Stitches

Brooke and I were neck deep in deliberation. She sat cross-legged on the bed, a legal pad in her lap. Her dark brown hair was tossed over her tan shoulder as she chewed on the end of the pen. Her eyes narrowed as she thought.

We had been making a list of the pro’s and con’s of going back to England. Her mouth twisted side to side. I was of little help, all I could think of is how lucky I was…and how sexy she was. I winced and shook my head at the perverted thoughts that plagued my mind today.

“Oli.” Brooke whispered, I looked up at her. My eyes were met with the most thoughtful look I’d ever experienced.

I leaned towards her, she had her own gravitational pull.

“What?” I asked.

She smiled faintly, “We should go back to England. I don’t like it here. This isn’t my home, plus I miss Lola and Curtis.”

I nodded and later that afternoon the plane tickets were bought and we were headed to England. A split second decision would forever change my life. We arrived in England with the sound of scraping metal and a plane that felt like it was going to flip.

Matt and Lola were waiting for us in the lobby. Lola’s hand made sign, she held upside down, read Oli & Emma Sykes, with miscellaneous hearts and stars around the side. Then my eyes caught sight of the unexpected member of their party.

Curtis Ward stood behind Matt holding a group of pink and white balloons. He smiled when he laid eyes on Brooke, she did the same.

“Hey.” I said with a small wave. Brooke handed me her duffel bag, which left me with no empty hands. She made a beeline to Curtis who wrapped his lanky arms around her as soon as she was within reach.

I stared at them, trying to read Curtis’ lips and listen to Brooklyn’s whispers, but it was in vain.

“Yoo hoo!” Lola said as she waved her hand in front of my face. I shook my head and was snapped into local reality.

“What?” I asked, smacking my lips and raising my eyebrows. It was an odd gesture that surprised even myself.

Her eyes became wide and her voice serious, “Let’s go.”

“I’m gonna wait for Brooke.” I said as I glanced over her shoulder at Brooklyn, her expression had become concerned and her hands were placed on her hips.

“Curtis is with her.” Lola said then grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the airport. The van we used for band affairs was parked outside. Matt stood at the back, his baseball hat was pulled down low and his arms were crossed over his chest suspiciously.

“What?” I demanded, my eyebrows raised once again.

Matt cleared his throat then raised his hat so I could see his eyes. I brushed the hair out of my face.

“Eddie came to the apartment looking for you.” Matt whispered.

My heart dropped to the soles of my shoes and lay there racing. Like a dirt bike with a stuck accelerator. It tried to ran even though it was going nowhere.