Afraid • l.h

Chapter 44 • "Is this boy trouble?"

Tilly's POV

The train ride was about two hours and finally I had arrived at the station. I scanned the platform for my nan and grandad and eventually found them waiting on a bench. Dragging my suitcase over to where they were I catch there eye and say hello. We make it to their house in no time and nan tells me she has been baking cookies. Sitting on the sofa after unpacking all my things into the guest room we catch up on each other's lives and I ask Nan some places I can visit in the next few days.

I sit back on the sofa and my mind wonders back to this morning. I shake the thought out of my head but my Nan seems to notice.

"What's the matter dear?" She questions calmly.

"It's nothing just something happened between me and a um... friend."

"Is this boy trouble?" She asks.

"Maybe." I respond.

"So there's a boy?" She says a little excited.

"An idiot of a boy." I correct her.

"All boys have their faults but the ones that stick by you are the ones you want to be surrounded by." She says.

"Even if they made some pretty bad mistakes?" I ask.

"It's not my place to know what he did. But if it's in the past of this boy, what's his name?"

"Luke."

"Well if it's in Luke's past its probably worth forgiving."

I think about everything she has just told me but I'd really like to forget about it for one weekend. I write down a bunch of things that I could do and so I decide to start with the easiest.

"Where are you going?" My Nan asks. 

"I was going to explore a little."

"By yourself?" She asks.

"Yeah why?" I return a question.

"Well there's a boy around your age next door ask him if he wants to go with you."

"Okay Nan." I say knowing that I was not going to ask a boy I'd never met to come with me.

A boy looked up as the door closed making a loud noise and so I smiled him an apology and kept walking. At the end of the drive way I realised I had no clue where I was going so I pulled out my phone and got up maps. I typed in things to do in San Diego. First of all the beach, then there were some other little interesting places. I turned right and dialled the number for an uber.

"Excuse me." The boy from earlier said to me and I faced him. He must have been the boy my Nan was talking about.

"Hey." I greet.

"Are you new around here?" He asks.

"Yes, why?"

"Mind if I show you around?" He offers.

I know I said I wouldn't but could I?

"Yeah sure. Where to first?"

"Don't you wanna know my name first?" He says.

"Alright then." I laugh.

"It's Daniel but Dan for short."

"And I'm Tilly. I don't think you can shorten that down." I laugh at my own words.

"Shall we go?" He asks walking towards his car I'm guessing.