Deviant (30 page)

Feeling my mother’s hand on mine, I looked up. For the first time, I saw a real admiration in her eyes when she smiled at me. “Darling, why didn’t you tell us about him before? Of course we support you, if this is how you really feel. You obviously love and care very much for this boy. All we ask is that we meet him as soon as he’s settled.”

I smiled at my mother and looked to see the smile on my father’s face, as well. I needed both their support on this, and judging by the way my father was looking at me, I had it. “Thank you,” I sighed, feeling like a massive weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

“What you’re doing is very admirable, Tyler. We couldn’t be more proud of you.”

Nodding my head, I could feel the tears in my eyes. “Thank you, Dad. Thank you for believing in me.”

Patting my hand, my mother tut-tutted again. “It’s not a question of not believing in you, Tyler. We have always believed in you. You’re a very stubborn young lady, but we always believed in you.” She raised her eyebrow at me, making me laugh.

“Listen,” she said, serious all of a sudden. “I know we offered countless times and I know you’ve turned us down each time, but if you ever need anything from us, you know where we are. Your father and I are only a phone call away and will only be too happy to help.”

I nodded, but my parents knew me by now. They knew I would never come to them for anything. Not unless it was an absolute emergency that I desperately needed help with. It was a strange relationship, really. Normally, parents were keen to let their children fly the nest and do their own thing. Learn from their mistakes, make their own money, and choose their own paths in life. Not my parents, though. From the very beginning, they had been keen to guide me. Keen to hold my hand every step of the way and offer a way out when needed. In a sense, it was probably good because that only gave me the strength to want to move forward on my own. Instead of grabbing the easiest option, I was turned off by it.

It was in the middle of getting the bill, which my parents insisted on paying, when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. Looking outside, I spotted a girl with blonde hair, around fifteen or sixteen. She glanced at her watch like she was waiting for someone. Surely this wasn’t the famous Julie I had been hearing about all these weeks.

There was only one way to find out.

Throwing my seat back, I glanced down at my parents’ shocked expressions. “I’m really sorry, but I have to dash. You don’t mind, do you?” I looked at them pleadingly and they smiled.

“Of course not,” my father said. “You get on with what you need to do. We’ll sort everything out here.”

I thanked my father gracefully, then gave them both a peck on the cheek before rushing out the door. Thankfully, when I looked again, she was still standing there, waiting for someone. As I crossed the road to approach her, she looked at me a little warily, but smiled.

“I’m sorry to just come up to you like this, but is your name Julie?”

The girl smiled, but she was still a little wary of me. She was very pretty. I certainly had to give Jeremy his due. He had very good taste. Her hair was straight and silky, her blue eyes were dark, but radiant. She had freckles, but they were just lightly touching her face, almost kissing her cheeks. She was going to be rather beautiful when she got older.

“Y-yes,” she said with a slight stammer. “I’m Julie.”

Holding out my hand, I smiled. “My name’s Tyler O’Shea. I’m a very good friend, and guardian, of Jeremy.” I saw the hint of recognition in her eyes as she took my hand. “I take that look to mean you know who I’m talking about?”

She nodded with a shy smile. “Yes, but I don’t understand what you’re doing here.”

Placing my hand in my pocket, I pulled out a card so she knew I was telling the truth about who I was. “I’m sorry,” I said, trying to alleviate the pressure. “I promise I haven’t been stalking you.” I inwardly rolled my eyes at the irony. “I was just having lunch with my parents over there in that restaurant.” I pointed and, at that moment, my parents came out and gave me a wave. I waved back and turned towards Julie again. “When I saw you, I couldn’t quite believe my eyes. Jeremy told me you met outside this McDonalds, and I knew it couldn’t be a coincidence when I saw you. I’ve heard so much about you, I feel I practically know you already.”

She smiled shyly again and placed a strand of hair behind her ear. “Jeremy talks about me?” she asked, diverting her eyes to the ground.

