward to it. Bye," I say, and I hear her say bye too before I put the phone down. She can fight me all she likes, but she can't hide how much she once loved me. I hope I haven't fucked up too much for her to take me back. One thing is certain, I'm not giving up.
37
Sebastian
“I’m really fucking nervous,” I mutter to Elliot, as he smirks back at me. It’s prom tonight, and the end of high school. I’m dressed in an expensive suit, Elliot is too, as we wait for the girls’ limo to turn up. Maisy is at Allie’s house with Lily, Elliot’s girlfriend, and the limo is getting them first.
“You guys look great,” Harley says, coming into the kitchen with a proud smile on his face.
“Don’t start getting all lovey dovey on us now, old man.” I smirk and wince as Elliot smacks the back of my head.
“I’m proud of you boys. I didn’t think we would see this day.” Harley clears his throat as he talks. “I’m not our father, but I’m proud to be your brother and to get to see you both being the men you are today,” Harleys says, clearly embarrassed as I pull him into a one-sided hug. Elliot pats his shoulder, and we both nod at each other. All of us pull away, and I chuckle.
“The girls are here,” Luke says as he walks in, eating a bag of crisps, not giving two shits that it’s awkward in here.
“Thanks, man.” I laugh with the rest of the guys as we walk out. I wait as the limo pulls up, and I open the door as the girls get out. Allie gets out first, in a stunning, red dress, and I watch as Elliot devours her with his eyes. Lily gets out wearing a small, black dress and walks up to Elliot as Allie walks into the house. Elliot watches her all the way, until she’s gone, before even saying hello to his girlfriend. Now that is fucking awkward.
“Hey,” Maisy whispers nervously as she gets out of the limo to stand in front of me.
My breath comes out in a whoosh, as I take in her tight-fitting dress that pulls in at her waist and flows out. It’s full of sparkly crystals, which are silver at the top near her breasts and flow down to gold at the bottom. It’s stunning along with her beautiful hair, which is up in some fancy twirls. My hands reach over without thinking, and I pull her by the back of her neck into a kiss. I lose all control as her taste overwhelms me, and her small hands hold onto my suit jacket.
The kiss deepens until I hear, “Give the girl some air, dude. Harley is waiting to take photos.” Luke’s shout makes me break away from Maisy, who blushes a bright red.
“So, so beautiful,” I whisper to her, making her blush more as I take her hand and lead her to the door where Luke is standing.
“You look great, Maisy,” Luke says with a wink at me, and I can’t help but grin at the fucker.
“You just missed the most awkward fucking thing ever. Harley made Elliot take a photo with Allie.” Luke laughs, as does Maisy. I wonder what the hell Harley was thinking, that must have been all levels of weird.
“He didn’t kick off?” I ask as we walk in.
“Nah. Honestly, Elliot seemed to almost want to be near her. The awkwardness was from Lily, who just glared at Harley as Elliot hugged Allie to his side,” Luke says quietly, and we walk into the lounge where Harley is waiting with a camera as big as his grin.
“Maisy, as lovely as ever. You’re a lucky man, Seb,” Harleys says with a small grin at me.
“Thank you,” Maisy says, turning a brighter-red now. Allie is standing by the other window, looking out at the gardens, and Elliot and Lily are nowhere to be seen.
“Stand in front of the window so I can take some pictures.” Harley waves toward the bay window facing the trees. The light is just dimming, and you can see the sun setting in the window above the trees; it’s perfect for pictures and almost looks like a fake background drop.
I pull Maisy into my arms until she’s standing in front of me, and I whisper as Harley takes photos. “I can’t wait to rip this dress off you later and kiss every inch of your sweet body.”
Maisy turns her head up to look at me with her bright-red cheeks, but before she can say anything, I kiss her. Harley snaps the picture, and I know it’s a moment I'll never forget.
I'm sitting on the porch when Maisy turns up. I smirk, remembering that night. It was one of the best nights of my life, and I have that picture in my room still. She slides out of her car, a little wobbly, and I run to get to her side. My arm wraps around her waist, and she smiles up at me. My heart beats faster when I see the cheeky smile she gives me. Who knew smiling could be hot as fuck?
"You okay?" I ask when she looks away.
"Yeah, I guess I forgot breakfast. I forget sometimes that I need to eat more." She smiles, while I get angry.
