"You are kidding me." Hollie muttered, glancing past her mother to the car.
Mr Clarkson was sitting in the driver's seat, smiling at her, while his son sat in the back. Josh had a pair of headphones on and the look on his face indicated that he was far from thrilled at being dragged on this cosy little outing. Then again, Hollie was far from being in the best of moods either; it was just after eight in the morning on New Year's Day and she had had very little sleep the night before.
"Tom offered to drive us." Nikki told the teenager, taking her bag and moving towards the car. "Be nice."
"Why? What's it got to do with him? She's your Mum, my Nan… what is she to him?"
Sighing, the woman paused beside the car and looked at her daughter. "Just… Hollie, please. I like Tom and he's the first decent guy who's shown me any interest in months… years. Me and you and me and Tom are completely separate things. He's not a threat to you."
"But we're not separate, are we?" Hollie pointed out. "Because you're bringing him to see Nan in hospital."
Rubbing her forehead tiredly, Nikki shook her head. "Look… I'm not in the mood for this now, Hollie. Either get in the car or don't; it's up to you."
Clenching her jaw, Hollie glared at her for a moment. Then she pushed past her mother and wrenched open the car door, throwing herself inside and slamming it shut behind her. Tom smiled, but Hollie blanked him, putting her earphones in and turning the volume right up on her iPod. She didn't miss the look that passed between Tom and Nikki when her mother got into the passenger seat and gritted her teeth, turning to stare out of the window as the car pulled onto the road.
It was a seven hour drive to London and Hollie felt as though she was going mad. They stopped several times on the way for toilet breaks and food. Tom tried to be matey, offering to buy her magazines and sweets, but Hollie coldly refused. Nikki sent her warning looks, but they seemed to have no effect on the teenager at all. She barely removed the earphones from her ears, except when she was forced to.
At almost four o'clock they finally pulled up outside the Travelodge they were staying at. Nikki and the teenagers got out and went to check in, while Tom drove the car to the nearest car park. Following her mother to the desk, trailing after her beside Josh, the girl looked around interestedly. She had never stayed in a hotel before, apart from the one night in Greenock before she'd started at Waterloo Road, because her grandparents weren't fans of staying anywhere that wasn't their house.
Leaning on the reception desk Hollie removed one of her earphones and was unimpressed, but not surprised, when the receptionist read out their reservation; three adjoining rooms on the third floor, two singles and a double booked under the name 'Clarkson'.
"Here are your key cards, Mrs Clarkson. Breakfast is served from six until ten."
"Err… it's Miss Boston, actually." Nikki corrected the young woman, spotting the expression on her daughter's face.
"Right, well…" The receptionist looked as though she didn't particularly care. Handing over the key cards, she sent them a toothy grin that didn't meet her eyes. "I hope you enjoy your stay."
Hollie held out her hand and Nikki placed one of the cards into it with a stern look. She handed one of the other cards to Josh and they waited for Tom to arrive. The girl found that she couldn't look at him as he smiled and put a hand on the small of Nikki's back, almost proprietarily. He smiled at the teenagers, who both stared back blankly.
"Can we go and see Nan, now?" Hollie asked bluntly. "I checked the visiting times and they're from three until eight."
"Let's get settled in first, eh?" Tom suggested.
"You're not coming." She snapped.
"Hollie!" Nikki said firmly, sending the teenager a look. Hollie glared at her for a moment, before looking at the floor. "Right, let's go and get sorted and then Hollie and I will go to the hospital. It's a twenty minute walk from here, so we've got plenty of time. You and your Dad can occupy yourselves for a couple of hours, right, Josh?"
"Right." He agreed, not looking entirely pleased either.
The teenagers trailed into the lift after their parents, ignoring the cheerful chatter about how nicely decorated it was. They left the lift on the third floor, looking around for a clue as to which way to go. Tom pointed out the arrow, directing them towards their rooms and they set off along the corridor. The double room was the first they came to, with Hollie's next to it and Josh's next to hers.
"I'll come and get you in fifteen minutes, Hols?" Nikki said, her statement sounding more like a question.
The teenager nodded and disappeared into her room, closing the door behind her. She took a deep breath and dumped her bag on the bed, looking around. It was a nice room; white and clean and simple. The first thing she did was turn on the television, choosing a music channel and turning the volume up. Then she unzipped her bag and started hanging up her clothes, putting some on the shelves that ran down one side and lining up the two pairs of shoes she'd brought in the bottom.
Seeing that she had ten minutes to kill, she went into the bathroom and started the shower, wanting to freshen up after spending the whole day in the car. The hot water calmed her down, stopping her panicking so much about seeing her Nan. Until now she had tried not to think about it, but now she couldn't avoid it anymore and she was worried. Even if she hadn't already made it obvious that she wanted visit her with just her mother, she would have. Nan was bad enough to cope with when you knew how to deal with her; Tom and Josh would probably have been incredibly offended by her behaviour.
She was just reapplying her makeup when there was a knock on the door. Hollie moved to open it, returning to the mirror as Nikki came in. Glancing at her mother's reflection in the mirror, the teenager saw that she had changed. Subconsciously they had both chosen outfits that the woman they were going to see would approve of. Well, Hollie admitted, she would almost approve. There would definitely be something about her polka-dot dress, tights and ballet pumps that her grandmother would find fault with.
"Ready?" Nikki asked softly.
Nodding, the teenager turned to face her, chewing on her lip. "What if she's totally horrible?"
"I don't doubt that she will be." Her mother replied with a shrug. "She's ill, which will make her doubly grumpy. Not to mention the fact that I'm going with you." Noticing the way her daughter's face crumpled, Nikki held out her arms. "It'll be alright, I promise."
Burying her face in her mother's jacket, Hollie closed her eyes. Nikki stroked her hair gently, rocking her slightly and rubbing her back. Pressing a kiss to her head, the woman pulled away and moved to stand by the door. Hollie gathered up her phone and purse, pushing them into her coat pockets and took the key card from the holder beside the door.
They exchanged a look and each took a deep breath as they made their way out of the room and down to the lobby. Outside, Hollie shivered as the cold January air hit her. Smiling, Nikki wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders and together they headed to the hospital, each wondering just how bad it would be.
A/N: Hello darlings! Thank you all for reading and special thanks to those of you reviewing - you know who you are, you lovely people! It really does mean a lot! :)
