Hi! Chapter 17 is here xx hope you like it, its a bit longer xxx enjoy!
Thalia's Tree xx x
Eve's POV
"Michael? You seriously need to stop leaving your 'juice' lying around willy nilly!"
Stood in the front room by myself I had found myself shouting once again to my beloved vampire about his insufferable habits. I waited a few seconds before figuring out that he was ignoring me.
"Michael Glass for the love of coffee I know you can hear me so get your ass down here now at vampire speed!" I yelled, feeling my stress levels rise.
Ok, since we found out Claire had a brain tumour, we've all been a bit stressed. And Michael hasnt be much help. He's been . . .
"Yeah?" Michael asked, sounding slightly fed up. Urg.
"Keep your blood to yourself will you? Oh and away from, oh I don't know, food that i've just cooked!" Seeing the look on his face I added, "Oh yeah don't think I don't notice."
"Eve sweetie a little blood in your cooking isn't going to make a difference. Your food could already kill someone." He smiled a me like he was making a joke.
"Damn Michael this is serious i'm not fooling around!" I snapped. "I've made allowances for you because of Claire but now its gone too far!"
Michael's smile faded. "How have i taken it too far?"
"Well, lets start with you always hog the remote."
"I'm making the most of Shane not hogging it for a change." He though for a second before firing back, "You eat all the chocolate."
"Really that's all you've got Michael? And FYI chocolate is a comfort food and it'll have to do seeing as i'm not getting any comfort from you!"
The room seemed eerily quite. Neither me nor Michael moved, we just starred at each other. I'd said it, the elephant in the room.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
I took a deep breath, there was no going back now. "Its like you don't notice me anymore. Like you're too caught up in yourself to see that sometimes I need to talk about things with you! Things that I can't talk to Claire about right now." I hesitated slightly before saying, "Its like you don't love me."
"Well," Michael began, looking hurt but not hurt enough to fight back. "You've not exactly been great at the love thing yourself you know. Try sleeping with a girl who falls asleep before you can show her how much you love her!"
Oh I see.
"You take that back Michael! And maybe I'd be better in bed if you where there more for me to practice!" I yelled. His face dropped as he realised I wasn't really just talking about night time.
"Eve - "
"No, Michael. I'm talking." I looked around to see if Shane or Claire were at the door way. Usually if I don't check they are. But they weren't so I carried on. Looking Michael right in the eye I said, "Where the hell have you been lately? It's like one moment your there, and the next you have to go. Where do you go Michael?"
My boyfriend sighed on stepped closer to take me in his arms. But I stepped back, out of reach.
"Eve please don't do this." He begged.
"I'm not doing anything. You're the one who keeps disappearing!" I let out a breath and made myself calm down. I know that I was being horrible but I couldn't help it. It felt like Michael was never around anymore, or if he is and we are all having a good time fore a change, he suddenly has to go. "Mikey what's going on? You can tell me if you're in trouble baby."
"Nothing's going on." He insisted. "I don't know what you are talking about." I knew he was lying. There's this look he always gets in his eye what he lies so I can always tell.
"Please." I whispered. "tell me."
Michael shock his head, a look of guilt in his eyes. "I can't Eve, I wish I could but I can't. You just have to trust me. Can you?"
I heard a bedroom door open and I knew it was Shane's as Claire was already out. He'd be down in a minute and I don't want him to hear any of this. I could tell my boyfriend was being serious. He couldn't tell me and I'd have to trust him,, just like he said.
"Of course I trust you." I told him, stepping closer now. Then I had a thought. "Michael, are you ok? Whatever you're doing, are you safe?"
Michael grabbed my arms and bent down slightly so he was of equal height to me. "I'm ok. Eve I'd never do anything that would cause you anymore pain. You hear me? Everything's ok."
I hope he is telling the truth, because lies hurt, and they hurt for a very long time. And once someone you love lies to you, you don't no who you can trust.
Claire's POV
I was sat outside a cafe in the sun. I think this might have been one of the first times I'd actually been out in the time I'd been diagnosed. Trust me, I'm not going to turn out to be an unsociable person, I just haven't really felt like going out lately.
Earlier that morning I'd received a text from Aria, telling me that she'd been discharged.
That's great!I had replied. Then after a moment I added. Do u wanna met up and celebrate? x x
When I'd hung out with Aria at the hospital I'd learnt that she didn't really have friends, and that she'd only really ever had her brother for company.
