Stronger with You (With You Trilogy) (32 page)

“What do you mean?” He frowned slightly.

“Just relaxed and having fun. You’re never like this with me at home, at least not when the others are around,” I said sadly, worried I would spoil the moment and regretting bringing it up.

“You know how it is, Jelly,” he sighed, pulling me closer to kiss the top of my head.

“I do,” I nodded glumly. “I just wish I understood why.”

“They do their best,” Craig shrugged.

“I know,” I sighed. “But sometimes they’re just so… tense. I wish we could all be like this. Like me and you are now.” I cringed because I felt guilty for voicing these thoughts. I knew it was my fault that my family wasn’t normal.

“Me too, Jellybean,” Craig frowned regretfully. “But we’re lucky they’re there for us.”

I nodded my agreement and pulled the duvet up higher over us, settling further into his side. I hoped in vain that the crappy television could draw my thoughts away from my absent boyfriend and the problems I caused my family. I felt my eyes getting heavier as I listened to Craig hum along with a music video and stopped fighting it, allowing myself to fall asleep against him.

Chapter 24

Sunday, 10th February 2013

Craig poked me in the ribs and I protested sleepily, swatting his arm away but he wouldn’t give up.

“Come on, sleepyhead,” he teased, pulling the duvet away from me.

“Sleepy,” I mumbled, pulling the pillow over my head.

“I can see that,” he laughed. “But I want to go for a run and you’re coming with me.”

“Fine,” I sighed, giving up my protests because I needed a bit of running therapy.

I hadn’t meant to fall asleep on the sofa with Craig, I’d wanted to wait until Jason got back and then cuddle up with him. That clearly hadn’t worked out so well.

“Sorry I fell asleep in your bed,” I pouted apologetically.

“It’s okay,” he grinned. “For someone so tiny, you take up a lot of space though.”

“Sorry,” I blushed. “You should have just woken me up.”

“Nah, it’s fine,” he shrugged. “You haven’t fallen asleep on me like that since you were a kid, it was cute.”

I mumbled protests and pushed myself off the bed, making for the kitchen to grab some orange juice before we left.

“When did you fall asleep?” I asked Craig as he followed me into the room.

“About an hour after you, maybe midnight,” he shrugged.

“Did you see Jason come back?” I asked.

“No,” he said apologetically. “Sorry, Jellybean.”

I felt dread wash over me. I didn’t know where Shana lived, but it shouldn’t have taken more than an hour for him to take her home and back.
Did he even come back?
I didn’t want to think about it.
Why am I even having these thoughts?
I trusted Jason and I needed to stop doubting him. No matter what his reasons for taking so long I knew he had been faithful to me.

“I’ll just grab my running gear,” I said to Craig, nipping past him into Jason’s room.

He was curled up on the bed looking very adorable. He was still completely dressed and had wrapped himself around the duvet. He looked so innocent and relaxed in his sleep. I couldn’t resist pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead but did my best not to wake him as I grabbed my stuff. It was only 06:30 and if he didn’t get back until after midnight then he must have been tired.

I got changed in the bathroom so I wouldn’t disturb him and joined Craig for a run. We chatted away whilst we ran, I got the sense he wanted to talk to me about something but wasn’t sure how to broach the topic. I didn’t push him because having a hard time opening up was somewhat of a family trait.

He still hadn’t said anything when we got home but we had a nice natter anyway and I found that a lot of my tension about Shana had eased thanks to the run. I let Craig shower first, or rather he let me shower second, because we both knew he’d be quickest.

My shower was heavenly, although I seriously contemplated a bath because I knew how good it would feel on my muscles. In the end though, I opted for the shower because it would take less time and I wanted to spend as much as possible with Craig before he left. I also suspected that Jason would be up soon.

I made a pot of tea and coffee whilst still in my towel, handing a coffee to Craig and taking some tea in for Jason to wake him up with.

“Morning, Jason,” I whispered, perching on the edge of the bed as I placed his cup on the bedside table.

He opened his eyes groggily and looked up at me. An unfamiliar emotion flashed over his face when he looked up at me but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared and he replaced it with a happy smile.

“Morning, beautiful,” he grinned, placing his head on my lap and nuzzling against my stomach.

