My dad isn’t coping too well. He won’t admit it, but we both know it to be true.
My mum has taken to waking in the night and going walkabout. She’s mostly incoherent too, so my dad is finding it hard to understand what she wants. It’s breaking him. It’s also breaking me.
Eloise
“Can I have a word with you after class, Miss Blackburn?” Professor Franklin asks politely and Kira groans beside me.
“He never asks me to stay behind.”
I elbow her in the ribs as he’s still staring at me expectantly for an answer. “Sure.”
He doesn’t call out anyone else’s name, which is new. I’m in a class of about fifty; surely I’m not the only one he needs to speak to.
Or maybe this is about my transferral. He might have heard from the other faculty members.
I really hope he isn’t offended.
Class ends, so I wave Kira goodbye and slowly make my way down to the electric board near where Professor Franklin stands, talking to two of my classmates I don’t know the names of.
He smiles warmly when he sees me and motions me over to his desk. “I see your grades have dropped a little.”
I wince. “I know, I’m sorry. It’s been a hectic couple of months…”
He raises one hand as his other flicks through an open folder on his desk. “It’s fine. I suppose it doesn’t really matter, seeing as you’re changing courses on me.” I wince again but he only laughs. “It’s not a big deal. From your references and family history I’m not sure why you’re taking this course anyway.” Amen to that. “But you do still need a pass. We hold a study group every Thursday from five until six thirty in the common area. It’s usually pretty empty. You should come.”
I already knew about the group but hadn’t considered it. Now I’m put on the spot it’s hard to say no. “Sure. Is that why you asked me to stay?” Surely this is something he could have emailed me.
“I was going to email you,” he says, as if reading my mind. “I just figured that, since you were in my class today, I should speak to you in person. I prefer it to passing notes back and forth; it’s more personal.”
I’m not sure what he means by that and I’m certainly not sure why his voice deepened towards the end of the sentence. “Okay, well, thank you.”
“I’ll see you on Thursday,” he states, walking me to the door with a hand against my lower back.
“See you Thursday,” I tell him and dip my head to hide my blush of discomfort. Ever since Isaac put that stupid notion in my head regarding Professor Franklin, I’ve done nothing but blush in his presence.
Gah!
I don’t look back as I rush through the crowded hall and out of the building.
Thank you, Isaac, for making me feel like an idiot.
Looks like Thursday is going to be a busy day for me.
Chapter Seventeen
Isaac
I stare proudly at the large walls that Tony and I painted ourselves in just three days.
Even Darren seems impressed by our speed and the quality.
Tony makes this job fun though. Without him I’d be bored out of my mind. He’s always got something to talk about or someone to make fun of.
My favourite part of yesterday was when he poured white paint over the ground by Justin’s work space and smeared it around with a brush over the white sheeting so it would blend. Darren wasn’t impressed when he saw Justin’s boot prints in white all along the ground the sheets weren’t covering.
Best day of work so far when Justin got a severe telling off.
Luckily I didn’t get saddled with cleaning it either, Ryan did. Poor sod.
“Drinks tonight?” Tony asks as we leave, but I shake my head. “Not tonight, I’ve got to take Mum to the doctor with the old man.”
“Fair play. Need anything, call me.”
I nod and climb into my car, still grinning over the paint incident.
“She’s lost more weight and hasn’t gained in three months,” the doctor says as the nurse tries to hold Mum’s arm still in order to take her bloods.
“I’m aware.” I sigh and give him a shrug. “She’s not eating properly. What can we do? She refuses it half of the time.”
“I’m going to prescribe you some shakes called Fortisip; they should help. They’re high in calories so will hopefully do the trick. I’m assuming she’s drinking just fine.” My dad and I both nod. “I’m hoping this will work, but if her demeanour towards food worsens…” the doctor hesitates. “I’m going to have to bring up the discussion on nursing homes.”
“Not going to bloody happen!” My father grits out, his entire body shaking. “It’s just a phase; she’ll get past it, like all the others.”
“That’s what I’m hoping,” the doctor says softly, his eyes sad. “But it’s not likely. I know this must be a difficult time for you, but we’re running out of options and every single day is a danger to her.” He looks my dad straight in the eye. “She’s not coming back and you’re only prolonging the inevitable.”
I choke on my breath as a sharp gasp leaves me. I can’t put her in a nursing home. I just can’t and, if I can’t, then my dad definitely can’t. She needs to be at home.
Fuck.
“We can manage.” I tell him, my determination set in every tense muscle of my body.
“I know you can; it’s whether she can.” He nods to my mum, who is trying to get up from the bed.
The nurse cries out suddenly when my mother slaps her around the face.
My dad jumps up and holds my mother to him, his hand stroking her silvery hair. The doctor takes over from the nurse as I make sure she’s all right.
“I’ll start doing home visits.”
“You don’t get paid for that.” I point out and my dad’s head falls forward onto my mum’s.
“I’ve been a friend to your family for a long time, John. It’s the least I can do.”
My dad smiles softly and I see the tears swimming in his eyes.