"My mum died I was born." She'd told me. "And even though my dad found another girlfriend, she couldn't deal with my disease. She was - well too girl for the icky stuff." I'd laughed at that, but not because I'd found it funny, but because I knew she wanted me too.
"So you live with your dad and your older brother?" I had asked.
"Yep, but my dad has to go away a lot because he works on the oil rigs. But me and Chace, my brother, get on fine."
It seemed like a while before i got a reply. I wondered if that meant she had hesitated. But finally I got a reply saying Sure y not x Where'd u wanna meet?
We decided to meet at the Tots Toasty Cafe near the town centre, somewhere where there were lots of things to do so we could decide when we got there.
Now, I looked at my watch to check the time. 12:11pm it read. We had arranged to meet at quarter past, so she should be here in a minute. I'd brought my physics revision book with me. It was the summer holidays, so it wasn't like I had school.
School . . . would I still be able to go to college when September came?
My phone beeped on the table in front of me. It was from Aria. Be there in a sec x Plz don't freak! Huh?
I looked up to see my new friend walk through the back french doors of the cafe leading out to the patio. I waved to let her know where I was. She waved back and made her way over. As she did I tried to see what she meant. See didn't look any different to me. She wore a pretty little white sun dress and white sandals. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a simple pony tail with a pink flower. On her back she had a cute little flower backpack.
She looked gorgeous. Beats my white cut offs and green tank top.
And then I noticed.
"Oh Aria . . . " I sighed standing up to greet her. I knew then why she had hesitated. In her lower neck was a small tube. A trach.
"Hey." She said shyly. "Um yeah got discharged but . . . ha there was a consequence."
I gave her an sympathetic smile. I'd read about tracheotomies. They were placed in your neck as an additional breathing source if you found it hard to breathe the average way. It allowed air to go directly to the lungs. "So what does this mean for you?" I asked.
"Ah nothing new." She said, as we both took a seat. "Lung function has decreased again. It was either this stupid trach or stay on a ventilator. So, here I am!" I still can't understand how she can stay so positive even after this.
"Any news on the lung transplant?" I asked. Last time i had asked her about it she'd still been on the waiting list, waiting for a donor.
"No change. " She sighed. Aria looked down at the table and filled with her thumbs a bit. "The docs have basically said if I don't get a transplant soon then its just going keep going down hill from now - if you know what I mean. "
She cleared her throat and I reached across the table to squeeze her hand. But when she looked up, she wasn't sad. No, she looked determined.
"So i'm going to make the most of my health while i can!" She said triumphantly. "What shall we do today?"
"Well, " I said, standing up and taking Aria's hand to haul her up too. "Lets see where are feet take us . . ."
Oxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
We ended up just walking around the town, going in various shops and trying on clothes. We even went into shoe shops and tried on ridiculously big high heels. Aria was a natural walking in them. And me? I'd like to say I was a natural too, but I really wasn't.
I arrived home at 4 o'clock in the afternoon to lots of noise and shuffling.
"Hello?" I called out "whats going on?"
As I hung my coat up on the coat hanger in the hall way and took my shoes off, Shane poked his head around the front room door.
"Hey babe, your home eh, early?"
"How long did you think I would stay out for?" I laughed. The I frowned and asked "Whats going on?" I walked over and pushed passed Shane into the living room, expecting to see a monkey or a donkey, though I'm not really sure why. But there was nothing out of the ordinary. Everything looked normal.
"Um what you looking for?" Shane asked. He sounded - nervous?
"Where are Eve and Michael?" I questioned, slightly confused.
"Well they, um, are, um . . ."
". . .In the kitchen cooking!" Came Eve's voice from the kitchen. Still glaring at Shane I stormed out of the room and into he other where Michael was stood at the stink and Eve was stood at the the stove. Again, nothing out of the ordinary. Maybe I was going crazy.
"Hiya CB!" Eve whipped her hands on the tea towel and gave me a hug. "How was town with - whats her name again?"
"Aria." I replied. "Yeah it was great. Shes a really great kid. "
"She sounds like it. " Michael said. "We should invite her round one day."
"Yeah. She'd like that. She doesnt really have many friends because of her Cystic Fibrosis. " I explained. They all nodded.
"Well," Eve patted her hands together. "Chilli for tea. Why dont you go rest your feet Claire? We'll be in in a minute."
"ok." My feet were aching a bit. "Thanks." I went to the living room and plonked myself down on the sofa. Closing my eyes, I drifted off into dream land. Just a little nap before tea . . .
For among these winters, there is one so endlessly winter, and only by wintering through it may your heart surviv x