“What do you want for breakfast?” I grinned, stroking his hair contentedly.

“You?” He offered, pulling my towel away from me.

“Not on the menu this morning,” I shook my head, stroking his ear and musing at how soft his earlobes were.

Jason pouted up at me as though he was a child and I’d just denied him his favourite toy. I giggled to myself, I kind of was his favourite plaything and I was just fine with that.

“Period,” I reminded him.

“Oh yeah,” he scowled, wrinkling his nose. “I’m sure we can work around it,” he teased, pushing himself up and easing my towel away from me.

“Sorry, handsome boyfriend,” I shook my head. “I’m starving and Craig’s probably eaten everything in the kitchen by now.

“Have you two been up long?” He asked, drawing his eyes away from my naked body and frowning slightly.

“Almost two hours,” I nodded. “We went for a run.”

“Aw,” he pouted adorably. “You should have woken me. I could have come with.”

“I thought you might need the sleep, you had a late night,” I smiled, trying to let him know that I wasn’t annoyed or suspicious.

The unfamiliar look flashed across his face again and he looked up at me as I pulled my clothes on.

“I’m really sorry about that, Jamie,” he said, shaking his head slightly. “It just… She…”

“It’s fine, Jason,” I reassured him. “It was nice of you to take your friend home like that.

It
had
been nice of him. I wasn’t going to pretend I wasn’t happy that Craig had rejected her, but it was not a good idea for a girl to be walking home alone through Hyde Park, drunk and in the dark.

“I missed you in my bed,” he complained, patting the mattress where I usually slept.

“Me too,” I pouted, pulling my jumper on. “I’ll make it up to you tonight,” I grinned, blowing him a kiss as I went back into the kitchen to make him breakfast.

Craig was already waiting in the kitchen, eating cereal out of the box. I shook my head at him in exasperation but he just grinned back. I set about making food for the boys, double-checking with Craig what he was and wasn’t allowed to eat at the moment. I suspected the sugary cereal was probably on the ‘not allowed’ list, but I wasn’t about to lecture him about it.

“So, I have to admit something,” Craig said nervously as we all sat around the table eating breakfast.

“Oh?” I asked curiously, wondering if he was about to reveal what he’d been chewing over on our run.

“Yeah,” he nodded uncomfortably. “I had a bit of a double agenda coming here this weekend.”

“You mean you didn’t just come here to see me?” I teased.

“That was the main reason,” he smiled, still looking a little uncomfortable. “But I actually wanted you to meet someone.” He shuffled awkwardly in his chair and I understood that this was something big for him.

“Someone as in … a girl?” I asked curiously. Craig never brought girls home. He used to, he brought a few home before he turned twenty. Whereas our big brothers were protective over me by trying not to let guys near me, they were protective over Craig and Jake in a whole different way.

Whenever either of them brought a girl home, the others all went out of their way to flirt with them. Even Karl, although he never laid it on quite as thick because he would never have done anything with any of them. The others, however, would have taken it as a personal victory if they could get the girl to sleep with them.

As moronic as it sounds, they honestly thought they were doing my brothers a favour. I guess in their minds, if the girls were good enough to keep around then they wouldn’t cheat in the first place. Needless to say, Craig had been burnt a few times, mostly at the hands of Matt. The man was relentless and I wasn’t sure his reasons were quite as brotherly as the others. I swear he just liked to make Craig miserable.

“Yeah,” he nodded, actually blushing.

“Craig Carter!” I exclaimed, ridiculously excited. “How could you not tell me?”

He shrugged, his ears turning pink as he focussed on his boiled eggs. He looked so embarrassed it was laughably cute.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I demanded again, slapping him playfully.

“I don’t want the others to know,” he shrugged, giving me a look that I completely understood.

I wouldn’t want them to know either if I was in his shoes. He would never ask me to lie for him but he was silently asking me not to tell anyone unless they asked me outright.

“Okay,” I nodded and smiled, trying to reassure him. “Is she coming here?”

“Yeah,” he smiled back, relaxing a little. “Her train should be arriving soon, I thought we could meet her in town.”

I nodded excitedly, noting that Jason hadn’t said much since he joined us in the kitchen. He just sat brooding, seemingly lost in his own little world.

