I got so carried away writing the beginning of this that I forgot about the rice on the stove and burnt it. I hope you guys are happy :P There's a time jump between in this chapter, when you get to the break, fast forward about three weeks.
I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and sat up in bed, taking a moment for my eyes to finally adjust to whatever light the moon had given me through the curtains. The neon red numbers on the bedside clock read two forty two in the morning and I groaned. My toes touched the cold flooring as I swung out of bed and suppressed a shiver. It was getting colder now, closer to Christmas, and while I liked winter better than summer, I couldn't help but despise the constant rain.
A clap of thunder and a flash of lightning interrupted my thoughts and caused me to jump, startled. Rain audibly hit the windows in a calming pitter-patter and as much as I wanted to throw myself back into the warmth of the sheets, I really needed to pee.
I didn't bother with a dressing gown or a sweatshirt. Instead I crept out of my room and down the hall, trying not to disturb Derek in his bedroom, or Tori who was sleeping in the study. From what I had learnt about Tori so far, she was not somebody who I wanted to wake at nearly three in the morning.
Creak.
The boards under the hallway carpeting might as well have been louder than a gunshot, but I hoped that the sound of the storm was enough to muffle it. I tip toed the rest of the way to the bathroom, successfully without making too much noise and finished up my business. Once I had shut the bathroom door quietly behind me, an itch in my throat made me realize how thirsty I was so I headed to the kitchen. Luckily I had passed the bedrooms so the need to be quiet wasn't as dire anymore.
I rummaged through the fridge in search of a bottle of water. After finally being able to find it, I shut the fridge door and spun on my heel with the intent of heading back to my bedroom. Instead of walking through the kitchen into open space, my face smacked into a wall. A warm, fleshy, human wall. I gasped out loud and the bottle slipped from my hands, plummeting to the floor. The human wall moved quick in an effort to grab it before it could hit the floorboards and caught it in one hand.
"Derek, you scared the hell out of me." I panted, holding a hand over my chest trying to catch my breath.
He handed the bottle back to me. "You're being too loud."
I grimaced. "Sorry, I thought I was okay once I made it past the bedrooms." I went to walk around him and came into view of the couch where blankets and pillows were messily arranged on top. "You're not in your bedroom?"
"Tori didn't like the study and demanded my room." He told me and I widened my eyes in disbelief. "It shouldn't come as a shock. I told you she's an asshole." He added.
I chewed on my bottom lip, feeling guilty that I had convinced Derek to let his sister stay. For what? For him to be kicked out of his own bedroom? I began to offer him an apology, but he cut me off.
"Don't worry about it." He grunted.
"It's not fair for you to lose your bedroom. I was the one who told you to let her stay, she can have my room."
Derek leaned around me and opened up the fridge himself, pulling out a carton of orange juice and unscrewing the cap. "Not necessary, the couch isn't too bad." He took a swig straight out of the carton and I screwed up my nose.
We shared that carton, God damn it.
He put it back and walked around me towards the sofa. "Have you spoken to her much?" I asked him as I followed, seating myself on the coffee table in front of him to talk.
He shrugged and fluffed one of his pillows. "Other than her making demands? Not really. She offered an apology for what happened when in college but it's hard to believe that she's being sincere when she only rocked up on my doorstep because she needed a place to stay."
"Why did you give her your bedroom then?" I asked.
He thought about it for a moment. "I wanted to believe you when you said that she might have changed. Maybe if she saw that I was being kind to her then she'd act differently."
Tori was going through a hard time, but we had a lot in common. We had both just recently broken up with our ex's and kicked out of our homes and we both ended up living back with our families. While Tori and I had those things in common, she was so different to me. She reminded me of Derek. Slightly temperamental and hot headed, but she was more obvious about it than her brother. Maybe she was acting the way she was because it was all she knew.
"I think you should give her time. She'll open up eventually." And I believed it. Derek had the same attitude when I first moved in, but he gradually warmed up and became less guarded around me.
"I'll say it before and I'll say it again. You're too nice for your own good, Chloe Saunders." He sighed.
"I don't think it's the last time you'll say it either." I giggled as I stood up, heading towards towards my bedroom. "Goodnight, Derek."
"'Night." He called after me as I disappeared into the hallway, tip toeing past where Tori slept.
A content sigh escaped me as I threw myself down on the couch. The cast on my foot came off two weeks early and I was ecstatic, this meant that I could be a normal, functioning adult again... well, sort of.
"What's got you so happy?" Tori emerged from the hallway, heading straight for the kitchen.
I was surprised, Tori had been here for two weeks and had barely said a word to me in that whole time. She very much kept to herself, like her brother. Except she was messier and it drove me fucking crazy.
