by Ada Frost
“Urgh.” Lou grumbled something under her breath and quickly exited the kitchen.
“What’s her problem?” Elliott asked leaning his chin on my shoulder and wrapping his arms around my waist from behind.
“Hormonal I think, she never explained, just a lot of grumbling” I attempted a nonchalant laugh to guise my nervousness.
He slid his hands round my waist and spread his hands across my stomach “wait until it’s our turn”
My body stiffened that was definitely the most terrifying thing he had ever said to me. I couldn’t imagine bringing an innocent child into his demented version of a relationship.
“I –“
The doorbell rang saving me from answering and I shot out of his arms and practically sprinted to the front door.
When I opened it a smile spread across my face and the tension immediately disappeared from my body.
“Found this old letch loitering on the driveway.” Dad said laughing when my granddad smacked at his bicep.
“Cheeky beggar. Now come ‘ere and giz thee granddad a kiss” I flung my arms around his frail body and hugged him tightly. It felt like forever since I last saw him. “Tha’s all skin n bone lass, thy aint eating enough” I laughed and took over dad’s hold on his elbow and helped him into the house.
“Hey baby-girl does your old dad not get a hug?”Dad said with a mock sulk. “Tha dun’t for whinging lad” laughed granddad.
I helped granddad into the living room and offered him a drink, as usual he wanted a pint of bitter. I smiled fondly at him before going into the kitchen. I heard Lou’s hurried steps down the stairs and cringed hoping she didn’t trip and fall.
I heard laughter in the lounge and walked back through with two pints, knowing full well dad would want one. “Thanks littl’un”
“Evie-beevie –“ I turned as my little sister ran into the room in a pretty red dress. “Guess what?
Me got...all my spellings right today.”
“Did you? That’s fantastic, well done. I’m so proud of you little one”
“Smart lass, gets it from me” granddad said and when Ellie heard him she shrieked and dived at him.
I smiled at my family all together, another knock sounded at the door. Still with a dreamy smile on my face I turned and headed to the door.
When I opened the door my smile grew making my face ache.
“Well if that isn’t the most gorgeous sight I’ve ever seen.” Johan beamed.
I schooled my expression trying to look stern
“You’re late”
“I beg your pardon Madam but a certain pain in my ass was running late. He needed to powder his nose or some shit.” He shrugged his shoulders and pointed with his thumb over his shoulder into the dark, that’s when I noticed Dominic stood there with a scowl on his face.
“Shit head.” He grumbled at Johan and walked past me into the house.
There was no more pretending not to smile, my mood took a serious nosedive at his abruptness.
Johan stepped closer and dipped his head to meet my gaze
“We were pulled into the office late this afternoon, apparently Monday they are sending him back out to Paris again. Serious shit is hitting the fan and he needs to go sort it and I don’t think –“
“You don’t need to explain it’s fine” I interrupted.
His voice lowered as he leaned in even closer “he’s a grouchy fucker because he hasn’t seen you in weeks, and now they are sending him away again”
I vehemently shook my head and looked over my shoulder “Don’t –“
“I won’t I promise, I'll be on my best behaviour in front of them. But I promise you this he misses you gorgeous, he must have checked his watch a million times in the meeting and practically ran to his car when it ended, I went home for a shower and it was me that picked him up late. I didn’t know where your new house was and my freaking GPS isn’t working so I asked if I picked him up would he direct me.” He laughed “when I turned up at his place he was stood on the sidewalk pacing like a fool. He chewed me out for being late and when we stopped in front of your house –“
“Ah this must be Johan” Elliott shouted from the kitchen doorway, I turned just as he started walking towards us smiling. Johan discreetly stepped back and plastered his Johan smile.
“Hey buddy, I’ve heard so much about you. Your girl here talks endlessly about you.”
Elliott laughed a genuine laugh and held out his hand, although I felt incredibly embarrassed that Elliott hadn’t remembered previously meeting Johan - twice. Graciously Johan didn’t pull him up on it.
