Under Your Skin | Jude Bellingham

020

The door swung open and Chloe looked out, her gaze settling on me. I watched as her eyes lit up when realisation set in, and before I knew it, she was engulfing me in a tight hug. "Hannah!" Chloe exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

I hugged her back, laughing. "I came to see you...and Jude," I answered. She already knew everything that had happened — Chloe had been the first one I'd told and had listened patiently as I cried to her on the phone.

"Aw, it's so good to see you! I've missed you like crazy." She ushered me inside the house and led me to the living room where Gio was sprawled out on the sofa, Playstation controller in hand.

"I don't believe it," he said when he saw me waltz through the door, "hello, Hannah."

"Hey, Gio," I said, hugging him.

"God, it feels like it's been forever since I last saw you. How are things?" He asked me.

"Okay, I guess."

"Hannah?" A voice said. I spun around, and there stood Jude, looking exhausted. Not only were there bags under his eyes, but the usual playful flare in his eyes had disappeared. He didn't look anything like the Jude I knew, and it hurt to see him that way.

Chloe looked from Jude to me. "Um...Gio and I were just headed to the shop," she said, turning to her boyfriend.

Gio frowned. "No, we weren't, I was just about to play Fifa —"

"Gio."

"Ohhh...yeah, does anyone want anything?" He said, finally getting the hint.

"I'm good, thank you," I responded. Jude said nothing, and then Gio and Chloe hurried out of the house, and we were left alone. Jude and I just looked at each other in silence, and I suddenly felt really awkward, not sure if I should sit down on the sofa or remain standing. I reminded myself what I was here to do — I was here to check on him, to make sure he was alright, although the answer was obvious.

"I didn't know you were coming," Jude was the first to speak.

"Well, it was sort of a last-minute decision," I told him.

"Oh."

"Yeah..." This was painful. "I was worried about you."

"Oh, well, I'm fine," Jude insisted.

"No, you're not. You haven't been yourself recently, and I wanted to see if you were okay."

"I'm fine," he repeated.

"Don't do that, don't shut me out. You're still my friend, Jude."

"Am I, though? We haven't spoken in weeks."

"And you're the one who closed that door, not me," I reminded him. "You're the one who ignored my texts and refused to acknowledge what happened."

"Well, I'm sorry, what was I supposed to say? I'm with Grace now, Hannah."

"But she doesn't make you happy, does she?" I said, then immediately regretted it. I felt like I'd overstepped the mark.

"Yes, she does," Jude said.

"Oh really? Then why haven't you made things official yet?"

"Because —" The sound of a phone ringing filled the air, rescuing us from the way we were staring each other down. Jude pulled his phone from his pocket. "That's Grace," he said, "I'm supposed to be meeting her for lunch, not stood here arguing with you."

"Well, then leave," I told him. "I'm not stopping you."

He looked at me. "Did you really mean it?" Jude asked, his voice quieter this time. "Are you really in love with me?"