Flat 64

Chapter 18

Lily sits silently, barely touching her food while I tell her everything and in between, starting from that first night a few weeks ago, to Marley walking in on us this morning, until she knows absolutely every detail there is about the situation. By the end, I can see her practically bouncing in her seat, ready to explode with comments. "Jesus Lottie, I didn't know you had it in you. You've always been my innocent little best friend that blushes when people swear, but now you're getting fingered under tables in restaurants and having secret rendezvous with your brother's best friend. This is so exciting!" she giggles away, wiggling her eyebrows at me. "It is not exciting at all! I feel so guilty over this whole thing, and it's not like I could even tell Drew anything right now because I wouldn't even know what to say. I have no idea what me and Jackson are. I mean, I know that Jackson wants to carry on with whatever it is that we are doing, but we haven't exactly spoken about what happens now that we both know how each other feels. And now that Marley knows, it's just going to make it so much harder. I'm asking so many people to lie to my brother for me. To lie to their friend. I hate it." I say, my face in my hands.

"You're not lying to him, you're just not... telling him. There's a difference. I'm pretty sure that Marley is closer to Jackson than he is with Drew anyway, so I don't think he would choose to tell Drew over keeping a secret for Jack." Lily says quietly. When I don't reply, she reaches over the table and pries my hands away from my face. "It's okay not to know what happens next, you know. Jackson told you how he feels and that he wants to carry on, that's something right?" She says, trying to make me feel better. It works, because all thoughts of being a bad sister to Drew recede in the back of my mind, and I'm flooded with the reminder of last night's conversation with Jack. Him saying that being around me feels like a drug. I smile gently, nodding my head at her. "Yeah, I guess so."

Lily's phone vibrates on the table between us, stealing our attention. I squint to read the upside-down text... from Drew. My eyebrows raise on their own accord, and Lily clears her throat slightly, turning her phone screen side down, not bothering to open the text. She is sitting awkwardly, shuffling in her seat, looking at anything but my face. "I seem to remember a little text from you the other night, something about... you and Drew?" I probe her, trying my hardest to keep a straight face. I'm shocked when Lily starts to turn a shade only comparable to a tomato. She's always been the more extroverted one out of us both, going out to parties alone, getting with guys, always having a situationship or two on the go. But never have I seen her so flustered over someone. Over my brother. I knew she had always liked him, but I never thought that anything would ever happen between them. Not because of Lily, but Drew. He only ever seemed to view her as one of my friends, nothing more, but that has obviously changed.

"You aren't the only one having a secret rendezvous," she says shyly. "Granted, it's not as exciting as yours, but we have kind of been...getting to know each other, I guess. I don't know what changed, but when I ran into the boys the other week, the night you and Jackson had the flat, we got to talking and the vibe was just different from before. We have been texting a bit, a lot, since then, and at the bar after the restaurant he kissed me." she rambles away, looking more nervous than I have ever seen her. I can't help it when giggles bubble out of me, a little at first, but the sight of her only makes things worse, and soon I'm in the middle of a full-blown uncontrollable laughing fit. Lily looks up at me, shock clouding her features. "You're... you aren't mad at me?" she says suspiciously, as if she is waiting for my hysteria to become a psychotic meltdown over her kissing my brother. Forcing myself to stop looking like a weirdo, I bite down the last of my sandwich. "Lottie?" She says, her voice on edge, and it's easy to tell that my lack of response to her confession is driving her up the wall.

"Of course, I'm not mad. Lils, I know how long you have liked him for, I'm just so happy for you that the i***t finally decided to catch up and realize how awesome you are. Although watching you sit here and squirm over it is definitely the funniest thing I've ever seen," I say, laughing once again. Lily smiles at me, releasing a breath in relief. "Oh thank god. I was just worried, I guess. Like you knowing I liked him was one thing, but us actually making out is another, so I didn't know if I went too far."

My phone vibrates, and now it's my turn to squirm in my seat. Jackson's name flashes on my screen, but the time at the top of my phone steals my attention. "s**t Lil's, we've been here for 3 hours!" I gasp out. I knew we had been talking for a very long time considering I am on my 4th latte, but that's just insane. Lily looks at the time, cursing quietly. "Sorry Lottie but I've gotta run, I was supposed to meet my mum 20 minutes ago," She says with a grimace. Lily's Mum is a typical rich, stuck-up lady who is in a constant state of midlife crisis. Her dad though, is the complete opposite, a lovely man who realized he had married evil. He stuck around for Lily's sake but divorced her as soon as Lily moved out for college. "Oh god, okay. You run, I'll take care of the bill." I say with sympathy. "Are you sure?" She says, biting her lip. "Of course! Now go before the she devil finds us and steals my latte." I grin, shooing her out of the booth while she giggles at me.

As soon as she's out the door, I pick up my phone, eager to see why Jackson messaged me.

From Jackson: 'hey, you still with lily?'

Lottie: 'no she just left, I'm about to come home'

Jackson: 'no don't.'

'where are you???'

My heart skips slightly, anxiety slowly coursing through me at his messages. Don't come home?

Lottie: 'Im at Daisies. Jackson whats going on?'

Jackson: 'Stay there, give me 5 minutes'

Lottie: 'what? why?'

'Hello?'

I wait for a reply, but nothing comes through. My brain conjures up a million different reasons why he doesn't want me to go home. Did Marley tell Drew? Did Drew figure it out by himself? Does my brother hate me so much now that he wants me to move out? My phone buzzes, pulling me out of my destructive thoughts.

Jackson: 'I'm out the front'

I try to shove down my nerves, telling myself to stop stressing, but my mind conveniently chooses to ignore the reasonable thoughts. I quickly pay our bill, before rushing out to see Jackson pulled up in front of the café. He nods at me to get in the car, so I rush around to the passenger side before scrambling in, not ready in the slightest to hear about the mess back at the flat. "What's happened, does Drew know? Oh my God, he wants me out of the house. Is that why you said not to come home, he wants me to... m-move out." I stutter out of breath from my nerves. Jackson's hand reaches out to my knee, steadying my leg to stop it bouncing. "What are you talking about?" he asks incredulously, his face the picture of confusion. "I-you... you told me not to come home." I whimper out, so sure that I am right and that my brother wants me out of his life. Jackson's face changes slightly as the realization dawns on him that he has caused my anxiety, before he chuckles lightly, not caring in the slightest that my life is over indefinitely. "This isn't funny Jack, I'll be homeless, and he's the last family I have left! And now he hates me and I-" Before I can finish, I'm interrupted by his lips pressing against mine, gently at first, but when I gasp at his unexpected kiss, he uses the opportunity to further the kiss, until soon, all I am thinking about is how good he feels, all trace of my homelessness gone with the wind. I let myself melt into him, Jackson holding my face between his hands. When he pulls away, he places a kiss on my forehead, then looks me in the eyes. "Are you calm now?" Jack says evenly, a hint of a smirk on his face. When I nod slightly, he carries on speaking.

"Baby, I told you not to come home because I'm taking you on a date." He says with a chuckle.