When Summer Ends (70 page)

“You’ve been using your position at her school to date my
daughter like some kind of sicko paedophile?” my dad spat. He pointed over to
the other couch where my mom was sat with her eyes and mouth wide, looking like
she was in shock. “Get over there and sit with your mother, Chloe. I’ll talk to
you later!”

I gulped and shook my head. “No. Dad, seriously, calm down!
I love Will, it’s not like that! It’s not some seedy thing,” I cried, looking
at him in astonishment. I was expecting him to freak out and be angry but he
looked like if I moved away from Will, that he would tear him to shreds.

“Move next to your mother!” my dad repeated, his eyes still
locked on Will.

I stood up and shook my head. I wasn’t letting this end in a
fight, sure I could understand he was angry, but I wouldn’t let him talk to
Will like that. “You have no right to be looking at him the way you are. He’s
an incredible person, yet you’re looking at him like he’s scum!” I cried
angrily.

My dad’s jaw tightened as his face turned a darker shade of
red. “He
is
scum! Please tell me you two haven’t been…” he trailed off,
his frown deepening.

Oh God.

“We waited until I was eighteen,” I lied, wincing, hoping he
wouldn’t see through me. I was a terrible liar. My mom shifted uncomfortably on
her feet, and I knew she could tell I was lying. My dad, however, nodded and
seemed satisfied with my answer. I begged my mom with my eyes not to say
anything; if she chimed in right now there would be no stopping my dad’s fist
from flying into Will’s face.

“Well, that’s one good thing I guess,” my dad admitted
somewhat grudgingly.

“That was what Will wanted,” I said quickly, trying to get
across to my dad that he was a good guy. We were all on our feet now. I knew I
needed to add in the other stuff, the college stuff and get it all out in the
open. “Will and I have decided that I should go to the school that I always wanted
to, the one in New York,” I stated.

A smile twitched at the corners of my dad’s lips. “I think
that’s a good idea. Put some distance between you two and then if you are still
intent on being together then in the future the age difference wouldn’t seem so
bad. How old are you anyway, you look about twenty-four,” my dad questioned,
looking at Will expectantly.

“I’m twenty-two, sir. I’ll be twenty-three next month,” Will
answered. “Um, Mr Henderson, I think you have the wrong impression about
Chloe’s school,” he added uncomfortably.

I frowned.
Maybe we just shouldn’t tell them. I can just
pretend that I’m going with Amy and that Will is staying here. When they come
to visit me in New York I could just make Will stay in a hotel or something the
whole time, they’ll never know any different. At least then we won’t have to
deal with this again for four years, hopefully my dad would have mellowed by
then
.

“What does that mean?” my mom asked, looking between the two
of us for confirmation as she moved closer to my dad’s side. He slipped an arm
around her and watched us curiously.

“I’m going to New York with Chloe. I’ve secured another
teaching position at a high school near there. We’re going together,” Will
explained.

My dad’s shoulders stiffened. “Not a cat in hells chance of
that happening!” he roared, making my ears ring where it was so loud.

I elbowed Will in the ribs.
Why couldn’t he just shut up
and leave it as I was going on my own? Jeez, we should have discussed this plan
at the park earlier!
He slipped his arm around my waist, pulling me closer
to him. “Sir,” Will started, by my dad cut him off.

“No way, Chloe. I’m not allowing you to move half way across
the country with a pervert!” he cried.

Rage boiled in my stomach. “Will is not a damn pervert!” I
shouted angrily. “I won’t let you keep talking about him like that. I love him.
If you can’t see how happy he makes me then that’s your problem, not mine. I’m
going with him to New York, and that’s the end of it, no discussion is needed
here!” I ranted, my fists tightening in anger. I wanted to punch something.
Where’s
Erika when I need her? I would certainly like to take my frustrations out on
her.

My dad looked at me incredulously. “So you’re choosing him,
over us?” he shouted, making my mom flinch because he’d probably yelled in her
ear.

I swallowed loudly. I really didn’t want to answer that
question. “I’m really hoping you won’t make me choose. I love Will, I’m going
to be with him whether you like it or not. I don’t want to choose between a guy
I’m in love with and my family, please, please don’t make me, Dad, please,” I
begged, starting to cry as I felt my lip tremble.