“You are a lucky man”
“That I am” Elliott said sliding his arm around my shoulders and pulling me to him
*****
We stood outside in the pitch black struggling to see one another, Elliott had insisted that all the lights in the house were turned off and the security floodlight switched off for a better effect, he was at the top of the garden struggling to light the fireworks whilst holding a torch in his mouth. I wanted to laugh at his stubborn stupidity but I knew better. Johan seemed to be settling into our family perfectly, Ellie had left granddad as soon as Johan entered the room and sat with him. When we decided to come out into the garden she insisted he stand with her, but currently he had her in his arms covering her ears with one hand, pressing her gently against his chest to defend her ears from the loud bangs. It hadn’t escaped my notice how Lou watched the two of them with a reverent smile. With it being such a cold and windy night tonight, it was a little unnerving when a sky rocket flew into the air not knowing whether it would blow back towards us.
Another rocket screeched into the air. I looked to my left and saw Dominic's tall frame silhouetted by the glow of the colourful explosion in the sky. His broad shoulders looked even more sculptured in the dark, his jaw set in a menacing line, his eyes sparkled in the night, lighting my insides with fire. His hand slid into mine, tracing circles on my palm. I swallowed the emotions building within me.
"Eve!" Elliot shouted impatiently. “Eve!”
"I'm here" I answered hesitantly, letting go of the warmth at my side.
"Go check on the food and make sure everything inside is set.” He demanded frustration clear in his tone.
"She'll miss the fireworks" argued dad.
"She isn't bothered.” Elliott sneered “Eve go."
"She isn't a bloody dog, and don’t you dare speak to her like she is" snapped dad. I started to walk over the patio towards the back door.
"Dominic go help her out" insisted Jill.
"It's fine honestly it's almost sorted" I replied in a much too panicked voice.
I felt Dominic's large hand press at the small of my back "come on"
We walked in silence through the house to the kitchen. As we passed the staircase Dominic pulled me to him spinning me round to face him into his arms. His strong arms wrapped around me, holding me closely, I could feel the hard planes of his body through his t-shirt, the power his presence exuded. I knew we could be caught, I knew it was wrong but I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer. My soft cheek was a stark contrast to the rough stubble on his cheek and neck.
“I’ve missed you; we’re still friends aren’t we? I just feel like...like –“
“We will always be friends, always” my voice laced with pleading.
“I’m being sent to Paris again. I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages and it’s just I have so much to talk to you about, things I would like to say.” He squeezed me tighter to him, but what he said made me want to step away from him, to hide from what I knew he wanted to tell me. He wanted to have the inevitable speech about him moving in with Vanessa the possibility that he would propose and they would marry and - I couldn’t finish that thought without bursting into tears. My heart ached with the love I held for Dominic, I needed him like I needed to breath. He was my forever. If dreams could be a reality, right now we would be celebrating bonfire night with our families I would be a Layt
on and with all the joy in the world carrying his child. A tear slid down my cheek and I swiped at it quickly before he saw it. I hated myself for fantasying about such frivolities. I pushed at his shoulders for him to release me.
“I...I...better get...the food sorted” I smiled and turned away from him. I couldn’t tolerate to look at those beautiful eyes, even if in the dark I couldn’t see the sparkling blue.
“I can help,” he said softly. I simply nodded, even though it was unlikely he could see me.
*****
My family gathered in the kitchen, laughing jovially about how good the fireworks were. Johan laughed along with them as if he had known them years and I loved that they had welcomed my dear friend into the fold so easily. I smiled across the kitchen at him and he caught my eye and smiled back. Ellie held onto his hand tightly.
“Int tha stoppin’?” Granddad asked Johan and I could see from across the room how he paled. “Cat got yer’tongue lad?”
“No sir...I –“
“Granddad leave him alone.” Lou laughed as she came into the kitchen.
