All in

Chapter 2

Audrey groans as she feels Craig shift beneath her, tightening her grip on him with the leg she had thrown over his body at some point in the night. She is vaguely aware of the distant whirring sound coming from the kitchen, knowing immediately that it was the juicer that Craig threatened to smash every time it got turned on; and that this time, she didn't think she could stop him from actually smashing it to pieces if he woke to the noise once again.

"Oh my God, leave it." Audrey moans as she feels Craig stir beneath her, pushing her body off of his in his attempt to slide off the bed. "Baby. Leave it." She grabs for his arm, letting out a frustrated groan as he shakes her off, storming out into the kitchen. Audrey lays there for a moment, arm thrown over her eyes as she listens to Craig's yells of frustration coming from the kitchen. She finally peels herself out from under the thin covers, throwing on one of Craig's t-shirts and a pair of shorts, grabbing another pair for Craig, knowing he had left the room butt naked, as she heads out of the room. Entering the kitchen, Audrey throws the shorts at Craig, hopping up on to the counter and smiling over at J who was stood awkwardly in the corner of the room. She glances over at Craig as he pulls on the shorts, pouring a mug of coffee before moving to stand between Audrey's legs, passing the mug back to her.

"I should probably get to school." J says, placing his own mug back on the side.

"You can't go to school on an empty stomach." Smurf replies, turning to look at her grandson.

"It's fine, I can grab something on the way." He replies, beginning to inch out of the room.

"Your mum just died, man. That's a free pass." Baz says, turning to look at J who glances around the room.

"Yeah, Audrey didn't go to school for like, 2 months when her mum died." Deran calls, leaning around the cabinet to see Audrey roll her eyes at him.

"Bro. Enough." Craig snaps, turning to glare at Deran who holds his hands up in surrender.

"It was a joke, jeez. Calm down." Deran replies, turning away from his brother.

"It was 1 month, actually." Audrey states, bringing her coffee mug to her lips. "Still came out with better grades than you anyway." She teases in an attempt to lighten the mood, running her hand up and down Craig's arm to sooth him. He had always been incredibly protective over her, particularly if anyone brought up her mother, or the way she had died. Even nearly 14 years after the event, and countless conversations where Audrey insisted that she was fine, Craig's temper would flare with the slightest mention of the death. Audrey's mother had been friends with the Cody's since before Audrey was born, and Audrey would always be found hanging around their house growing up while her mum worked, so when her mum died when she was 14, Audrey found herself in the care of Smurf, who had always treated her like another daughter. Audrey would get all of Julia's hand me downs, and eventually, at the age of 17, after having lived with the Cody's for a little over three years, Craig finally worked up the courage to ask the young girl out.

Flashback

Craig looks out of the glass doors leading out to the pool, taking a deep breath, he decides to head out to talk to the young girl sat out there. Audrey glances up as Craig nears her, giving him a small smile as he drops down to sit beside her, his legs dangling in the water beside hers.

"You ok?" He asks, Audrey humming in reply, nodding her head.

"Are you?"

"Yeah. Yeah. I'm good." He replies, with a nod of his own. Audrey peers over at him, trying to read his expression as he stares into the pool, avoiding eye contact with her.

"Yeah? You seem nervous?" She clarifies, nudging her thigh against his.

"Nah. I'm good." He states, resting his hands back on the concrete, leaning back on to them. He takes another breath, glancing over at Audrey, only to find her already staring at him. "I was, uh, I was just wondering..."