I gestured towards my foot and grinned. "Finally got the stupid thing off."
She sauntered over to the fridge and pulled out a container of leftovers. "Can't imagine a better feeling." She replied sarcastically as she threw the container into the microwave. As she waited, I sat on the couch awkwardly. It wasn't up until now that she had spoken to me so I didn't know if it was asking for trouble for me to try talking to her.
"So what's living with my brother been like? I'm surprised he hasn't scared you off yet." She asked, examining her perfectly manicured fingernails.
"I-it's been fine." I began, surprised once again that Tori had initiated conversation. "It was a bit of a shit show in the beginning, but that wasn't through any fault of his own."
Tori gestured with her hands as if she wanted me to continue. "Well? Elaborate." She demanded.
I fidgeted nervously, thinking back to Liam. "I have a difficult ex."
She scoffed and sat down on the recliner with her food, waving her fork around as she spoke. "I can tell you a thing or two about difficult ex's." She paused. "That bastard still has my cat." She told me, almost sounding like her voice was going to break.
"A-are you going to get your cat back?" I asked.
"I will, even if I have to kill him." She saw the shocked look on my face and chuckled. "Jeez, I'm just joking, kiddo. Brady will give her back once I have a place of my own. It just sucks because I miss her."
My mind still reeled over Tori's sudden change of attitude when she spoke about her cat. Perhaps it was a potential soft spot for her? "What kind of cat is she?" I asked, testing out my theory.
"She's a British short hair. I adopted her four years ago from the shelter." Tori set down her food and fished her phone out of her pocket excitedly. She swiped away for a few moments before turning it towards me, showing a picture of a chubby grey cat that was lounging out in the sunshine. "Her name's Pepper. I could have brought her here but I figured it would be cruel to keep her cooped up inside all day. She loves the sun."
"Huh." I stated. "We had a cat like her when I was a little girl." I scrunched my nose up. "I think I called her Noodle. They're good company."
Tori nodded in agreement and spooned a heaping fork of food in her mouth. "So do you work?"
I balked again, trying to believe that this uptight woman was actually trying to get to know me a little bit better. "I work in a dentist's office. Trying to get a job in my field of degree hasn't been too easy around here. I'm paying off college loans faster than I can earn the money." I laughed.
"What's your degree?"
"Bachelor of fine arts, majoring in film." I snorted a laugh. "I had high hopes when I was younger."
Tori's eyes widened. "I've got a friend who works for a small film company not too far from here. He's not high up in the food chain or anything but he might be able to put in a good word for you. Obviously you'd start off as an intern, but-"
"Oh my God." I found myself blurting out, utterly shocked at her generosity.
"Hey, hold up, it doesn't come with no strings attached." She held up her hand. "You've got to help my brother get that stick out of his ass. I mean, you've helped him out already but he's still got this stupid grudge against me."
"H-helped him out?"
"Simon said he's more pleasant to be around. I don't know, maybe you're the reason he let me stay."
"It wasn't easy." I admitted.
"Huh, so it was you. How did you do it? The guy's the most stubborn jerk I know." She lifted herself off the couch and walked to the kitchen where she placed her bowl in the dishwasher. How much did I want to actually tell her? I thought about it for a few moments before she piped up again. "He told you about what happened in college, didn't he?" It was as if she had read my mind.
I slowly nodded. "Derek said that I'm too nice for my own good when I suggested that maybe you changed."Humble brag, I know.
"How many people do you know that are the exact same person they were when they were nineteen?" She asked, confirming my thoughts. "Look, I might be blunt and a bit of an asshole, but I'm not a vengeful little bitch anymore."
I held up my hands in surrender. "Hey, I believe you. You might have a harder time proving it to Derek though."
Tori fidgeted with her hands for a moment, as if she was trying to find words. "I can't thank you enough, you know. I was a bit of an ass when I showed up on the first day, I'm surprised that you were the one out of all people to convince him."
I shrugged as if it was no big deal. "I don't have brothers or sisters so I don't know what it's like, but you guys sorting things out might do both of you some good."
She offered me a half hearted smile as she disappeared into the hallway. While I was slightly surprised at her sudden change in personality, I was thrilled to have gotten to know Tori better. Maybe we could even be friends one day.
I was still unsure why I was so invested in Derek and Tori getting on, but if it made both of them happy then was that such a bad thing? Derek may not have had the chance to get closer to his sister quite yet, but I finally did. I just hoped for their sake that this was the beginning of them rekindling their relationship.
So, should I bring back bitchy Tori or leave her like this? I have such a hard time writing bitchy characters so they don't usually last very long :P Let me know! Reviews are much appreciated x
