Someone Out There Loves You

It was really weird waking up and not having a book embedded into my head or something equally as comfy. My first night sleeping at my new home. It felt strange.

It was easier than I thought it would be, moving in. I wrote my first letter to my Father telling him that I would be living with a friend named Will and gave him my new address. Typically, he sent one back asking who Will was. I chose to ignore it. He couldn’t start acting like a proper Father now after everything.

It didn’t take long to pack all my stuff up, especially as I never seemed to unpack any of it. We phoned an estate agent and sold the flat to another unlucky soul. The whole process took about two weeks. It was worth it though. I was now an official resident in the Chester house hold.

The brothers arranged a house warming party to celebrate me moving in. I tried to argue against it but they are as stubborn as each other. Any excuse for a party I say.

There weren’t many people there. I didn’t think the front room would be able to hold more than ten. There was Gerry and a girl that he had been dating on and off, another girl who claimed to be Luke’s date, Seth who sat in the corner chatting to Luke’s date and a couple of other people Will had introduced me too.

I personally didn’t care for any of these people. Who I wanted to talk to was heading towards me with a bottle of wine in his hands.

“Move over,” Will instructed nudging my legs which were sprawled out on the couch. I smiled and tucked my knees under my chin to make room for him. “Do you want a top up?” He asked holding the bottle out to me.

“I don’t mind if I do.” I replied letting him fill my glass to the rim. Alcohol was the only thing I had left now; no more cutting or starving. Drinking was my dirty little secret. As much as I resented it, I needed it. I liked the feeling of forgetting everything.

“I wish Erin would hurry up and get back.” He said mixing the contents of his drink with his little finger.

“Huh? Why?” I demanded. Jealousy had got the better of me. “Are you dating or something? Do you want to date her?”

He suddenly spluttered and tried to defend himself. I almost felt sorry for him. Alcohol released the beast in most people. In my case the beast was the green eyed monster.

“What? No, of course not. I’ve known Erin forever. Plus she’s too...”

“Too what? Gorgeous? Smart? Funny?” I asked attracting a little attention from some people. I was aware I was nearly screeching.

“No! What’s brought this on, huh? I don’t like Erin that way. Also, dating her would be too weird.”

“Do you know what is weird? When I unpacked my clothes, they smelt of porridge. I don’t even like porridge!” I exclaimed. Will looked at me for a moment before shaking his head and laughing, his deep chuckle vibrating the couch.

“Yeah, there’s some crazy stuff happening there. Exactly, how much have you had to drink today?” He questioned leaning forward to grab the wine bottle which was wedged between us. I had a sudden urge to kiss his hair parting. His white skin stood out startling against his dark hair. I used my foot to gently push his hand away which resulted in my legs lying across his lap. It seemed alcohol also gave me confidence.

“What else is weird?” I whispered leaning closer to him. He gulped nervously but unsuccessfully tried to hide it with a bright smile. Oh, those beautiful lips of his.

“Those toe socks are pretty weird. I don’t understand the point of those at all...”

“What! Are you kidding? There like gloves... but for your feet.”

“Why do you need gloves for your feet? It’s like saying you need shoes for your hand.”

“Okay, okay. What else is weird?” I asked. The world was swaying. Will was still. I needed to hang onto Will to stop the swaying. His lips moved when he talked; like two perfect pink petals. I wonder what they taste like.

“Er...” He mumbled, thinking. I grinned and tucked a strand of his hair behind his ears. His ears felt cold. So did his cheek. I noticed this when I pressed my lips against it. “Gabriella...”

“You haven’t answered my question.” He rolled his eyes but they didn’t return to normal. He was looking everywhere but me. That wasn’t easy seeing as I was about a foot away from his face and grazing my fingers across the pale softness of his cheeks. “What else is weird?”

His lips turned upwards a little. “You.”

“Me?” I replied shocked.

“Yeah, you. You’re a big weirdo. And needless to say, very, very drunk.” His warm hand curled over mine and he slowly tried to unhook my fingers from his hair.

“I’m not drunk.” I lied embarrassed and outraged.

“Gabriella, you’ve been trying to come onto me for the past half hour. Nobody would do that if they are sober.” Again with the freaking insecurities. I felt like screaming “I like you!” at him but he would probably put that down to the booze as well.

He softly pushed my legs off his knees and stood up holding a hand out to me. “Come on, I’m taking you to bed.” He said tugging at my arms which were folded. Cue a sulking eighteen year old.

“That sounded rude,” I told him indignantly before pushing myself off the couch in time to see him roll his eyes. I stormed off to my bedroom whilst he followed behind, clearly amused.

“It’s my party and I’ve been sent to bed early.” I huffed, kicking my shoes off. Will walked in and closed the door before sitting on the edge of my bed.

“You’re so going to have a killer hang over tomorrow.” He chuckled running his fingers through his hair. Oh, how he liked to tease me. I stuck my tongue out at him and pulled my shirt off over my head. He immediately averted his gaze. A small smirk appeared on my lips.

“Will you pass me my pyjama top please?” I asked trying not to giggle. Without looking he grabbed the top and threw it in my general direction. I pulled it on over my bra and Will finally turned to look at me. “I can’t believe I’m actually going to bed.” I moaned.

“You’re drunk.” He said simply.

“I am not!” I argued pulling my jeans off. They always get stuck around my ankles. I started hopping around a bit and nearly fell onto him. He groaned and looked at the ceiling again. I took great pleasure in noticing his face was bright red.

“Look at you! You’re basically stripping off in front of me!”

“You could always leave the room. Besides, I’ve seen you strip off a million times.”

“Firstly, I was trying to have a conversation with you before you decided to take your clothes off. Secondly, I do not strip off.” He said annoyed.

“Sure you do. You answered the door topless the other day. I saw your boobies!” I giggled.

“That’s hardly stripping off and men don’t have boobs.” He retorted.

“They do!”

He sighed and handed me my pyjama shorts still not looking at me. “You’re impossible, do you know that?”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” I questioned slipping under the sheets. I started poking his back with my toes. He suddenly turned and grabbed my feet from on top of the blankets. I squealed and started thrashing around, laughing loudly.

“Shush...” He whispered putting his hand over my mouth. I stuck my tongue out and licked his palm. He instantly recoiled. “That’s disgusting.” He informed me.

“You can lick mine if you want.” I offered, holding my hand out to him. He smiled and shook his head.

“I think I’ll pass on that.”

“You know, I haven’t brushed my teeth or washed or anything...” I complained.

“Go to sleep, Gabriella.” He told me heading for my door.

“But I feel dirty!”

“I’m sure you’ll be okay until morning.” He replied. “Do you want me to tell them to keep the noise down?”

“Why, so I don’t hear everyone having fun at MY party?”

“Yeah, something likes that. They’ll all be leaving soon anyway. It’s quite late.” He replied softly a hint of humour in his voice. I nodded and yawned. Maybe sleeping wasn’t such a bad idea.

“Do I get a goodnight hug?” I asked playfully. He rolled his eyes but came over to me. As I was already lying down he had to sort of hover above me but that didn’t work for me, so I ended up pulling him onto my small, tired body. His hair smelt like apples and alcohol; sweet and bitter. I latched my arms around his neck and breathed in his scent happily. “I love you, Will.” I told him placing a sloppy kiss on his blushing cheek. “Thanks for everything.”

“Yeah, you too, sweetheart.” He whispered back pushing himself off me. I felt empty again. I grinned and blew a kiss at him as he reached for the door knob.

“Goodnight Gabriella.” He said in a mocking tone, blowing a kiss back.

“Goodnight William.” I replied, finally giving in to my eye lids and letting them shut down on me.