“I’m on’y askin’ lad if he’s stayin’.” He turned his attention back to Johan “Tek thee coit off tha’ll not feel benefit when tha gets artside”
Johan’s pale complexion worried me; I had never seen him so dumbfounded. He looked like he was ready to run from the house and never to be seen again. I stepped forward hoping to soothe the situation. Then his cheeky mischievous grin slid into action “Okay...I’m at a loss.” He looked around the room “any y’all got a Yorkshire translator handy”
The room fell silent, then granddad guffawed, loud laughter causing everyone else to laugh along with him.
“Tha’s alreight cocker” granddad said.
Johan laughed but looked at me and shook his head making me laugh with him. He walked towards me smiling shaking his head.
“He asked if you were staying, and to take your coat off because you won’t feel the benefit when you go outside” when he opened his mouth to speak I held my hand up to silence him “don’t ask, it’s a saying. But I believe you have Granddad’s seal of approval”
“Oh good, yeah that’s good.” He leaned in and whispered to me “but I hope to Christ he doesn’t speak to me again. I didn’t understand a word of what he said”
I chuckled “No one out of this County ever does” we both laughed and I turned back to the food trays.
Dad, mum, granddad, Lou and Johan sat at the dining table chatting, Ellie sat on Johan’s lap reciting her spellings. Elliott stood on the peripheral of the circle with his mum drinking a beer. Dominic stood to the side of me whilst I made final food preparations.
“Need any help?” Dominic asked leaning towards me. I smiled and shook my head causing loose strands of my hair to tickle my nose. I blew it away from my face but it just landed against my nose again, I lifted my hand to tuck it behind my ear. But Dominic beat me to it, gently sliding his fingers through the loose strands, hooking it behind my ear and tracing the line of my jaw with his finger. I shivered at the gentle sensation. To quickly mask my reaction I lifted the pan of chilli and turned almost dropping it when I caught the murderous glare on Elliott’s face.
Chapter 14
I stared straight into Elliott’s thunderous eyes as his gaze shifted from me to his brother, his jaw clenched so tightly I could see the muscle ticking from across the kitchen. He had a white knuckle grip on his beer bottle as he stared at me. I swallowed and averted my stare back to my other guests and attempted to smile but even then I could sense it came out as more of a pained grimace.
Elliott pushed himself from the wall and stalked towards me; I stepped away from the table and turned back to the work surface covered in trays of food. As I reached for another tray a firm hand gripped my waist and pulled me sideways into a solid unyielding torso. I fixed my stare on the counter top but Elliott placed his beer down and with his free hand roughly pulled my chin so that I was forced to look at him.
“This looks perfect Angel” and then his lips pressed hard against mine, it was a painful possessive kiss meant to send a message – mine.
My cheeks heated because I hated PDA’s, Elliott didn’t offer any kind of affection towards me, his love is brutal and the less time spent being touched by him the better. He pulled away offered a gleeful smile at me then looked at his brother and winked. My hands shook as I reached for another tray. I swallowed before stealing a glance at Dominic.
“Message received.” He muttered, I don’t know if I was supposed to hear him but my heart clenched at his defeated tone.
I lifted the food and turned to the table; I blinked back the blessed tears and plastered a pathetically fake smile across my face. I caught the look on Johan’s face and my resolve nearly collapsed, he was staring at me as if, yet again, he could read my thoughts. His empathic looks made me want to curl up on the kitchen floor and bawl my eyes out.
“The pie is steak but the curry is chicken dad. I know you don’t like steak.”
“Cheers baby girl”
“So lad what’s hap’nin’ wi’t footy lately? They dun’t seem to be able to get a good’ol winning streak goin’”
“We’re not doing too bad Bob, at minute we are holding at winning one losing one and for Leeds at minute that aint bad.”
“What’s tha talkin’ bart lad - aint bad? It’s playoff time the need to get the backsides in bloody gear”
“Yeah but you know what happens when they do? They sell of players, look what happened when we got to playoffs –“Dominic started to rant but was quickly cut off by dad.
“It’s annoys the life out of me.” Dad interjected into the conversation. “I mean look at Grayson’s season, he got them all the way to playoffs and then they chuffing threw it all away then sold best lads off. What’s point?”