I couldn’t help the smile. It seemed Julie was just as taken with Jeremy as I was. “All the time,” I said, smiling.

Julie looked up, saw my genuine smile and gave me a beaming one back. It was then she looked at my card. “It says you work for the Daily London?”

I nodded. “Yes, that’s right. It is how Jeremy and I first met. I run a column called
From Afar
. Basically, it helps people with secret crushes let the crush know how they feel. Jeremy contacted me about you.”

With a gasp, Julie’s eyes widened. “He did? I would really like to see it.”

I couldn’t believe my luck here. I can, hopefully, see Jeremy’s last wish come true. “Would you like to come inside for a milkshake?” I offered, gesturing towards the McDonalds.

Julie bit her lip and looked around. She was conflicted. “I’m meeting a couple friends for lunch.”

I nodded. “Okay, but I promise it won’t take long.” I didn’t want to pressure the girl but, at the same time, I wanted to speak with her more. Preferably off the street.

Finally, she caved, giving me her sweet smile. “Okay, my friends are always late anyway. It will teach them a lesson.”

Laughing, I motioned for Julie to walk in front of me and opened the door. She ordered a strawberry milkshake and I ordered a coffee, and we sat down by the window. “Here would be good so you can see when your friends arrive.”

Julie nodded and looked at me for a few seconds. “You’re very pretty,” she acknowledged.

I blushed a little. “Why, thanks. So are you. I can see why Jeremy is so smitten.”

“So what did he say about me?” she asked in her eager teenage voice. I had to smile, remembering those days myself. The days when I was in love with Dean.

Taking out my phone, I searched for the original article and handed her the phone. Julie sat there for a while, reading and smiling. You could tell this all made her happy.

“He wants to kiss me?” she asked, her eyes wide with both anxiety and excitement.

I nodded. “Yes, he likes you very much. The problem is that he’s been quite sick and in the hospital, so he hasn’t been around.”

Clasping a hand over her mouth, Julie gasped. “Oh no. Is he okay? I was wondering why I hadn’t seen him in a while.”

Patting her hand gently, I smiled. “He’s fine. Every day, he fights, and every day, he grows stronger. He’s the most caring, funny, and loyal boy I’ve ever met.”

“Is he still in the hospital?” I nodded. “What’s wrong with him?”

“He’s been fighting Leukaemia virtually his whole life. It’s been very hard for him, but with the right care and the right people, I’m sure he will pull through. It is what I’m driving towards every day.”

She smiled at that. “You care for him very much.”

I nodded. “I do. It was never about the story, Julie. I don’t care about the story. I care about getting Jeremy better, and I think one of the people who could help along the way is you.”

“Me?” she asked with a screech.

I nodded with a laugh. “Yes, you. Would you not like to meet him? I mean, properly?”

Julie blushed a little and bit her lip. “I don’t know. I’m a little shy.”

Suddenly a several knocks on the window resounded, making both Julie and I jump. The two girls outside started laughing, then made their way towards the door.

“I take it they are your friends?” She nodded. “Look, you have my card. Think about it. If you decide you would like to meet him, just give me a call.”

Grabbing my bag, I eased myself out of the seat just as the two girls arrived. “Hello,” I said with a smile.

“Hiya,” they both said, looking towards Julie with a frown.

“I was just off. It was nice to meet you, Julie. Have a great day, ladies.”

They all waved goodbye, and as I was leaving, I heard one of the girls ask who I was. I just smiled. It was up to Julie to make up what she wanted on that front.

Walking briskly back to the office, my head held high, I went back to my desk with a beaming smile. Louisa was right there, waiting for me, and she didn’t look too happy.

“You’re fifteen minutes late and the boss wants to see you.”

I checked my watch and it was only then I realised just what the time was.

Shit, there goes my happy smile. “Does he want to see me
because
I’m late?”

Louisa gritted her teeth and clasped a hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Tyler.”

