Before we were 'US'

Chapter Two

I thought the airport was the worst part of my day.

I was wrong.

The worst part happened about twenty minutes later when Adrian casually dropped the bomb while Duke was in the toilet.

“So, uh… Duke’s staying with us.”

I stopped chewing.

“What?”

Adrian didn't even look up from his phone. “You heard me.”

“No, I didn't.”

“You did.”

“Why is he staying with us?”

“Because he has issues with Dad.”

I stared at him.

“What kind of issues?”

“The kind where you don't want to go home.”

I blinked. “And he can't stay somewhere else?”

“He could.”

“Then why is he staying here?”

“Because Mum and Dad already said he could.”

I looked towards the bathroom door.

Duke was still in there.

“You're joking.”

“No.”

“For how long?”

Adrian shrugged. “Till things settle down.”

I stared at him like he had just announced that a murderer was moving into the house.

“You're f*****g joking.”

“Millie.”

“You said he was staying for a few days!”

“I said he was coming back for a few days.”

“That is not the same thing!”

Adrian finally looked at me and started laughing.

“Why are you panicking?”

“I'm not panicking.”

“You look like you're about to cry.”

“I am not about to cry.”

“You've gone red.”

“Because I'm angry!”

“Sure.”

I folded my arms.

This was horrible.

Absolutely horrible.

Duke Hayes was going to be living in my house.

My house.

Where I had to see him every morning.

Where I had to eat breakfast with him.

Where I had to walk downstairs looking like a human being who had just woken up instead of pretending I had my life together.

And worse, he had to see me.

Every day.

“I hate you,” I muttered.

“You'll survive.”

The bathroom door opened.

Duke walked out, drying his hands on a small towel.

He looked between us.

“What did I miss?”

“Nothing,” I said quickly.

Adrian smirked.

Duke raised an eyebrow but didn't question it.

“Ready?”

“Yeah.”

I stared out of the window.

This was going to be a disaster.

By the time we got home, Mum was already waiting by the front door with Dad.

The second Duke stepped out of the car, Mum's face lit up.

“Duke!”

She walked straight towards him and pulled him into a hug.

“Look at you!”

Duke laughed. “Hi, Mrs Carter.”

“Don't call me that. You know better.”

She pulled back and looked at him properly.

“You've grown so much.”

Dad came forward next and shook his hand before pulling him into a quick hug.

“Good to have you back, son.”

“Good to be back, sir.”

“None of that ‘sir’ nonsense either.”

Duke smiled. “Sorry.”

Adrian grabbed his suitcase from the boot.

“Where do you want this?”

“Upstairs, I suppose.”

Mum looked at Duke. “Your room's ready.”

I nearly choked.

His room.

In our house.

For some reason, hearing it out loud made it feel even more real.

Duke nodded. “Thank you.”

“Of course. You don't have to thank us. You're family.”

I looked away.

Family.

Brilliant.

Just brilliant.

Duke glanced towards me.

“Millie?”

I looked up.

“What?”

“You've been quiet.”

“I've been quiet for years.”

He laughed.

“Still sarcastic, I see.”

“Still annoying, I see.”

Adrian snorted.

Duke looked at him. “She's got a mouth on her now.”

“She always had one.”

“True.”

I rolled my eyes and walked inside.

I was not having this conversation.

Not today.

Not ever.

Later that evening, I was lying across my bed with my phone pressed against my ear when Ava's voice came through the speaker.

“Wait. Duke Hayes?”

“Yes.”

“The Duke Hayes?”

“How many Dukes do you know?”

“The one from your brother's school?”

“Yes.”

“The footballer?”

“Yes.”

“The co-captain?”

“Yes!”

There was a pause.

Then Ava practically screamed.

“Millie!”

I pulled the phone away from my ear.

“What?”

“Why didn't you tell me he was back?”

“I didn't know he was coming back.”

“And he's staying in your house?”

“Apparently.”

Ava went quiet for a second.

“Girl.”

“What?”

“You're finished.”

I laughed. “Shut up.”

