"Awww," we all said at once.
"That is actually one of the weirdest and cutest things that I have ever heard in my life," Crystal said as we all nodded in agreement.
"Sorry," I said as my phone began to vibrate. I quickly jumped to my feet and took the call outside of the room since I didn't recognise the number.
"Hello."
"Hey April," a friendly voice said.
"Ed?"
"Yeah, it's me."
"Sorry, I haven't saved your number yet. How are you?" I asked as I tried to hide the excitement in my voice.
"I'm doing great thanks, how are you?" He asked.
"I'm good thank you. I'm just at my friend’s house."
"Oh, I hope that I'm not disturbing?" He asked.
"Oh no, it's fine."
"Good. I called to ask you something actually," he said nervously.
"Ok."
"Well, it's my first treatment tomorrow morning and I was wondering if you maybe wanted to meet up a little later? After you finish school, of course," He asked.
"Yes, I'd like that very much actually," I replied as the smile on my face grew.
"That's great, it'll be something to look forward to after being in hospital all morning," he said as he let out a small laugh.
"Are you nervous?" I asked.
"No, I'm ok. Oh, by the way, I spoke to your mother this morning."
"You did? What did she say?" I asked.
"I just told her everything that I'd told you," he said.
"How did she take it?"
"After she had gotten over the shock of hearing my voice again, pretty well actually. Your mother’s always been a very understanding and forgiving person, it's one of the reasons that I fell in love with her," he continued.
"Yeah that sounds like her," I said.
"You remind me of her very much actually. I even spoke to Bob for a couple of minutes, he sounds like a great guy," he said in a cheery voice although I could hear the sadness behind his words. He really did miss my mom.
"Yeah he's great, I can imagine that you'd get on quite well actually."
"I'd like to think so. Anyway sweetheart I'm going to have to go but shall we say half four tomorrow?"
"Yeah that's fine. See you then."
"Bye April."
"Bye Ed," I said as I stared at my cell phone and smiled to myself.
Thinking about how nice it was to talk to Ed my mind suddenly fell on Kyle. I hadn't heard from him since the day that I had gone to his house and I really wanted him to be ok. As I looked down at my phone I quickly opened up a new message and began to type.
Hey, I hope that you're ok? You know where I am if you need me, you only have to ask.
xXAprilXx
"Hey," a husky voice said, making me jump.
"Sorry, didn't mean to frighten you," Aiden said as he began to chuckle.
"Well you did," I said as I smiled at him.
"What are you doing out here?" He asked.
"Ed called me, he wants to meet up tomorrow," I said as the smile on my face increased again.
"That's great, I'm happy that you guys are having a relationship," he said as he smiled back at me.
"Yeah, me too. It got me thinking about Kyle too, I haven't heard from him since that night that I was at his house," I said as I looked into his eyes.
"Why don't you text him and see if he's ok?" He asked.
"I just have, I just hope that he replies," I said in a sad voice.
"I'm sure that he will and if he doesn't we'll go and check on him, ok?" He said as he gently lifted my chin up with his hand.
"You know that's what I love about you, you can be so kind," I said as I smiled at him.
"Did you just say that, that's what you love?" He said with a smirk on his face.
"Maybe I did. I wouldn't let it get to your head though, I might just stop saying it," I said as we both began to laugh.
"Oh, I highly doubt that," he said as he pulled the middle of my tank top to draw me closer to him.
"I really do love you, you know," he said in a serious voice.
"I know. I love you too," I said.
"Even when I beat you at charades, twister and basically everything?" He asked with a big smirk on his face.
"Keep talking and I may just change my mind," I said as I raised my eyebrows at him and laughed.
"Of course," he said before gently kissing my forehead.
"Jess!" Anthony suddenly started shouting as he walked towards us, down the hall.
"What?" She asked as she walked out of the bedroom door and into the hall where we were stood.
"My phone," he said as he handed her his cell.