Louisa didn’t like slackers, but I knew she was genuinely sorry for the bollocking I was about to receive. And I knew that’s exactly what it was going to be.

Taking the walk of shame, I thanked Louisa and timidly knocked on Andrew Walker’s door.

“Come in!” he boomed.

Closing my eyes momentarily, I breathed in a lungful of air before opening the door. Mr. Walker was sitting there, looking rather stern underneath all his facial hair.

“Sit down, please, Miss O’Shea.” I did as I was told and braced myself.

“You do realise what time it is, don’t you?”

I nodded. “Yes, sorry. I was with my parents having lunch, and we—”

“I don’t care if you’re having lunch with the fucking queen of England. Your hour for lunch is just that. No taking five minutes here and five minutes there, with a two hour lunch in between. You’re here to work and you will do just that. It wasn’t that long ago that you were off with the flu. And then there was that stomach bug a few weeks ago. Not only that, you’re off on leave for the next few days. It’s got to stop. Just because I give you your own column now doesn’t mean you can come and go when you see fit.”

I nodded. I felt guilty about taking that week off because I wasn’t really ill. However, I
was
really ill about four weeks back. That was actually a genuine couple of days off work. The next few days was simply so I could spend time with Jeremy and settle him in at home.

“You can go back to work, but I don’t want to hear about you being late again. Do you hear me?”

Clasping my now sweaty hands together, I nodded. “Yes. I’m very sorry. This won’t happen again.”

Mr. Walker sighed and sat back in his chair. “Good. Now, if you have any issues outside of work in the future, I suggest you come to me first. Can you do that?”

I nodded. “Of course. Certainly.”

Seeing the calm radiating over him, I knew he was feeling more in control of his anger now. “You’re a great worker, Tyler. Let’s keep it that way.”

Nodding again, I got up. “Thank you,” I said as I opened the door. “And I’m very sorry for being late.”

Andrew Walker nodded and I swiftly walked out the door. Shit, that was intense. I looked towards Louisa and Ian, and they both gave me a sympathetic smile. At least I still had my friends. I knew they would support me. Everyone knew what a hard-ass Andrew Walker really was, but I never got to see it for myself…until now.

I don’t think I want to do that again.

Scurrying back to my desk, I went straight to work getting the column ready and sorting out all the necessaries for when I’m off. I would still need to work on it, but at least I could do it from home and spend as much time with Jeremy as I could. A couple of hours at the hospital never seemed to be enough.

Just as I was closing everything up on my desk and getting ready to visit Jeremy, my phone chimed alerting me to a text message. When I looked down, I saw it was a number I didn’t recognise. I opened it and, to my surprise, it was Julie.

If the offer still stands, I would like to meet him. Let me know when and I’ll see if I can make it.

Gasping, I typed back.

Sure, no problem, Julie. That’s great news. I will be in touch as soon as I can.

I jumped up I said my goodbyes to Louisa and Ian, and ran towards the lift. I couldn’t stop the stupid grin now plastered on my face at the thought of telling Jeremy I had met Julie, and she wanted to meet him properly. Jeremy would be over-the-moon when I tell him. It would, hopefully, be enough to brighten his day. He had been looking awfully pale lately, and I questioned him a number of times about whether he was really ready to leave the hospital. Jeremy didn’t seem to care. All he wanted was out of there and I didn’t really blame him. He’d been at the hospital for far too long now.

Getting in my car, I wasted no time starting it up and heading for the hospital. All the way there, I had this huge grin on my face as I sang “Happy” by Pharrell Williams at the top of my lungs. It was such an apt song for my mood right now.

Once I got there, trying to find a space took a little while, but I managed to nab one the minute someone pulled out. I was feeling impatient and excited. I just needed to get in there and tell him the fantastic news. Jeremy was going to be so happy to hear Julie liked him, too. That was plain to see by the look on her face and the glint in her eye when I spoke about him. She was just as smitten.