Apartment No.4

Part 50: Dramatics

Hey guys! I'm sorry it's been so long since I last updated I've been really busy! Hopefully this chapter makes up for it! I haven't read through this 100% so I know there are mistakes but I just wanted to give it to you and fix it later!

Love you guys xxxxx

I practically burst through the door to our bedroom like in a dramatic movie, all that was missing was the music and sound affects.

Mason was on the phone facing the windows, his shoulders straight and broad. He didn't seem to be tensed although he was wearing a tick jumper so it was difficult to see.

"Yeah okay, thanks for letting me know." He hung up the phone and turned towards me, seeming to be surprised when he saw me breathless and panicky me.

"You okay?" He strode over to me and checked me over, grabbing my arms to which I swatted away.

"I'm fine! Why'd the hospital call? Is Claire okay? Is she sick? Do we need to go back?" I could feel my blood coursing through my veins at a thousand miles an hour and my heart beating to the extremes in my chest.

"Ashley, everything's fine they just called to tell me that they'd moved Claire to a different building... what's going on, you've been on edge all night."

I felt my knees buckle beneath me as the stress from my overreaction dissolved and I landed on the edge of the bed with my head in my hands.

"Aunty Carol gave me a reading and she predicted all this weird stuff about bad decisions and losing someone... I know, I know, I should've believe it but she got something right a few years ago and I don't know just feel really on edge."

He rubbed soothing circles over the tense muscles of my back and I felt the straight start to slip away.

"She gave me a reading too, although it didn't bother me as much as this. Are you sure that's the only thing on your mind?" There were the two worry lines between his brows that appeared so often nowadays that they were beginning to leave faint lines in their wake.

"I just..." I couldn't tell him about my ideas to stop Ross, he'd blow up. "I haven't heard from Mel in so long, I feel like she's forgotten me."

There was a great deal of truth in these words. The last few times I'd attempted to make plans with her she was busy with Cameron or uni and I just really needed to talk to her like we used to.

Mason sighed, brushing the hair from the side of my face.

"What if I organise a boys night with Cameron and that way you and Mel can have a girls night? How does that sound?" I smiled sweetly up at him.

"I'd love that, thank you."

"No worries, sweetheart." He put a strong arm around my shoulder and squeezed me.

"So why are they moving Claire?" I asked once I'd composed myself entirely, moving over to my bag to pull some pyjamas on.

"They're moving her to a more relaxed area now they don't have to monitor her every other hour. I also asked for the department that deals with surgery and whatnot's details so I could begin to fill in the paperwork for her spinal surgery." He grinned over at me and I returned it.

"That's amazing! I'm so excited for her, she'll finally have a normal life again." He came up beside me to change into his own pair of tracksuit pants and tshirt, his excitement and happiness radiating off him.

"Yeah I know. It's a good piece of news for me to linger on before we go back and I face expulsion."

Christ, I thought. Just the mere mention of that situation is enough to make me feel light headed.

"Don't stress about it right now," I said more to myself than to him as I pulled a beanie onto my head. "Uncle David's setting up a fire outside but it'll still be cold so wear a jumper this time - I refuse to let you get pneumonia."

Sitting around the fire in a circle clouds led as close as we could to the searing heat.

"Tell is a story, grandma." Begged Kate, watching her intently across from the glow of the firelight.

Grandma always told the best stories, she always said they were true and they were so old you never thought to contradict her. She said they were tales told down the family lines for generations dating back to the time of Vikings and warriors. I snuggled closer to Mason on the two-seater and prepared myself for another tale as old as time.

She told us the story of a young boy who grew up on a farm far away from a near by town. The family rarely had visitors unless they were passers by in need of shelter for a night or wanting to buy bags of grain. The boy, not much older than 17, would wake up early morning everyday to feed the animals his father had reared for many years to sell at the markets in the village every other sunday.

One day, whilst selling pigs at the market a beautiful girl walked past with her mother and father. The boy, so overwhelmed at the sight of her dropped one of the piglets on top of his father who was bent over searching for something under the table. The pig squealed and snorted and began to run away. The boy, so shocked of his mistake dove for the piglet and landed right at the giggling girls feet with a pig in his arms.

"Wonderful job, mister. Perhaps you could catch us a pheasant for dinner tonight." The young girl laughed at it seemed at though the sun shone down on her creating a fine golden mist about her auburn hair.

Now, the boys father was furious at this incident and apologised to the girls father offering him the piglet in penance for the disruption whilst clubbing the boy behind the ears.

That night the boy could scarcely sleep for the image of the young girl in his head, so early in the morning on his usually route to feed the animals he dropped the Paul and ran for the town. Reaching it out of breath he asked the local-

In the middle of grandmas story we heard a loud bang that startled us all out of our concentration. We looked up to the sky and to see brightly colour fireworks blooming like flowers burst into the dark night.

"Grandma, continue the story." Whined Amy as we all kept our attention on the night sky.

"What was I saying?" Asked Grandma, confusedly looking around the campfire.

Dad snorted in laughter and I zeroed in on his hand intertwined with Pamela's.

"Sweetheart, it's late and I promised Colin I'd have a look at his car in the morning." Mason whispered in my ear.

Through grandmas story I was beginning to doze off so I let him pull me up by my hand with no arguments.

"We're going to bed anyway, good night all." With a chorus of good nights and sleep wells we were on our way.

"Mason," calked our Amy as we were just about to walk up the stairs of the porch. "Could I get your help with something tomorrow?" She asked and I buried my face into Mason's side acting as though I was tired rather than hiding my laughter.

"Oh I don't know, Amy I promised I'd help Colin with something then Ash and I are going into tow-"

"He'd love to, Amy." I finished for Mason much to his irritation and left Amy beaming behind us.

"What am I going to do with you?" He grunted out when we were at the base of the stair case up to our room.

"Oh I don't know, I guess you'll have to put up with me." I winked at him and he surprised me by bending over and lifting me over his shoulder, carrying me up the staircase against my screams of protest.