"Oh yay, hand it over," she said as me and Aiden stared at the two weirdoes that we called our friends.
"Hello this is Anthony's phone, how may I assist you?" She said as she answered the phone.
Anthony watched with an amused grin on his face as me and Aiden were stood with the most confused looks on our faces.
"No, I'm afraid that he is not available as he is in a committed relationship at present and is no longer offering his services for free. However if you'd like to leave a message then I'd be happy to pass it along?" She asked as Anthony burst out laughing.
"Oh dear, she hung up," Jess said with an evil grin on her face.
"That British accent that you do is so sexy, you should talk like that more often," Anthony said as he smirked at Jess.
"Whatever player. How many more calls are you anticipating?" She asked eagerly.
"Not sure but I'll be sure to pass them along," he said as he smiled at her.
"Good, I want to try out my Australian accent next time, this really is fun," she beamed.
"See I told you and to think that you didn't want to do it the first time," he said as he scoffed at her.
"Ok, so you were right for once in your life, anywho I'm off. Bye," she said as she winked at him and walked back towards the bedroom.
"Hey, no kiss?" He asked as he pouted and pretended to be hurt.
"Nope, you'll get a kiss when your fan club diminishes," she said with a smirk on her face.
"Baby, I thought that you had forgiven me. I can't control who calls me, plus it gives you a chance to try out all of your crazy accents," he said with a smile on his face.
"So what I'm still making you suffer. It teaches you for being such a player," she said as she let out a small laugh.
"I used to be a player, remember? I'm a changed man baby," He said as he laughed.
"Yeah well I'm doing it for all the innocent hearts that you ever broke, now get lost lover boy," she said as she patted his cheek with the palm of her hand and laughed.
"You're lucky that I lo-like you so much," he said as he smiled at her.
"Yeah, yeah. Bye," she said as she giggled and walked back into the bedroom.
"Yeah bye," he said as he stood and stared at the door that she had just walked through with a smile on his face before disappearing into Murphy's room.
It was as if neither of them even noticed us standing there.
"You will tell me if we ever get that weird, right?" I asked as I looked up at Aiden.
"That level of weirdness is way out of our league, believe me," he said as we both burst out laughing.
"Thank God for that," I finally said.
* * *
After spending half of the day having fun at Murphy's, we were finally on our way back to the Daniels' to welcome Mrs Daniels home. I should probably stop calling her 'Mrs Daniels since she's no longer married to Crystal and Aiden's father but it's a habit that I struggle to shake. She did tell me to call her Susan so I should probably try to do that, I have known her practically my entire life after all.
"So, how come you managed to tear yourself away from Jess then?" Crystal said to Anthony who was sat in the passenger seat of Aiden's car.
"I couldn't be here and not say hey to Mrs D now, could I?" He said with a cocky grin on his face.
"
Mmmm, I'm sure she'll be delighted," Crystal said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
"Whatever you say Queen of Sarcasm," he said with a smirk on his face.
"Mom sounded weird on the phone anyway, like she had something to tell us," Crystal said to Aiden.
"Yeah, there was definitely something up," Aiden said as he made eye contact with Crystal in the rear view mirror.
"Chill out man, maybe she's just picked up a new guy on her travels and is trying to break it to you gently," Anthony said with a smile on his face.
"My mom is not the female version of you, you know," Crystal said, sarcastically, making me, Anthony and Aiden laugh.
"Its true dude that's not her style, she was away for work, that's practically her life. Men don't stand a chance against that," Aiden said with a hint of sadness in his voice.
It was very rare that their mom was around. She was working so hard to provide a good life for them that she kind of forgot to actually just be there for them, as a mother. That's why I wasn't shocked when she had invited me for dinner at Crystal's party and then had just not been there, she does it all the time, that's why I never asked any questions when I don't see her.
"True," Anthony finally agreed.
After that conversation the atmosphere was a little less comfortable and so we spent the rest of the journey in silence until we pulled up outside of their house.