Will’s arm tightened around my waist supportively. I watched
my father struggle to calm himself down, to accept what we were telling him. I
just prayed that he would give him a chance. I didn’t want to have this happen,
but I knew with every bone in my body that if they forced me to make a decision,
then it wouldn’t go in their favour.

“So you’re saying you’re going to be with him, and move away
with him, no matter what?” my dad asked, his voice breaking as he looked at me.
His emotion was clear on his face even though he was obviously trying to hold
it together.

“Yes,” I whispered.

He closed his eyes and spoke, “I could have him arrested;
it’s illegal for a teacher to date a student. It doesn’t matter that you’re
graduated, I could still report him,” he stated, still not opening his eyes.

I gasped. “Don’t,” I begged.

“Mr Henderson, you would be perfectly within your rights to
do so. If that’s the way you want to go, then Chloe and I will respect that,”
Will stated, shrugging.

I looked and him and frowned. “What the hell?
I
won’t
respect that! I’ll be seriously pissed,” I snapped. I turned to my dad and
glared. “Don’t you dare!”

Will smiled sadly. “Cutie, we both knew this was wrong. If
your dad feels like he needs to do that, then fair enough. We’ll both respect
his decision,” he said, looking at me sternly.

“What happens if you get sent to jail?” my dad asked.

I felt my body tighten at the word jail and my hands gripped
fistfuls of Will’s shirt as if that could somehow keep him with me. Will
shrugged. “Then I’d hope that she’d still want to be with me when I got
released,” he replied.

“So if I was to threaten to call the police if you didn’t
leave her alone, then you’d still be standing there by the time I got to my
phone?” my dad asked incredulously.

Will stood tall and confident as he nodded. “Yes, sir, I
love your daughter. How we met was unfortunate but I wouldn’t take it back for
the world. I’m here for as long as she wants me here for,” he answered, his
eyes locked on my dad’s, his sincerity clear in the tone of his voice.

My dad looked at my mom who shook her head fiercely. I saw
his jaw tighten as he seemed to make his decision. “If you hurt her I swear to
God, I’m gonna bring a whole heap of shit down on you, you’ll regret the day
you ever heard of the name Chloe Henderson,” he warned, his voice menacing and
full of promise.

Will smiled. “Sir, I’ll never regret it, she’s the best
thing that ever happened to me. I give you my word that I’ll never hurt her,”
he vowed as he held out his hand for my dad as a kind of peace offering.

My dad looked down at Will’s outstretched hand. “You’re word
means nothing to me. I don’t even know you.”

“And I have a long time to change that fact, sir. I plan on
being here for a very long time. I’ll earn your trust eventually,” Will
replied.

“Cutie?” I could vaguely hear it, my mind was like a fog, I
had no idea what was going on. “Cutie?” Will said a little louder. His voice
cut through the fog, slowly bringing me back to reality. I groaned and cracked
my stinging eyes open, looking towards the voice. “Cutie, you need to wake up,
we have visitors,” Will cooed, stroking the side of my face.

“I’m still tired,” I grumbled, yawning. I closed my eyes
again; wanting just another hour of sleep, maybe even just ten more minutes
would suffice. I felt his lips press against mine; I smiled against his lips
and kissed him back tiredly. I wasn’t, however, too tired to notice the little
shiver that ran down the length of my spine, or the tingling in my stomach, or
how the hair on the back of my neck seemed to prickle. His kisses never ceased
to amaze me, though I should have been used to them by now.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer to
me, making him fall down beside me onto the bed. He laughed and pulled back a
little as I slipped my hand up the back of his T-shirt, digging my fingers into
his skin. “Not too tired for that, huh?” he teased, kissing me again lightly.

I giggled and shook my head. “Never too tired for that, you
know that.” I winked at him suggestively, and he smirked at me. I’d never get
used to this happiness, this elation that I felt in his presence. Will was, and
would always be, the best thing that ever happened to me. Well, actually, maybe
he was the second best thing…

“I was dreaming about you,” I mumbled, pressing my face into
the side of his neck as I snuggled closer to him.

He laughed. “Oh really and what were we doing? Something
dirty?” he asked, ticking me lightly.