It guts me. My dad is a strong man and never have I seen him cry, so this pain I see, I feel it in my very fucking core.
“Are you going to call Elle?” My dad asks when we get my mother comfy in her usual spot in front of the TV.
I shake my head. “She’s suffering enough as it is. She doesn’t need to know this.”
He nods in understanding and switches the TV on. “How’s she doing? I haven’t spoken to her since Christmas.”
“She still mad at you?” I don’t get involved. It’s between them but I know he said something to upset her on Christmas day; I just don’t know what.
“I should call.”
“Don’t mention what the doctor said. She’ll insist on coming home to help. We have this under control.”
He looks at me, as solemn as he looked in the doctor’s office. “Do we, though?”
I really hope we do.
Eloise
“You seem down,” I say into the phone, my breath coming out in clouds of white as I walk down the cold streets of Cambridge. “Talk to me.”
“I’m fine, just tired.”
“But you haven’t worked for two days,” I say, frowning.
“That doesn’t mean I can’t be tired. I’m getting old remember?”
His joke does little to alleviate the situation. I know something’s not right with him, I just don’t know what.
“What are you doing today?” He asks, sounding too eager to change the subject.
“I’m on my way to meet a few friends for coffee and a study session.”
“Sounds like fun; which friends?”
That’s a good question. “Kira will be there, but it was Damon that invited us. I’m not sure who else.”
“Damon?”
“The guy who hosted that party with the hot tub.”
“Ah,” he says, but doesn’t sound jealous or annoyed. “Well, have fun.”
“What about you?”
“I’m going to sit in front of the TV and
eat junk food.”
Sounds like fun. I’m a little bit jealous. “Eat extra for me.”
“Always.”
“Love you,” I say and we hang up.
“Elle!” Kira shouts from the distance and starts waving her hand in the air like a mad woman.
I laugh and wave back. Damon exits the café and appears at her side. He pinches my cold nose and comments on how cute it looks when it’s red before escorting us inside to the small group.
“Hands off, he’s mine,” Kira whispers as we take our seats on a comfy leather sofa in the corner of the room. Books line the table, each from different subjects.
“Kira, Eloise, this is Cody and Chad.” I smile at the two brown haired siblings. It’s obvious they’re related; they both share the same pointed nose and dark grey eyes.
“Hi,” Kira and I say together.
“What can I get you to drink?” Damon asks, leaning into my ear from behind. It startles me when I feel his breath on my cold ear.
“It’s okay, I’ll get my own.” I try to stand but his hand presses me firmly into my seat.
“I’ll have a cinnamon latte and she’ll have a caramel latte,” Kira states boldly with a huge smile. “Thank you, Damon.”
He grins, winks at me and makes his way over to the counter.
Chad looks at my folder. “Business?”
“Soon to be architecture.” I shrug sheepishly and place my books in the open spaces on the table. “So why do you all meet up to study?”
“Makes us actually do it.” Cody giggles. “We can’t switch the TV on and get distracted this way.”
That makes sense.
Kira looks disappointed when Damon takes the space beside me on the large couch after placing our drinks on the table.
“Can I ask…” Cody says, looking a little nervous as she twists her hands together on her lap. “Are you the one who married her school teacher?”
Yikes. “That would be me.”
“That must be a really awkward thing to tell people.” Chad states, shooting his sister a look. She only shrugs noncommittally.
“It is.” I’m not going to lie or sugar coat it. “We can thank Kira for outing us.”
Kira winces and gives me an apologetic smile.
“What’s it like being married?” Cody pushes and I wish the conversation would just move on.
“It’s weird.” This is the only answer I give, as luckily Damon saves the day by asking Kira about her classes.
The conversation soon dims to occasional chatter as we all bury our faces in our books and do what we came to do.
Damon also treats us to lunch. I know he’s clearly wealthy, but I still feel bad taking from him so I make a vow to myself to make it up to him somehow.
None of the others seem upset about taking food from him, Kira included. It just doesn’t seem right that they’re all so comfortable spending his money just because he has it. Or maybe they’re used to it and he refuses to let them pay? I’m unsure and I don’t know enough about it to judge. It could just be his turn to pay this time. Maybe they take it in turns.
“Same time next Thursday?” Chad asks and we all agree.
I’m actually looking forward to it.
“Elle, wait up. I’ll walk with you,” Damon calls, jogging after me as I head towards campus. He slows to my pace when he reaches my side and tucks his gloved hands into his pockets. “Thanks for coming today.”
“It was great; I got loads done.”
He grins down at me but then frowns at my hands, which I’ve tucked under each arm. “Me too. It’s why I like doing this. University can get lonely sometimes.”
Amen to that, although I have Jordan so I can’t complain. “Thank you for buying us lunch.”
“No problem. I owed you after last week.”
“You didn’t, but I appreciate it all the same.”
Snow begins to flutter from the sky and we both look up at the same time. “Great.”
“Not a fan?” I ask, reaching a hand out to catch a large snowflake. It melts the second it touches my hand.