"Mom?" Crystal shouted as we all walked through the door.
"Is that my babies?" I heard Susan shout before running into the hallway and throwing her arms around the four of us.
Susan was quite an attractive woman. She was very slim and quite petite, well compared to Anthony and Aiden anyway. She had short brown hair which used to be blonde like Crystal's when we were younger, if my memory serves me correct. Strangely enough the light brown colour suits her much better than her natural colour. She also has the same green eyes as Crystal, which were now open wide and staring at us all with so much love.
"Hey Mom," Aiden said as he gave her a kiss on the cheek and then walked into the living room, followed by the rest of us.
"So, how have you all been?" She asked with a big smile on her face as me, Aiden and Anthony all took a seat on the sofa since we all knew that the arm chair was Crystal's favourite seat. Susan took a seat on the arm of Crystal's chair as she continued smiling at us all.
"We've been great, thanks Mom. Oh and guess what?" Crystal said with a mischievous grin on her face.
"What, sweetheart?" Her mom asked with a slight smile on her face.
"King player over there has an actual real life girlfriend," she said as she pointed towards Anthony.
"You know I could have broken the news to Mrs D myself, tunnel mouth," he said as he turned to face Susan. We really did act like her kids, bickering away like children. It reminds me of the good old days when we all used to be at this house.
"That is fantastic Anthony! You've finally settled down. Is this the real deal then?" She asked with excitement in her eyes.
"Yeah, I guess it is," he said as he cheeks flushed a deep colour of red.
Anthony, embarrassed was a priceless moment.
"Ohhhh this is wonderful! So who is the lucky girl?" She beamed.
"Oh please, he's the lucky one," Crystal scoffed.
"Be nice young lady," Susan said as she threw Crystal a small smile.
"It's Jess," Anthony said.
"Jess?" Susan asked in a confused tone.
"Yes Mom, Jess as in my friend Jess," Crystal answered as she rolled her eyes and laughed.
"Oh wow, how did you manage to get such a lovely girl to take you in?" Susan asked as we all burst out laughing.
"Hey, Mrs D, I'm a changed man now and I'm not that bad," he said with a grin on his face.
"Of course you’re not, I'm happy for you. It would seem my babies are growing up," she said as she looked at us all with love again.
"Oh and he's not the only one that has chosen to take a liking to one of my friends," Crystal said as she stared at Aiden.
"Aiden, do you have a girlfriend as well?" Susan asked as she immediately snapped her head in his direction. I could feel the heat taking over my cheeks.
"Yeah I do," he said as he smiled.
"Oh yes mother he is completely whipped," Crystal said as she began to laugh at her brother's embarrassed face.
"Whipped?"
"It means that he's in love Mrs D," Anthony quickly cleared up.
"Aiden is actually in love? Oh gosh, I never thought that I'd see the day," she said as she clapped her hands together in excitement.
Oh gosh this was possibly one of the most awkward moments in history.
"So, who is she?" Susan beamed as she searched Aiden's face for answers.
"She's in this room Mom," Crystal said as I nudged her in the arm, making her burst out laughing.
"In this room?" She asked in confusion.
"Well, it's not me is it?" Crystal said sarcastically.
"April? April's your girlfriend? You’re his girlfriend?" She said in a shocked tone as she flicked her eyes from me to Aiden and back again.
"Yes," Aiden finally answered.
"Oh my gosh! This is wonderful! Do you know how long Kelsey and I have wanted this! Ahhhh! Does your mother know yet?" She asked in excitement.
"Erm no not yet," I said in an embarrassed tone.
"Oh, I'm going to have to call her later."
"Mom," Aiden protested.
"Oh be quiet boy, do you know how exciting this is? You and April! I already see April as my daughter anyway. Oh this is perfectly wonderful," she said as she jumped up and gave me hug, much to my surprise.
