Worth Fighting For | Book #1

Chapter 9

"You haven't yet reached the reason why you'll be staying with us yet."

Tom and I had been slouched down on the couch facing each other since we'd broken apart from the tenth hug we shared. I'd explained everything I could with how I had come to know Tyler, Harvey and Josh, finishing with avoiding them in the bathroom until my parents left the barbecue.

"They're going on vacation." I used air quotes as he grinned and nodded in understanding, flattening a blanket over the both of us and pressing play again on the movie we had been pausing consistently. "Would be nice if they could just tell me that they were going to a rehab for struggling couples."

"They probably want to sort it out without you knowing anything." He suggested as I dug my hand into the bowl of popcorn and stuffed a handful into my mouth. "At least they're considering your feelings."

"If they were considering my feelings, they'd divorce and let themselves be happy instead of treading on egg shells every time they're around me." Tom couldn't do much but agree and nod, knowing that his parents were much too in love to ever see this happening. "Where's James?"

I asked in the hopes of changing the subject from my parents, but also from the curiosity of where he was. It was a rarity that I ever saw him, mostly because his head was always in the books, ignoring the world around him.

"Where do you think he is?" I grinned and stood up from the couch, making my way to James' room where I softly knocked and waited for his reply. I pushed the door open after waiting a few minutes to see him sat comfortably at his desk with headphones on, furiously scribbling words down on paper.

He was only twelve years old, but he'd cause the guilt to creep up inside me when I wasn't doing any school work, which was pretty often. "Hi James." I lifted one earpiece and he turned to me with a wide grin, pulling me in for a side hug whilst still writing with his other hand.

"Why don't you come watch a movie with me and Tom? There's popcorn." I lifted an eyebrow and sat down on his bed, still in his view from the side of his desk. I began playing with a shuffled Rubik's cube and waited for his response. A boy of very little words.

"As nice as it is to see you Savannah, I've got a lot of work to finish." To most, James would sound like a spoilt, rude kid that seemed to care more about homework than quality time, but I always saw him as dedicated and smarter than most people I knew.

He loved to exercise his mind as much as possible, telling everyone that being able to learn is a gift, and we should always appreciate the opportunity. Whereas I would happily sit for hours, filling my brain with irrelevant knowledge about a television show that I would waste my time watching.

"Of course, James. I'm just glad you haven't changed." He stopped for barely a second to throw a smile in my direction, one I so desperately wanted to take a picture of and remember it. Most were unable to break down James' walls so easily, but he was like a little brother to me, one I just wanted to cheek squeeze until they were as red as a tomato.

I ruffled his hair before leaving and walking back down the stairs to join Tom back on the couch. "Still working?" He asked, raising an eyebrow comically.

"Like a machine."

We both sat in silence for a few more minutes, watching whatever Tom had decided on before we'd began speaking earlier. "Have you spoken to Josh yet?" He turned and asked, causing my palms to clam up completely.

"About what?" There would've been no credible reason for Josh and I to ever speak again and I couldn't understand why Tom was asking me.

"He said you left an earring in his car." He mentioned casually, looking back over to the television. "I think he said he would've given it back to you yesterday, but he didn't know you were going to be here."