Chapter 47

It was 2 o'clock and the sun was shining and the games that Jimmy had organised for the Barbeque were about to begin. Jimmy has gathered his family together for a team talk before the games started. So Tom decided to do the same.

"Right kids remember the same tactic as last time and we will beat the Murtaugh's again!" Tom said.

"Chin up and charge the mountain!" Jake reminded Tom since that was the plan at the lake.

"Dad I thought we were done with this rivalry between you and Jimmy now!" Henry stated.

"We are," Tom replied.

"Ha and that's why you just said we'll beat them again," Kim laughed as she knew her dad was desperate to beat Jimmy again.

"I have an idea," Sarah smiled, "Jimmy come here!" Sarah shouted to get his attention.

"What it is?" Jimmy asked.

"Well I don't know about everyone else but I am getting o bored of this Baker's VS Murtaugh's thing," Sarah said as all the Baker and Murtaugh kids agreed with her, "so why don't we mix up the teams some Baker's some Murtaugh's on each team,"

"What a great idea!" Becky said.

"Absolutely not!" Jimmy replied.

"I don't think that is a great idea Sarah," Tom agreed with Jimmy.

"Jimmy, you said all of this had nothing to do with competing with Tom, Prove it then and mix the teams up then," Serena said.

Tom and Jimmy looked at each other, neither of them really wanted to mix up the teams as they would rather both win but they could tell that was what everyone else wanted and as much as they were against the idea they agreed to it..

"Why don't we have like 5 or 6 teams instead of 2 because after all there is like over twenty of us!" Robyn suggested.

"Yeah let's have four teams then," Kate said.

After much discussion of who would be in a team together they decided to draw names out of a hat. In Team 1 were Daniel, Jake, Mark and Kim. Team 2 was Sarah, Mike, Charlie and Ann. Team 3 was Calvin, Jessica, Elliot and Henry. Team 4 was Lorraine, Nora, Mark and Kenneth. Team 5 was Robyn, Becky, Lisa, Kyle and Nigel. Team 6 consisted of the parents which unlike the other team, wasn't random and drawn out of a hat but the kids decided it would be funny to have Tom and Jimmy work together.

Jessica had to admit it was a little awkward being in the same team as Elliot but then at the same time she was also glad to spend a little bit of time with him since they hadn't spent any time together this weekend.

Sarah was pretty pleased with her team she was sure that they must have had a good chance of winning since Charlie was strong and Ann was Fast, Mike was a daredevil and was fearless and Sarah herself was a pretty much all rounder.

The first event was a relay race with each team member taking part. Straight away Sarah's Team, Team 2, was off to a fast start and took the lead. Meanwhile Team 1 and Team 3 were battling it out for second place. The team consisting of the parents were falling behind and were last. The kids had to admit it was funny watching Tom and Jimmy both lose.

The results were:

1st – Team 2 4th- Team 4

2nd- Team 3 5th – Team 5

3rd – Team 1` 6th-Team 6

The games continued with other events consisting of the three legged race, volleyball, archery, an egg toss, bike race, tennis and small four a side basketball games.

It was now the last event which was a boat race in the lake at the hotel, much like the one that was in the Labour day cup a couple years ago when Nora ended up going into labour.

"Jimmy you really did organise this thing to be like the labour day cup didn't you," Tom stated.

"I would call it more of a coincidence," Jimmy replied.

The team consisting of the parents were in last position and the kids were very much enjoying watching their dads both lose. It was equal between the top three team which were team 1,2 and 3. Everyone was getting their life jackets on and preparing for the race.

"Guys we need to win this," Sarah said to her team mates, Charlie, Ann and Mike, "After all we can't let Jessica and Elliot beat us after everything they've done to me," Sarah said trying to make a Joke out of it but she was actually being a bit serious.

"You ready for this," Henry asked Jessica as their team prepared for the race.

"Yeah more than I'll ever be," Jessica replied as rowing wasn't exactly her strong point.

