Page 65 of The Longshot

“Chelsie!” Their voices are full of excitement as they soothingly rub along my back and usher me to take a step inside. “Look at you! Oh my gosh, your hair! You look amazing.” Mum gushes as she runs her hand along my face. Mum never skips a beat. “How was the train ride? I hope it wasn’t too bad.”

“Oh, you know…” I bypass her compliment and pull back, shrugging off my jacket in the process. “It was long, boring, but you know what? I’m here now, and that’s all that matters.”

Mum smiles with rosy blush cheeks. “That you are, and we’re so happy to see you, aren’t we, Mark?” She glances up at my dad for reassurance.

“But of course.” He gleams with that proud father look in his deep eyes. “We’re always happy to see you, Chels. Your Mum and I know how tough it is to take time out of your busy school schedule. So, we both really appreciate you coming all this way. We do.”

I can feel the heat rushing towards my cheeks at the mention of school, but I fight it. This is the first time I’ve seen my parents since the night of the incident, and it's the first time I’ve had to play along with the facade of my double life face-to-face.

My trip out to visit them was on the spur of the moment. I knew I wanted to see them both before their vow renewal, but I’d constantly found excuses to put it off since we’d last spoken. Yet after last night, after that date with Gary, now seemed like the perfect time to flee town.

It’s like this is what I’ve resorted to.

Running.

Escaping.

Hiding.

I hate it.

But what I hate more is the reason why I ran, combined with this lingering feeling of regret that I can’t seem to shake.

The truth is, I like him. I like him so much it’s absolutely terrifying to me. It’s scary to think just how quickly things are progressing between the two of us. It’s like we’ve skipped past the awkward phase of getting to know one another and jumped right into the meat and potatoes of it all.

Never before have things felt so natural with someone, that first kiss inclusive, and because of that, I felt like the only rational thing to do was stop.

Stop before all the rationality could leave my mind because, in that moment, Gary became the only obvious answer, yet caused me to formulate the most daunting of questions.

Am I ready for this?

Another relationship?

Do I have it in me to let someone else in again?

Do I even want to?

I don’t know.

I don’t know a single answer to any of these spiraling questions. All I know is that I’m on a vicious merry-go-round that I can’t seem to get off of.

I’ve already spent the entire train ride over here thinking about Gary, and I’ll likely spend the whole ride back doing the same thing. Running me in circles. Running back the moment I pulled away and ruined everything.

Fuck.

I don’t know where to go from here—where we go from here. Is there even another destination?

I shake my head. I can’t do this right now. I came to Hull to escape Crawley. Clear my mind, and for the next twenty-four hours, I intend to do just that, which means no more thoughts of Gary. No more daydreaming about his lips, his touch, and especially no more self-pitying. I made my bed, I made my choice, now I need to lie in it.

“Chelsie?” Dad’s voice breaks me from my escalating thoughts—it’s a relief I can’t thank him enough for. “You alright there, love?”

I tuck some loose strands of hair behind my ears, and I flash them both a smile. “Yeah, of course. I’m just… happy to see you guys.” I decide as I swallow deeply. “I'm happy to be home.”

“Awh.” Mum pulls me back into her arms. “And we’re happy to have you home, sweetheart, but no more standing here. Come on in. We’ve got something to show you.” She guides me towards the living room that’s filled with an abundance of wedding decor.

My eyes widen in surprise. “What the heck is all this?”

“Let’s just say...” Dad places a hand on my shoulder. “We’ve got a lot we need your help with.”

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