“It’s all'bart cash these days” Granddad huffed “We off t’match boxing day this year or what?” He turned to look at dad then up at Dominic.
“They don’t play at home Boxing Day this year I think closest is...Dom when is it again?” Dad asked earning a hard glare from Dominic, he hated being called Dom.
“I think nearest we could possibly get tickets for is either 23rd or after Christmas I think they play on 2nd Jan.” He scooped a fork of chilli and popped it in his mouth. “Either should be good matches”
“Dominic don’t talk with your mouth full” chided Jill.
“Fancy 2nd then?” Granddad asked ignoring Jill and looking from dad to Dominic. “What bout thee lad, you fancy it?”
Everyone turned to see he was addressing Johan. “I erm...I don’t really understand soccer rules.”
“What? First rule cocker, it’s football not soccer.” Dad chuckled at Granddad’s proclamation “It’s easy to pick up, tha’ll love it”
“I –“
“Don’t let them fool you Johan, all this lot go for is to drink beer, eat pies and moan about how the team play and what the manager is doing wrong.” mum said laughing when all three men scowled at her. “They are pundits in the making, it is ninety minutes of constant moaning...if they win the team is the best in the world...they lose and it’s all ‘so’n’so is crap, he can’t pass for toffee, they can’t defend, I can do better’ blah blah blah”
“In that case, count me in.” Johan laughed.
Granddad laughed and slapped Johan on the back “I like ‘im, we can keep this’un.” Johan turned his head towards Elliott
“Are you coming?”
Elliott snorted a disgusted laugh and took a swig of his beer “I support a team in a league worth playing in”
Johan frowned and turned to look at the others for an explanation.
“Pff...more like a load of overpaid pre-Madonna” Granddad snorted “That lad doesn’t know his arse from his elbow when it comes to football kid, he’s a...” granddad feigned retching “nope can’t say it. Let’s just say kid thy on’y needs to know that you follow lads in white not scum in red.”
“
Whatever, you pay same if not more for tickets you lot get, to see a second rate team, when you could be watching a proper match between two premiership teams.” Elliott snapped.
“Leeds were a premiership team before –“ Dad argued
“They were relegated because they are shit” Elliott laughed
“Elliott language” Jill scolded shaking her head.
“Don’t listen to him kid, he knows nowt He’s a chuffing glory hunter; I remember when t’kid used to run about proud as punch in his white shirt.” Granddad laughed and the others joined in. Elliott’s face flushed with colour before he turned his scowl towards me.
The food was quickly devoured and everyone moved into the lounge to watch soaps, I didn’t follow them because I never watched them so had no idea who was who. So I sat in a quiet corner with Ellie and played junior scrabble, although she struggled with the concept you couldn’t just make up words with letters you had.
Just after 8.30pm mum said they should be going because it was past Ellie’s bedtime. The little minx tried with tears and a pet lip to get an extra half hour but mum was totally unaffected and she went and got her little coat on. Ellie gave Johan an extra tight hug, making him promise to take her to school one day next week. Clearly under the spell of “cute Ellie.” He agreed.
“Al’rate cocker I’m goin’ to go get settled. Yer dad’s tekkin’ me home. Grub were lovely.” Granddad said.
“Thank you for coming, I’ve missed you.”
“Aye me’n’all.” He kissed me on the cheek “Louise get thee sen over ‘ere,” he said motioning to her with a flip of his hand.
“Night night Granddad”
“Look after thee sen and me grandson”
“Who says it’s a boy?” She said rubbing her flat stomach.
“Me and thee dad.” He winked and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Jill stepped forward and gave me a hug “thanks for a lovely night sweetheart; I’m getting a lift back with your parents so Elliott doesn’t have to get the car out again.”
“Thanks for coming”
We finished saying our goodbyes to mum, dad, Ellie and Granddad. Just as we closed the front door Lou’s mobile rang. She excused herself and went upstairs.