There Will Be Rain

Jemma

“Look at her she’s so weird!”

One blonde flicked her platinum blonde locks over her shoulder, pushed past me and sent my shoulder hurling into the grey metal of the school lockers. It was only day two.

“I hear she has no mother, I bet she died in some accident or something. That’s why she is such a loser”

The other spat with a taste for the venomous words seeping from her lips. She too pushed me again into the lockers although this time it was with more force, a force that send my whole body into lockdown and caused me to come crashing down onto the floor. That girl made my complete life hell. Her name was Tracy.

Sitting down outside Oliver’s door I rested my chin in my hand out of boredom, outwardly sighing to myself as my other hand began to pick at a frayed bit of material on my checkered shirt. I know Isobelle told me to go home, but you know when you get that feeling, I had that feeling. Something wasn’t right.

The tour bus was still parked outside, which I considered quite odd. I brushed it off quickly however, they were probably having a quick clean up from last night. The bus was trashed. However before I could consider anymore options the sudden raise in Isobelle’s voice alerted me, Oliver viciously retaliating. Hello bad feeling.

Jumping up onto my feet I rushed up the steps behind me of which I was perched on and pressed my ear against the front door. I know it’s rude and all this shit but Isobelle was my best friend, if this concerned her it concerned me too.

Isobelle was screaming some pretty harsh words around, Oliver too. It scared me I’d never heard them argue, ever. Whatever it was about seemed pretty damn serious, it made me feel quite awkward and then that’s when I realized I should probably leave them too it.

Dusting off my knee’s from the dirt I quickly ran down the stairs and was making my way over to the tour bus. I realized I hadn’t given Gustav my number; I wanted to thank him properly when his tour was over. I didn’t really have the chance to last night, I did try finding him in the night but he wasn’t on the tour bus.

But before I had the chance to reach for the door handle to the bus I was cut off by colliding straight into someone else’s body. Looking up I was confronted with the pink strip of hair that I despised and the devious blue eyes to match.

“Ohh I’m so sor….No wait, not with you I’m not!”

Tracy spat as she rushed up off the floor scrambling for the keys she dropped in the process. Not wanting to keep her near me any longer I picked up the keys she was desperately searching for and was about to hand them over, however when I noticed the silver tag that had Oli’s name carved into it made my breath hitch.

He didn’t….He wouldn’t…not to Isobelle?

But then again it would explain why they were at each other’s throats in there.

I twisted the tag over and over in my fingers, somehow hoping it would disappear and this would all be some sick dream. Tracy shifted awkwardly from one foot to another, biting down her nails avoiding any gaze or glare I dared to shoot her way. When I didn’t hand back the keys for a few minutes she grew impatient and quickly grabbed them out of my hand before running over to Oli’s car and unlocking it, starting the engine immediately.

Call it instinct, call it stupidity, and call it being protective. Next thing I knew my legs were in an attempt to stop her, to have it out with her. She just fucking slept with my best friend’s boyfriend, who I thought was one of my best friends too.

“COME BACK HERE YOU BITCH!!”

I screamed as I joined onto the road from the driveway. I don’t know what I expected to achieve, she wouldn’t turn around and talk to me. If she did I wouldn’t stand a chance she would easily beat me up like she used to in secondary school. But I also couldn’t do anything; I needed to stand up for Isobelle.

Standing in the middle of the road I watched as Oli’s black Corsa sped off down the road…Coward. Tears involuntarily starting to flow down my cheeks, I felt them run from my face and down my neck. Blinking tightly I somehow hoped that would stop the flow. It didn’t, it made them worse.

How could he and she do that to Isobelle? It made me sick. This was all too much for me to take in for once. Ethan, Isobelle and Oliver, Alex, Gustav and Jerry…it was making my head hurt. It hurt so much that as I ran away down the street, run away like I always do when things get on top of me, that I failed to hear the voice calling me, the voice I most desperately was seeking just only a few minutes ago.

Running a good few couple of minutes down the road my breathing became sharp and painful, grasping for any spare oxygen my lungs could cling on to. Eventually I grew tired and collapsed down on my knees right outside the docks near Isobelle’s house.

Looking out into the ocean my breathing returned to normal, slowly. There was always something so peaceful and tranquil about the water that it made me forget everything. It had been a long time since I’d been down here, not since my mum and dad were still together, before everything went bad.