I grinned and pulled back to look at him. “No actually, I
was just dreaming about the day that we told my parents about us,” I replied.

He winced and hissed through his teeth. “You had a nightmare
then,” he said, cupping the side of my face.

I laughed and gripped his T-shirt, rolling onto my back,
pulling him on top of me but he immediately lifted his weight and hovered above
me. “Yeah I had a nightmare, want to make me feel better?” I purred
suggestively.

He groaned. “Cutie, we have visitors. I’ll have to take a
rain check,” he replied, bending and kissing across the side of my face. I
tangled my hand into the back of his hair as his lips travelled across my skin,
making me moan quietly. His hand slipped down my body, making me bite my lip and
arch into him.

Suddenly the bedroom door opened and I heard little
footsteps running across the room, the mattress dipped, and I heard a giggling
sound. I smiled as Will sighed and moved off of me, looking somewhat reluctant;
my guess was that he’d forgotten we had visitors.

I smiled and sat up; grinning at the little four year old
boy that was jumping on the foot of my bed like it was a trampoline. He was so
handsome, just like his dad, brown hair, and brown eyes. “Logan Morris, you
stop jumping on my bed and come and give me a hug,” I ordered, pointing to
myself, pouting.

He squealed and dropped down onto his bum, making the
bedsprings groan in protest. He smiled and crawled over to me, wrapping his
little arms around my neck, hugging me tightly. “Auntie Foxy, I missed you!” he
chirped.

I rolled my eyes.
That damn boy still hadn’t told his son
to stop calling me that!
“You too, Logan. Where’s your dad?” I asked,
kissing his forehead, making him squirm and wipe it roughly. He didn’t like
being kissed by girls.
Not like his dad…

“Daddy’s in the kitchen eating the cake already,” he
replied.

I gasped and looked at Will who immediately jumped off of
the bed and ran for the door, shouting for Sam to leave the birthday cake until
everyone else got here. I smiled back down at my nephew; he looked really cute
today in his Generator Rex T-shirt that I’d bought for him last week. “Shirt
fits then?” I teased, fingering the sleeve of it.

He grinned and nodded. “Did you see yesterday’s show? It was
so good, Rex was…” I smiled and nodded as he proceeded to tell me everything
that happened yesterday in his favourite show. The kid talked so much that it
was almost unreal, but I loved him dearly.

I pushed myself up from the bed and groaned. I hadn’t slept
very well last night again. I’d only just gone for a lie down an hour ago
before everyone got here. I could actually do with sleeping all day today just
to make up for it. I changed my shirt with Logan bouncing on my bed, telling me
about this new toy he’d seen that he desperately wanted for Christmas. Logan
and I were close, probably because for the last year, I’d looked after him
while Sam was at work. He kind of felt like my kid in a way too, I certainly
loved him like my own.

“Come on then, chicken, let’s go to see everyone,” I
suggested, holding out my hand for him to take when I was dressed and had
brushed my hair. He took my hand and skipped along at my side as I walked out
of the bedroom and down the stairs to where I could hear voices. A lot of
voices.
Sounds like everyone’s here already.

As soon as I stepped into the kitchen I was engulfed into a
hug by Angela. “Chloe! Are you feeling all right? Will said you had a bad
night?” she asked, looking at me worriedly.

I waved my hand dismissively. “I’m fine, don’t worry about
it.”

I turned to see my parents laughing and talking to William and
Sam. They all got on great; the Hendersons and the Morris’ were like one big
extended family. Everything settled down between Will and my parents pretty
quickly. They saw how good he was for me, and what he was doing for me by
moving to New York and letting me go to my dream school. They actually treated
him like the son they never had now. It was incredibly sweet to watch how they
fussed over him and joked around with him. My dad and Will even played
racquetball together every Saturday. It was nice.

When my four years of college had finished, we’d moved back
here to be closer to our families. That had worked out pretty well too
considering that Sam had gotten a girl pregnant on a one night stand. The girl
had told him that she was going to get an abortion because she didn’t want to be
tied down with a kid, but he’d managed to convince her not to. As soon as she
gave birth, she signed over full custody to Sam, she hadn’t even been back to
see him in four years. It was so sad because Logan was incredible; she was
missing out on an awesome kid.