Pretend (42 page)

             
"Yeah and brush your teeth too, morning breath is so not your thing," she said as she let out a loud laugh and ran out of the room before I could find anything to throw at her.

* * *

             
The feeling of the water beating on my skin was
so
refreshing,
i
t was exactly what I needed after last night. I still can't believe everything that happened with Jake. I was still a little shook up but I didn't want anyone to know. The marks on my wrist had faded somewhat since last night but they were still visible and I wasn't looking forward to all the questions that they were going to attract when I arrived at school.

             
I turned off the shower, stepped out and wrapped my towel around me. I quickly put my wet hair up into a bun as I began to brush my teeth and then wash my face. For some reason I could feel the sting of my facial gel in my eyes when I washed my face today and may I just ad
d that it wasn't a good feeling.
Once I was done, I dried my face in the face towel and applied my facial moisturiser, refreshing. As I heard the sound of my bedroom door open and close, I giggled.

             
"What now, Crystal? You coming to insult me some more?" I shouted through the crack of the bathroom door.

             
"Well that wasn't really my plan, no," a husky voice said as I jumped in shock.

             
"Oh
my gosh
,
you scared the life out of me, I thought that you were Crystal," I said as I hit Aiden's arm playfully.

             
"Sorry," he said as I watched his eyes scan my entire body.

             
"What are you doing here?" I asked as I lowered my voice and peeked behind him, to make sure that he was definitely alone.

             
"Well, I just wanted to say good morning," he said with the sexiest smile on his face.

             
"Yeah well you could have said that when I came downstairs," I said with a smile on my face as I watched him lean
ing
up against the door frame
and staring at me
.

             
"Not like that," he said as he slowly pulled me towards him by my arm.

             
"I wanted to give you a special good morning," he whispered when I was about two inches away from him.

             
"Oh you did?"

             
"Yeah," he said before gently kissing my lips and wrapping his hand around my waist.

             
Yes, I definitely liked saying good morning like this.
 

             
"Good morning," he whispered as he gently pulled away.

             
"Good morning," I said with the biggest smile on my face.

             
"Ok, so I need to get ready now," I said as he stood still, staring at me.

             
"I know, just taking a mental picture to help get me through the day," he said with a smirk on his face.

             
"Get out," I said as we both burst out laughing and I pushed him towards the bedroom door.

             
He smiled at me one last time before slipping through the door. I quietly closed it and then leant against it smiling for a few moments. If this is what being with Aiden felt like, I don't think that I ever wanted it to end. Cheesy, I know.

             
It took me a little longer to get ready today. One
,
because I kept day dreaming about Aiden and two
,
because he kept sending me little messages that made me laugh. The sun was beaming outside and so I decided to wear my light, blue denim skirt today with my white tank top and white ballerina type shoes. I applied a thin
layer of eye liner on my eyes, some clear lip gloss on my lips, checked that
my purse
had all of my essentials and gave myself the once over in the mirror. R
emembering the mark on my wrist
I quickly grabbed my long sleeve, white cardigan out of my
wardrobe and slipped it on
.

             
Just as I went to walk out of the door, I heard the vibration of my phone and for some reason my stomach dropped, I don’t know why. A
feeling of relief filled me
when I saw Bob's name pop up.

             
"Hi, Bob," I beamed down the phone.

             
"Sweetie, it's me," my mom said.

             
"Oh, hi M
om.
Are you ok?" I asked.

             
"Yes, darling.
We are here
,
safe and sound. How's everything there, you settled in ok?" She asked in a concerned voice.

             
"Yeah, everything's great. I'm glad that I stayed at the Daniels
’
now," I said, thinking about how much worse my situation could have been last night if Jake had taken me back to my own house.

             
"That's great hone
y. Well everyone said to say
hello and we all love you, ok."

             
"I love you all too," I said with a smile on my face.

             
"Ok, well I've got to go because this call is expensive as Bob keeps reminding me. Take care of yourself. I'll call again, soon
,
ok?" She said, quickly.

             
"Ok, M
om.
You take care, speak soon. Bye."

             
"Bye," she said before hanging up.
 

             
I hadn't actually realised how much I missed my mom. I decided not to tell her about
Jake,
it would only worry her and probably make her jump on the first plane back here to kick his butt.