Getting up onto my feet I stumbled slightly as I tried to regain control over my body. I walked down the familiar wooden little make shift pier, plopping down at the edge as my feet hovered millimeters above the water.

“Can you maybe slow down next time you take off?”

Jumping at the sound of the voice I twisted my upper body to confirm who it was, sure enough my deep brown, tear drenched eyes were confronted with the one and only Gustav Wood. He was creased over at the waist as his chest rapidly inhaled and exhaled, his hands planted firmly upon his knees.

“Sorry”

I mumbled through my stifled sobs, desperate to hold them in. He couldn’t see I was weak, he’d treat me like everyone else has my entire life.

Gustav noticed my emotional state and my lack of willing to communicate, his face changed from one of pain to one of panic as he sat down beside me. His piercing crystal blue eyes bore into me, searching me intently for some sort of explanation. Gently he placed his hand under my chin lifting my head up to meet his, his other spare hand softly wiping away any spare tears.

“Who was she back there?”

He asked softly and carefully, he didn’t want to overstep the barrier I had placed between us. I always did it anyone that wanted to help I kept at arms distance, Alex was the only exception he felt like the big brother I never had.

“Tracy”

When I was put on the spot I tended to only reply with as little words as I could muster, it was the easiest way for people to back off. Gustav didn’t, he just stared at me with his blue eyes wide. He didn’t ask another question but yet I found my mouth spilling out more information than necessary.

“She used to bully me when I was in Secondary School with her…”

His eyes narrowed and his face scrunched up into an expression I couldn’t identify. It was almost as if I felt compelled to tell him everything, it was just the affect he had on me.

“Why?”

“They used to think I was weird, that I was different. They thought that because I always had bruises everywhere”

I whispered the last part hoping that he wouldn’t hear it, but he did. Out of the corner of my eye I saw his fists clench tightly on the tops of his tights; his jaw tightening into a perfect line.

“Ethan he did this to you didn’t he, he did this more than once!”

“NO…NO he didn’t I swear. Last night was the first time I promise you my life on that.”

My head shot up, my eyes darting between his eyes and his fists rapidly. I didn’t know where to look. I mean I should even be defending the bastard.

“Then…how did you…you said bruises…”

His fists unclenched much to my relief; instead his one hand continually ruffled his messy hair even further into disarray. I found myself staring…snap out of it.

“My Dad…he…”

Gustav eye’s burst wider than I’d ever have thought possible, since they are quite naturally like that. It was the first thing that I noticed about him and once you noticed it was quite hard not to stare. His mouth opening and closing like a goldfish before he found the word to cut me off.

“YOUR FUCKING DAD!”

“Wow Alex took this a lot calmer than you last night”

I joked trying to add a lighter side to this serious part of my life. Being me I assumed Gustav would take it as a joke, but at the mention of Alex his face fell, his head dropping to stare at his reflection in the crisp water. He looked wounded.

“Yeah well…”

“Not jealous are we”

I teased just pleased to have moved on from spilling my guts out over Jerry and Ethan all over again. Taking in a deep breath I finished all I had to say of my life story out in one single breath.

“People at school used to think I was clumsy, I wasn’t. Yes it was my dad beating me up and I did nothing about it until a few weeks ago when he went too far. I hit him and the police found out, they told me they wouldn’t arrest me for assault and claim it as self defense. I now live with Isobelle until we move down to London in 2 weeks. Then when we got off the bus I heard them arguing, Oli and Isobelle. That’s when I saw Tracy and everything came flooding back. I could tell Alex because I know he wouldn’t judge me. It was harder to tell you…”

“Why? Because you think I might judge you!”

“No because I don’t like Alex the way I like you”

Biting down on the cuff of my shirt, nervously clamping my teeth down on the white of my nail; Gustav didn’t reply he didn’t utter a single word, my heart was thumping into the side of my rib cage. Quickly I stole a glance up at Gustav, the biggest smile tugging on his face.

“Oh”

He smirked, his blue eyes sparkling with excitement and happiness as he placed his muscular arm over my shoulders; I winced slightly at the contact. My shoulders were another thing that was sore all over, but I didn’t want him to know that. He looked down at me his smirk turning to a smile as subconsciously I felt the grip on my shoulders loosen, that was when I felt his lips fall gently onto the top of my head as I was pulled closely to his warm chest.