“It makes commuting anywhere difficult.” He kicks at a puddle. “What class do you have next?”
“Maths with Professor Lingard.”
“I have her on Mondays.”
The conversation falls silent for a while as we move around people on the sidewalk. Cambridge is busy today.
“Throwing any more parties in the near future?”
He shakes his head. “My parents killed me after the last one.”
I gasp, feigning horror and place my hand over his heart, firmly on his jacket, while walking backwards. “You’re dead?”
“Shut it, mermaid.”
I groan. “Really? That’s still trending?”
He chuckles and I take my place beside him again. “How angry were they?”
“My dad threatened to, and I quote, ‘belt the shit out of you, son’.”
My mouth falls open. “He wouldn’t actually do that, would he?”
He laughs. “Nah, he’s like four foot nine and a hundred pounds.”
Blink. “But you’re like six one?”
“He has a hereditary growth problem. No big deal. Means he won’t live as long as most men, but it doesn’t debilitate him in any way.”
What the hell do I say to that?
He saves me from responding. “He dressed as Yoda on Halloween.”
We both laugh.
“Seriously?” I choke back my giggles and wipe under my eyes. It’s not until he finds a picture on his phone and shows it to me that I laugh so hard I physically can’t breathe.
“And he was a leprechaun the year before.”
He shows me another photo, both of the same man with the same eyes as Damon. He stands a lot shorter than the other people in the picture, but you can tell he doesn’t give a crap about it.
“Your dad seems like a fun guy.”
He nods, smiling softly. “He’s amazing. My mum is pretty cool too.”
“They weren’t really that angry about the party were they?”
He shakes his head. “Nah. I always throw one when they go out of town. As long as I lock their stuff and room up tight, they’re happy. My dad has this philosophy; he says that money is nothing if you don’t have good company to spend it with.”
Unlike my dad, whose philosophy is basically the opposite of that.
“That’s really cool; you got lucky.” I tell him, although I don’t consider myself unlucky in the slightest. The grass is always greener on the other side and it’s too easy to dwell on what you don’t have than appreciate what you do.
“What about your parents?”
When we finally reach my building to the left of the campus grounds, Damon leaves me to attend his own lesson. I’m not sure why he walked me all of the way, although the conversation was good. He’s funny when he comes out of his shell.
Lessons go by swiftly and I contemplate skipping the study group with Professor Franklin for junk food and bed. Unfortunately I’m not the type of person who can let people down with a clear conscience, so I find myself heading to the commons, dragging my feet behind me.
I’ll go to this one but I won’t come back. One study group a week is enough and I think I’d much prefer studying with Kira.
Professor Franklin was right; the commons is dead considering it’s a place where people are supposed to study. It’s a magnificent room, lined with books and art work that I couldn’t begin to name.
I find the group at the back of the room. There are seven in total, Professor Franklin not included.
I take my seat beside a girl with thick black hair and the biggest eyes I’ve ever seen. She’s super pretty and it makes me feel a little inferior. I’ve seen her in my classes before but I don’t recognise anyone else at the table.
“Ah, you’re all here already,” Franklin says, beaming from ear to ear as he carries his heavy looking briefcase in one hand and strolls across the room.
He gives me a wink as he places it on the table and takes the seat beside me.
“We’ll top up on a few things from last week but I’d like to see you all working on your economics assignment.” That’s not due until the end of next month. Sigh. I was hoping to leave it until last minute like I always do.
Nobody complains and we all sit in silence as he dictates a few of the highlights from the last few lessons before and after the holidays.
My phone vibrates as he’s mid lecture. I sneakily pull it out of my pocket and read the text using the desk as a shelter for my phone.
Isaac: I’m going out soon; I’m not sure where yet as Tony has yet to tell me.
Eloise: No worries. Have fun :)
And I mean it. Shockingly I don’t feel an ounce of jealousy or mistrust. I like that; I like that I’m comfortable with it.
Isaac: What are you doing?
I glance up to make sure nobody has noticed my lack of attention.
Eloise: I’m at one of Franklin’s study groups and then I’m going to work. Nothing fun and interesting unfortunately.
Isaac: Did you get the pepper spray I sent you yet?
“Eloise?” The professor calls my name and I jump. “Falling asleep are we?” He looks amused and I guess the way that I’m resting my temple on my fist, held up by my elbow on the desk, makes it look like I’m sleeping.
“Sorry,” I mutter as everyone’s eyes come to me. “Long day.”
He rolls his eyes playfully and continues his lecture. I quickly tuck my phone away and start taking notes. I shouldn’t be wasting good study time; this is all stuff I need to know at the end of the day.
Isaac
Petal smiles at us both warmly as we place our drinks on the table. Tony leans over to kiss her cheek during the introductions.
Tony and I sit down, both of us facing a laughing Petal, her friend Sonya and Sonya’s partner Drake. He’s a funny guy, short, a little bit on the heavy side with small eyes and a badly cut moustache, which seems to be wonky.
Destruction: The Distraction Trilogy #2 Page 22