             
As I walked down the stairs and heard Mrs Daniels' voice, I wondered when she had gotten back. We were up pretty late last night, watching the end of Liar
Liar
and talking and I never heard her come in.

             
"Ok M
om
,
we will," I heard Crystal say as I walked into the dining room and saw her sitting at the table.

             
"How's April? Has she settled in ok?"
 

             
"She's fine, she's just walked into the room actually," Crystal said as she pointed towards the phone on the table.

             
"Oh," I mouthed as I realised that her mom was on speaker phone.

             
"Hi, Mrs Daniels," I said as I took the seat opposite Crystal's.

             
"Oh, hello darling. April you’
ve known me since you were a baby, it's high time that
you
started calling me Susan," she said.

             
"Sorry," I said as my cheeks started to heat up slightly.

             
"Are you enjoying your stay?" She asked in a friendly voice.

             
"Yes it's lovely. Thank you for letting me stay," I replied.

             
"Anytime sweetheart, you're family
,
you can stay for as long as you like," she said.

             
"Like she's ever here anyway," Crystal mouthed, making me laugh silently.

             
"Thank you," I finally managed to say.

             
"Ok, well you kids take care and I'll see you on Sunday," she said before hanging up the phone.

             
"Sunday?"
I asked.

             
"Yeah she's on some busine
ss trip till Sunday, who cares.
Anyway you've got like twenty minutes till we leave, do you want something to eat?" Crystal asked as I followed her into the kitchen.

             
"Yeah, ok," I said as I caught a glimpse of Aiden in the living room as I walked into the kitchen, behind Crystal. He looked engrossed in something on TV, typical guy.

             
"So
, what do you want, t
oast, cereal, pancakes?"

             
"Pancakes?"
I asked in shock. If you really knew Crystal, you would know that cooking wasn't her thing.

             
"Yes, packet ones. You heat them up," she said as we both started to laugh.

             
"Oh ok, yeah I'll have some of those then please," I replied as I rested my bag on the floor and sat at the breakfast bar.

             
"Syrup?"
She asked as she placed the pancakes on a plate and put them into the microwave.

             
"Yup," I said as I picked up some brochures off of the side.

             
"What are these?" I asked as I flicked through the pages.

             
"Vacation
br
ochures, what do they look like?" S
he replied, sarcastically.

             
"Duh, I mean
,
why are they here?"

             
"My mom, she gave us them weeks ago, talking about going away but I doubt that'll ever happen," she grunted as she took the
plate out of the microwave and began to drizzle on the golden syrup.

             
"You never know," I said in a bid to be positive.

             
She was right
though,
her mom made a lot of promises that she just couldn't stick to, most of the time. She wasn't a bad person, she just got so caught up in work that she genuinely seemed to forget everything else but I guess Crystal didn't see it quite as simple as that.

             
"Right here you go, what do you want to drink?" She asked as she placed the syrup and pancakes in front of me.

             
My mouth began to water as the aroma filled my nose. Before I knew it the brochures were thrown back down and I had a fork in my hand and a mouthful of pancake
s
.

             
"
Erm
, just water please.
Aren't you eating?" I asked as I continued to stuff my mouth with pancakes.

             
"I ate before you came down, I've been up since like five this morning
,
you know," she said as if I should already know.

             
"Really?
Why?"

             
"I don't know, I just couldn't sleep," she said as she placed the glass of water in front of me.

             
"Thanks. I guess you really are nervou
s."

             
The only time that she couldn't sleep was when she was nervous, this date with Cameron must have really been scaring her.

             
"You'll be fine. You're going to have a great time," I sa
id as I stuffed even more food into my mouth
.

             
"
Mmmm
yeah," she said as she looked at me as though I was an animal.

             
"What? I'm hungry," I said as we both burst out laughing.

             
"Right I'm going upstairs to get all my stuff ready, back in a bit," she said before disappearing through the door.

             
"Ok cool," I said as I ate my last piece of pancake and gulped the glass of water down.
 

             
I placed them in the sink and headed towards the living room.

             
"Hey," I said as I stood in the door way, watching Aiden play Mario cart. I loved this game.

             
"Hey," He said as he smiled at me, without looking away from the screen of course.

             
"Winning?" I asked as I sat down next to him.

             
"I was," he said with a smirk on his face.

             
"What happened?"

             
"They sent in their secret weapon to distract me," he said as I watched him fall off of the track for the second time.