It had been just a few hours since Reece and I had arrived at the new house. After many trips up and down the street trying to decide which house it was, Chris had come out of the house and hollered at us. We had unloaded all the boxes and bags from the back of the van with the help of all the lads, minus James of course.
I was already missing James. The thought of him thinking over our relationship worried me. What if he decided he didn’t want to be with me anymore? I felt sick.
“Hey,” Tom spoke in a soft tone, coming into my new bedroom. I looked up at him from where I was sat on the bed and smiled weakly. “Charlie and Jake brought back a takeaway. You should come and join us. Take your mind off things,” he told me. He’d moved to stand at the end of the double bed that was situated in the middle of the room. The look of pity on his face made me feel even worse. I wondered if any of the lads actually knew what happened. But Tom’s pity told me otherwise.
“I’m not hungry,” I said, glancing at my phone for what felt like the fiftieth time this minute. “At least come and sit with us then?” he suggested but I shook my head. “Maybe later.” And without any more argument, he left.
It was unbelievable how much I missed James. I missed his stupid, flirtatious comments. I missed him coming home randomly with a jar of Nutella for me which made my day. He’d only been gone a day and I felt horribly empty.
Footsteps could be heard as someone approached my bedroom. It was Barclay who appeared. “Hi,” he spoke softly, but unlike Tom, he did not have a look of pity on his face. “Tom said you wouldn’t come downstairs. So I came to check up on you,” he told me, walking further into the bedroom and sitting down beside me on the bed.
“James left. Reece is distant. I think it’s time you told me what happened,” Barclay said causing my stomach to flip. Guilt settled in my chest as I knew Barclay would be disappointed with my actions. “I left in the middle of the night because Reece said he needed me urgently. I don’t know why I hadn’t just said no. It was stupid. James and I argued and I walked out. I really messed up,” I told him as I flicked the hair off my neck to show Barclay the hickey. “Reece gave me that.”
Barclay’s face was blank so I had no idea how he was going to react. “I let him down, Barcs,” I whispered, my eyes filling with tears once again. Barclay put his arm around me and rubbed my arm lightly. “I don’t know what advice to offer you other than to just give him some time,” he told me.
“Come downstairs. Talk to the lads. Try not to think about James,” Barclay said. I sighed and nodded in defeat. He was right. I needed to get my mind off James. Sitting alone in the bedroom with only my thoughts as company would drive me insane.
Barclay and I headed downstairs and into the kitchen where we found the six lads sat around the room, eating the takeaway that Charlie and Jake had brought back. They all looked up at me as I came into the room, each of them displaying their own signature look of pity. Well, apart from Reece who glanced at me then looked back down at his plate of food. He probably felt guilty.
“Are you sure you’re not hungry?” Barclay asked as he picked up a plate of food from the side. “I’m fine,” I muttered, pulling myself up onto the counter. There was an awkward silence that had settled in the room which made me wish I’d stayed upstairs.
“Movie night tonight?” Casey piped up. I smiled at his attempt to return to normality. “Have you even sorted out the TV?” Charlie asked before taking a sip of his lemonade. “That was Jake’s job,” Casey replied but by the look on Jake’s face he’d heard nothing about it. “I thought Barclay was doing it,” Jake said. The smile remained on my face as Tom finally spoke up. “Chill out. I’ve sorted it.”
When the seven of them had finished eating, we all filed into the living room. Reece was about to sit down beside me but Barclay shot him a look that read ‘don’t’. I ended up sandwiched in between Chris and Jake. “What are we watching?” I asked as Casey picked up a DVD from one of the tall piles that hadn’t been put on the shelf yet. “The Fault In Our Stars.” Casey received a chorus of ‘no’s from us and he immediately but the DVD down. “Divergent.”
Casey put the DVD on and sat down beside Chris who had put his arm around me. It only got about half an hour into the film when I felt sleep tugging at me. I rested my head on Chris’ shoulder and soon drifted off into a world where James wasn’t angry at me and he was right by my side.
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Linked (James Graham/Reece Bibby)
Fanfiction"The distance didn't bother me. The fact it started online didn't bother me. But the fame did."