“No, seriously. Do you remember what that boy looked like in sixth form?”

“He was annoying.”

“That is not what I asked.”

I smiled despite myself.

Duke had been one of those boys everyone knew.

The hot senior.

The football co-captain.

Adrian's best friend.

The boy half the girls in school had either fancied or pretended not to fancy.

Ava had definitely been one of them.

“Every girl was obsessed with him,” she continued. “I remember people literally waiting outside after football just to see him.”

“Embarrassing.”

“You were there too.”

“I was thirteen!”

“You still looked.”

“I did not.”

“You did.”

I rolled my eyes.

Maybe I had.

Just once.

Or twice.

But that wasn't the point.

Because the Duke I remembered wasn't some perfect football captain that girls wrote about in their group chats.

He was horrible.

Absolutely horrible.

When I was younger, he had made it his personal mission to annoy me.

He'd hide my shoes.

Steal my snacks.

Move my things.

Tell Adrian embarrassing things about me.

Once, he'd convinced me that there was a spider in my room just so he could watch me scream.

Another time, he'd locked me outside in the garden because I'd refused to give him the last slice of pizza.

I had cried.

He had laughed.

I hated him.

At least, I thought I did.

“You're quiet,” Ava said.

“I'm remembering how much of an arsehole he was.”

She laughed. “Was?”

“Is.”

“Fair.”

I looked at the ceiling.

“Anyway, I have to go. Dinner.”

“Tell me everything later.”

“There is nothing to tell.”

“Millie.”

“What?”

“Everything.”

I laughed. “Bye.”

“Bye, babe.”

I ended the call and tossed my phone onto the bed.

Then I sat there for a second.

Duke was downstairs.

In my house.

I sighed.

“Brilliant.”

I changed into something comfortable and headed downstairs.

The smell of Mum's cooking hit me before I even reached the dining room.

Everyone was already there.

Duke was sitting opposite Adrian, Dad at the head of the table and Mum beside him.

I quietly pulled out my chair.

“There's my girl,” Dad said.

I smiled. “Hi.”

“You alright?”

“Yeah.”

I started serving myself.

For the first few minutes, everything was normal.

Quiet.

Peaceful.

Then Mum smiled.

“So, Millie, do you remember your third birthday?”

I froze.

“No.”

Dad laughed.

“You don't remember anything from that age.”

“Good.”

Mum looked at Adrian.

“Tell her.”

Adrian's face immediately lit up.

“Oh, this is good.”

I pointed my fork at him. “Don't.”

“When she was three, she tried to climb onto the kitchen counter.”

“I don't remember this.”

“You fell into the washing basket.”

Dad laughed.

Duke smiled.

I covered my face.

“Mum.”

“And then,” Mum continued, clearly enjoying herself, “she got upset because she had wet herself.”

Duke started laughing.

I looked at him.

“Why are you laughing?”

“You wet yourself?”

“I was three!”

Adrian was practically crying with laughter.

“You should've seen her face.”

“I hate this family.”

Dad shook his head, laughing.

“You also used to insist on sleeping with that pink rabbit.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“You took it everywhere,” Mum said.

I dropped my fork onto my plate.

“Can we please talk about something else?”

Adrian grinned.

“Remember when she called Dad by his first name?”

Dad laughed. “Oh, yes.”

“I was little!”

“You looked at me and said, ‘Daniel, get me juice.’”

Everyone laughed.

Even Duke.

I sank lower into my chair.

“This is bullying.”

Duke shook his head, smiling.

“You haven't changed much.”

I looked at him.

“What does that mean?”

He shrugged.

“You still get embarrassed easily.”

“I do not.”

“You do.”

“I don't.”

Adrian leaned towards Duke.

“She definitely does.”

“Both of you shut up.”

Mum laughed.

And somehow, despite the embarrassment, I found myself smiling too.

Maybe having Duke around wasn't going to be as terrible as I thought.

Maybe.

Then Duke looked across the table at me.

And I immediately remembered exactly why I had thought it was going to be a disaster.