"Don't worry you'll do fine," Elliot smiled. Elliot had been speaking to Jessica throughout the games giving her encouragement which Jessica liked but she wished they could just talk like they use to do.

Everyone got into their boats and was ready to go, on the sound of the horn that indicated that the race had begun.

Team 2 which was Daniel, Jake, Kim and Mark took the lead to begin with until they were over taken by Elliot's team who had the lead for about a minute until Sarah's team started to overtake and they widened their lead on the other teams.

Sarah's team finished in first place, winning the overall completion with Elliot's team in second and Jake's team taking third place.

"I knew we would win," Sarah beamed with pride, she was also a little smug to have beaten Elliot because like her he hated losing.

"Technically we were all a full Baker team because if Ann marries Charlie then she becomes a Baker," Mike said as he looked at Charlie and Ann he knew it would wind them up because everyone especially Kate was hoping that they would get married soon.

"Well done you guys you were the best team," Jake said as he congratulated them. Tom and Jimmy did not look happy at the fact that they were the losing team. Jimmy most certainly was not and but he was just glad that at least Tom didn't beat him this time.

The food on the barbeque was ready and everyone was queuing up to get food. Tiffany joined the line behind Mike, "Well done you were so good at the competitions," she said to Mike.

"Why thank you!" Mike blushed. He was rather nervous around Tiffany as he didn't really have a lot of experience around girls so he was trying his best to play it cool. Jake and Sarah watched on as they could see their little brother was new to this all.

"It's kind of cute to see Mike has a crush," Sarah stated, it kinds scared her how quickly everyone had grown up Mike was the second youngest so she knew it was only a matter of time until Nigel and Kyle would have girlfriends.

Elliot sat next to Jessica to eat his food as Jessica was sitting alone, "You have fun today?" He asked.

"Yeah I did actually the first time I've had fun in ages," Jessica replied as she couldn't remember the last time she just let her hair down and enjoyed herself.

"It was nice to see you smiling and laughing, it seems like ages since I seen that side of you," Elliot said. Elliot could sense that everyone from both of their families was looking at them having a conversation and he could tell it was making Jessica feel uncomfortable and being honest him as well but he didn't think they were doing anything wrong so he wasn't going to leave.

"Just ignore everyone looking at us," he told Jessica, "we're only talking it's not a crime."

"Yeah your right we aren't doing anything wrong I don't feel awkward around you I only feel awkward because they all want me to," Jessica said as she realised Elliot was right and she was fed up of everyone having an opinion on every little thing she does. She was actually happy that Elliot was sitting talking to her because this was the first time he has during the weekend.

"Have you seen Ryan recently?" Elliot couldn't help himself from asking.

"Not really since that day I seen you both after the fight at the basketball game," Jessica replied. Elliot and Jessica hadn't properly talked since they both confessed that they loved each other.

"This whole thing is so messed up how can we be so in love with each other yet we both love somebody else," Jessica said. "How do I know who I love more?"

"I don't know," Elliot replied.

"So your admitting you still love Sarah?" Jessica asked.

"I think I do I didn't realise until you made be honest with myself and I do I get jealous when I see her with Ethan but I get the same jealousy when I see you with Ryan! I haven't properly been with Sarah for months though so part of me thinks that it is over for good and we both need to move on but then moving on is harder than you think," Elliot replied. This was the first time he had properly admitted that he was still in love with Sarah.

"I know, trying to get you out of my head is impossible, I don't know how people manage to just get over someone so quickly," Jessica stated.

"Well maybe they never liked them that much in the first place," Elliot said. This situation was getting better as everyone was now being more honest with each other but at the same time it was becoming more complicated because Jessica and Elliot both had feelings for two people, "I just wish like we could get away from all of this and spend just a day just the two of us where no one knows us, where no one is watching us like everyone is now or no one knows us so we could properly be ourselves around each other. We have never got to spend a single day together as couple because of all the complications, like I was too scared for Sarah to see us and even if we don't end up together to even say we had one day together as a couple would be amazing."