"It’s midday, and you haven't eaten? Come on." I sweep her into my arms while she moans at me, my temper rising. The woman needs to eat for her and my son. I don’t know everything about pregnancy, but I do know that.
"Sebastian, I can walk," she says in a hushed whisper, but I ignore her and walk into the kitchen. The house is empty, so it’s just us as I sit her on a stool.
"Don't move," I warn gently while getting stuff for sandwiches and grapes out of the fridge.
“I can’t get off these damn stools without help at the moment anyway.” She sulks as I try not to laugh.
I hand her the box of grapes, knowing she loves them, and she smiles at me.
I send a quick text to my estate agent, letting her know we will be a little late, before making two sandwiches for her and one for me. I place the plate in front her and her eyebrows rise in a silent question.
"One for both of you." I wink and start eating, while she looks at me for a second before eating hers.
"Thank you," she says when I take her plate and put them on the counter.
I return all of the stuff to the fridge before we leave for my car. We don't talk, but it's not uncomfortable in the car. I'm still mad she didn't eat, so I decide to use the car journey to calm down. The first house is about ten minutes away; it looked nice in the photos, but it's not the one I really like.
I get out of the car and open Maisy’s door before taking her hand. She tries to pull her hand away but gives up, and we walk toward the cottage with four bedrooms. It's a modern cottage from the outside, as it’s clearly been built in the last ten years. It has three other similar cottages nearby, but they’re not attached. It's not private, but I'm unsure what May wants in a house.
We knock on the door. It’s a small door for me, and I have to lower my head when I walk in, which isn't a good sign, and Maisy can't help but laugh when I scowl at her.
"Hi, I'm Lucy. Would you like me to give you a tour, or you can look around yourself if you’d like?" she asks with a big smile. Lucy looks to be in her mid-thirties with pale-blond hair, which is cut short into a bob. She seems very professional in a suit. She is someone I would imagine Harley fucking; he likes the older girls.
"No, thank you. Can we go to the next house, Sebastian?” Maisy says, still laughing, and I can’t help the little smirk I have at her looking so happy.
"Sure, we will meet you there, Lucy," I say, and she nods.
"Why didn't you want to look?" I ask as we get into the car, as I’m little confused.
"Seb, it doesn't suit you or me. The front door is too small, and I just didn’t think you liked it." She shrugs, but I can’t help but grin as I realize she is thinking of us living together.
"No, I didn't like it, but I want
you to like it more. I don't care if I have to get hit in the head every time I walk in," I say, and she laughs.
"It might have knocked some sense into you. We should go back." She winks at me before we both start laughing.
We pull up to the next house around ten minutes later. This is the one I really like. The great thing is that it's only about five minutes away from home. It has its own drive, which has been newly tiled in blue and cream stones. The house is a barn conversion, which in a way looks like a barn still. It's beautiful with the red bricks outside, and the doors and window are done in an old, brown wood, which I read online is the original wood the barn was made with years ago.
"Wow," May mutters when I pull up in front of the house.
It has a garage to the left, which is not attached to the house, and if I remember right, it has an attic game room. I let Maisy out of the car and hold her hand again, and she doesn't seem to notice as she looks at the house.
A moment later, the estate agent pulls in and opens the door for us while we follow. We enter a small entrance hall with a shoe cabinet built right into the left wall. There’s enough cubbies to hold all of Maisy’s shoe collection, and then some.
"Would you like me to give a tour?" Lucy asks.
"No, I’ll show her around," I say, walking May into the room on the right.
It's a lounge, I’m guessing, as the house has no furniture because the owners aren't living here. There’s a massive window seat on the side that overlooks the woods surrounding the house. On the one wall, a massive, wooden fireplace sits, which I’m sure is the original. The walls are all done in white, and it has that newly painted smell throughout the house. The main reason I like this house already is how bright and airy it is.
We walk through the sliding glass door to the dining room, which has a study on the one side and the other door leads into the kitchen. The kitchen has stairs going off it and a small toilet tucked under the stairs.
"I love the cabinets," May says as she runs her hands over the granite worktops that match the sparkling, black-tiled floor. The kitchen has an American fridge-freezer and a large cooker built-in, but the original, wooden cabinets really showcase the place.