“You okay?” I asked him as we waited for the bus.

“Yeah, just got stuff on my mind,” he frowned, running one hand through his hair.

“Want to talk about it?” I offered, squeezing his hand gently to let him know I was here if he did.

“Tonight,” he smiled tightly, squeezing back.

I nodded and followed him onto the bus. At least he was intending on letting me in, even if it meant I had to worry what was up with him for the rest of the day.

Craig seemed nervous as we stepped off the bus by the train station. He kept popping his knuckles and making me cringe. I thought it was cute that he was nervous, he was usually just so calm all the time, even when he was angry or upset he maintained a calm and collected exterior for the most part.

His eyes lit up as I studied his face and I followed his gaze to see who he was looking at. He took a few steps forwards towards a woman who was approaching us. She was thin but elegant, with long, flowing, blonde hair, so fair it was almost white. Her big grey eyes scanned the room nervously, looking over her shoulder periodically like a scared bunny.

Her eyes found Craig and they shone brightly, her lips curving up in a broad, perfect smile, a little pink colouring her otherwise pale cheeks. She let Craig hug her, squeezing him back gently. She fit perfectly under his chin so I figured she must have been a little taller than me. They exchanged a few words and smiled happily at each other before Craig took her hand and guided her over to me.

Now I knew what Ben had meant when he said it was weird seeing Jason acting “boyfriend-y”. I was not used to seeing Craig hold hands with a woman, or look at one with big, gooey, doe eyes. It was both amusing and endearing.

“Jelly, this is Isabella,” he smiled proudly as he looked down at her. “Bella this is my kid sister, Jelly and her friend Jason.”

“My
boy
friend,” I sighed, shaking my head in exasperation.

Jason just laughed and shook Isabella’s hand. She seemed nervous about shaking his hand and I wondered if Craig had miraculously managed to find somebody who was more shy than I was. Than I used to be.

“Nice to meet you, J- is Jelly your real name?” She asked awkwardly.

“No,” I smiled. “My name’s Jamie-Lea, but you can call me whatever you like.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Isabella smiled shyly. Her voice was so quiet I could barely hear her over the noise of the bustling crowd around us.

“Don’t believe a word he says,” I laughed happily, curious to know what Craig had said about me.

Now that I’d met her, I really understood why Craig didn’t want my brothers to know about her. They were loud and intimidating and would probably terrify the life out of her. I suggested we could go back to Jason’s and have coffee and cake and she seemed to relax at the prospect. The plan was a to bake a cake together.

“Can you eat cake right now?” I asked Craig teasingly as we stepped into the apartment.

“I’ll make an exception for you two,” he grinned, brushing the strand of hair Isabella was pulling on behind her ear and out of her reach. The simple gesture seemed to relax her a lot and made her smile in a way that brought her face to life.

“Bella,” Craig sighed as he watched her check her phone again. He held his hand out expectantly. “It’s okay, I promise.”

She seemed hesitant but handed over her phone, which he turned off before pocketing. I frowned at him curiously but he gave me a look that quite clearly told me it was none of my business and I didn’t press.

Jason and Josh obviously didn’t bake much because their kitchen was bare of many of the essentials. I sighed pointedly as I searched through the last of his cupboards and didn’t find what I needed.

“Want me to take Reed and get a few bits and bobs from the shop?” Craig asked, pulling on my ponytail playfully.

“Yes, please,” I beamed. “Try and cheer him up as well, will you?” I pouted. “He seems a bit grumpy.”

“Yes, boss,” he grinned, kissing me on the forehead and turning to hug Isabella before he disappeared to the lounge to fetch Jason.

I put the kettle on and turned my attention to Isabella, smiling at her as I pulled mugs and teabags from the cupboard. I quizzed her about Craig and she slowly started opening up, especially when I asked if she’d heard him play guitar.

Her eyes lit up and she beamed from ear to ear. She nodded enthusiastically and began telling me about him playing for her. It was the most words she’d spoken since I’d met her and I sat listening and laughing as she chattered on. Once she loosened up, she was hilarious, she had a wicked sense of humour and when the boys came back they walked in on us in fits of laughter.