Jessica was surprised to hear Elliot saying this and even she agreed they had never been able to go out on a date or anything because they were too scared to be seen by Sarah and didn't want to upset her. Everything has been sneaking around and then Elliot being in denial and saying they were just friends and no more.

"What if from the outset you had just decided you wanted me and didn't worry about Sarah. Where do you think we would be now?" Jessica asked Elliot.

"I really don't know, I suppose if we had been together then when you got paired with Ryan you probably would have never got with him if I had been your boyfriend," Elliot replied, "I knew you said feelings grew for him but then you let them grow because like you said I never committed myself to you".

"I think we should just face it we will never be together if we worry too much about hurting other people. If we are to ever work we just need to be at bit selfish and not care if we hurt anyone because if we do it will ruin us and we won't work. The question is could we ever stop caring about others?" Jessica had realised that if they got together no matter what Sarah would be hurt it would be hard for her and also she would hurt Ryan too.

"Your right there Jessica," Elliot agreed.

"I don't think you could do that Sarah though Elliot. I think she's been the reason why we've never worked and I don't see that stopping now. To me I think the damage has already been done, Sarah knows about us and she's mad at me a lot more than she is at you and now I don't think she will ever properly forgive".

"What are you saying that you just want to forget about everyone else and us be together?" Elliot asked.

"I don't actually know what I'm saying, everything is too confusing. I say that but then I think what about Ryan. I don't know if I can forget about him that easily," Jessica confessed.

"One of us has to just say what it is that we want," Elliot said, "this can't go on for much longer it needs to end!"

"I know tell me about it. Its tearing me apart, I can't sleep at night because for starters I feel terrible about the whole thing I feel bad about the way I have hurt you, Ryan and Sarah. I can't sleep because I spend so much time thinking about what it is that I want and I can never decide," Jessica said as she had so many sleepless nights since all of this started.

"Who is the first person you think about in the morning and the last you think about at night?" Elliot asked, "Surely that is a way of your subconscious telling you who it is that you love the most!"

Jessica stopped to think for a minute, who was the one she thought about last at night and first thing when she woke up, right now she couldn't even think all she knew that was right up until the moment she would eventually fall asleep she was thinking about both of them, thinking about what it is she liked about them and trying to decide who it is she loved more but she wasn't sure who was the one she would think of first when she woke up.

"Either you're not entirety sure or you know and you're not telling me," Elliot stated.

"I don't know," Jessica replied, "I can't even remember what the last thought I had was about last night or the first this morning, who is to say I was even thinking about either or you though, I could have been thinking about something else!".

Elliot may have asked Jessica that question but the truth was he didn't know the answer to that himself either, so he could understand what Jessica was saying.

"Elliot what if I did turn round and say it was you I wanted, what would you do?" Jessica asked, "Would you tell me you felt the same or would you say you needed the think about it or tell me you don't want me? Because I feel like you're putting pressure on me to answer but you don't even know what you want!"

"I don't know maybe that's it I can't decide so I want you to decide for me!" Elliot replied.

"So if I choose you then you choose me and I don't choose you then you choose Sarah. How is that fair on Sarah? She is only being chose because I said no," Jessica replied.

"Well I that's not exactly what I meant. To be honest I don't even know what it is that I am talking about. I just know I'll probably make the wrong decisions, all my life I've been making bad decisions," Elliot said.

"So was I a bad decision?" Jessica asked.

"Technically yeah, I mean you its not ideal falling for your ex's sister and I've made bad decisions when it has come to handling this situation, I got into a fight with Ryan that's was a bad idea, I kept you a secret from everyone yet I only allowed you to be my friend so what was the point in keeping it secret, there wasn't. See everything I do I make bad decisions, I even made the decision to cheat on Sarah with Sophie and then I decided to lie about it," Elliot said.

He could see the upset in Jessica's eyes as she tried not to cry. Without saying a word Jessica quickly got up and let as she headed inside the hotel. Elliot then realised telling her she was a bad decision possibly wasn't the kindest thing he could have said but he never meant for it to come out like that.

"There I go again always ruining things!" Elliot said to himself.

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