"Thank you," I finally said as I managed to slip free of her grasp.
"Ok Mom, I think you can calm down now," Aiden said.
"So is it true?" She asked no one in particular.
"Is what true?" Aiden asked.
"Do you two love each other?" She asked excitedly as her eyes flicked between us.
"Mom, seriously?" He said in an embarrassed tone.
"Oh gosh, this is seriously entertaining," Anthony said as he began to laugh, earning him a slap in the head from Aiden.
"Owww, Mrs D, Aiden hit me," he said in a child's voice.
"Now, now Aiden no violence," she said as Anthony winked at Aiden and laughed.
"You always were a tell tale," Aiden muttered as Anthony just laughed.
"You know you love me bro," Anthony said as a smile crept onto his face, causing Aiden to laugh. For a pair of guys I've got to admit that there friendship is the cutest I've ever seen and the funniest.
"Anyway Mrs D, I think that Crystal's feeling left out, you haven't asked about her boyfriend yet," he said as he winked at Crystal. He of course got a scowl from her. It was quite cute to see that he had finally decided to save his best friend even if it meant putting Crystal into the lime light.
"What? Who?" Susan asked.
"Just some guy from school," Crystal tried to brush off.
"Some guy? Well how old is he? Does he do well in school?"
"Oh gosh Mom! He's my age and he does perfectly fine in school. Why do I get grilled whilst Aiden gets thrown a party?" She asked in a frustrated tone as Anthony and Aiden were quietly laughing.
"Aiden didn't get thrown a party now stop being so dramatic. It's different with you sweetheart," she said in a gentle tone.
"What, because I'm a girl?" She asked in an angry tone.
"No, because I don't know your boyfriend. I know Jess and April don't I," she said. It made sense actually.
Finally deciding to be a decent brother Aiden stepped in to save Crystal.
"Mom lay off her, he's a good guy, seriously. I already had a talk with him and he treats her real good," he said as Crystal gave him a small smile that said 'thank you'.
"Well he sounds lovely although I still want to meet him. You can bring him along tonight," she said.
"Tonight?" Crystal asked.
"Yes that's wha
t I wanted to talk to you about. I have something important to tell you," Susan said.
"Ok I'll leave you guys to it," Anthony said as he rose to his feet.
"Yeah I'll go with Ant," I said as I stood up..
"No, I want you to all be here please," she said in a serious tone. I didn't know what was going on but the atmosphere was suddenly very serious and I could see how nervous both Aiden and Crystal were. I threw Crystal a little smile and then turned to face Susan as she began to speak.
"Firstly I want to apologise, to you all," she started.
"Apologise?" Crystal asked.
"Yes," she said as she took a deep breath as though it was really difficult for her to say what she was about to.
"I know that you were all around when," she paused.
"When, your father still lived here," she said as she looked at Aiden and Crystal.
"Mom you don't have to apologise," Aiden said as his whole body began to tense up.
"Yeah, he's right Mrs D, that wasn't your fault," Anthony said in a soft tone.
"It was because I had a duty to protect you all but instead I subjected you to it and asked you to lie about it," she said as she gave us a weak smile.
"Mom we understood, it's fine," Crystal said.
"Yeah, Crystal's right Susan, we don't blame you," I added, quietly.
"That's not the point. You were kids and I was the adult. Anyway that's not what I wanted to talk about, not directly anyway," she continued.
We all looked at her in shock, I for one had no idea where this conversation was going and from the look on the others faces, neither did they.
"After your father left you know that I had to work harder to keep a roof over your head, which meant long hours and me being away from home a lot. As a result I have missed alot-"
"We understand, you don't need to explain," Aiden interrupted.
"No sweetheart, I do. Let me do this, please," she said gently.
He nodded his head as she continued.
"I missed a lot of you all growing up. You all mean so much to me and I want to apologise for not being around as much as I used to but I want you to all know that things are going to change," she said with a smile on her face.
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