Nothing Wrong With Loving

Chapter 20: Tell Me You Love Me

         In her eyes, I saw chaos and instead of running to save my life, I stayed out and watched her come.

And when she was done, she left me empty and with a salty taste in my mouth, staring at the mess she had caused. I watched her leave with ease. With the same calmness as the sea after a storm.

Easter holidays came faster than I hoped. At first, I had no idea what I was going to do, I thought I was just going to expend it with Kai but then Kai was leaving to meet his family in London and I didn't feel all that comfortable going.

Kai's family was nice but I still felt like it wasn't my place. They hadn't been together as a family for a few months, they probably wanted some family time.

I thought about calling Tobias. Asking him what his plans were and what he was going to do but then I saw on his Instagram story that he was getting on a plane to go somewhere. A small part of me as convinced he was going with Caleb but I didn't want to ask.

I was convinced I was going to expend my first Easter alone with my cat when I got a call from my dad.

"Nina?" My dad asked, as if he wasn't the one who called.

"Father?"

"Eu, Nina, onde está?" He asked me with concern in his voice. I frowned trying to remember if I was meant to be somewhere. I never said I was going anywhere.

"What do you mean where am I, I'm home, where are you?" I asked him, confused by our conversation.

"I'm home too." He said. I nodded to myself, not really understanding the point of this conversation. "When are you coming?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ah, caralho, your mother said she invited you and Ceci to have dinner," The way he said that was as if it was the most normal thing ever. "We've been wondering when you were going to arrive but... it's Monday and you're still not here, so I was just—"

"Mum invited me for Easter?"

"Yes, Gianina, don't you read my messages? I told you," My mother's voice came through the phone this time.

"No, you said maybe one day, you—"

"Well, one day is in two days, Gianina, now you don't have time to find a sitter for the cat, she can't leave the cat alone, can she, Joao? Who will water the plans, they will probably die, do you think they have insurance? We haven't even seen the area, what if they get broken into—"

What followed half an hour of Mum worrying about me leaving Peanut behind while I made my way back to town to some dinner that I wasn't even aware of. I hadn't been home in a few months and apparently it was enough for my mum to be planning my return without actually asking me.

By the end of the phone call we agreed that I was going to take Peanut with me because Katie was allergic to cats but she did agree to water mine and Kai's plants, no matter how much she laughed at my request of spraying the petals and leaves as well as the ground. I called my manager and told him that my nan was very sick and I had to travel back home ASAP. It was a horrible excuse but it was always the go-to. They couldn't say no when your granny was sick.

My dad managed to get me a train ticket where I could take Peanut with me and when I worried about the bags and Peanut's things, my dad said he'd carry it for me, not thinking about the fact that I'd have to carry it to the train station later on.

"Your mum seems cool with you now," Katie smiled as she drove me, thank God for Katie. "I mean, you did say she wasn't cool with you being gay."