Chapter 37: Chapter 37

Two weeks later

"I had a good time Trish, I really did." Ivory smiles at me, her eyes lighting up in my direction. We're finishing packing off our belongings in the boot of Tobias' car and I give my suitcase a little shove before turning towards her. The crazed look in her eye has disappeared, she's back to talking sense and back to being the Ivory we all love and adore.

"I did too. It's nice to have my best friend back," I smile at her, pulling her in for a hug. Behind us, Tobias emerges from the holiday home door, a backpack swung over his shoulder. His posture is relaxed and I've never seen him look so content. It's an entirely different image to the one I witnessed two weeks ago.

"Taking this trip is the best thing we've done in a long time." I say to both Ivory and Tobias. I pull away from her and Tobias lifts his head up, giving me a small smile. Butterflies flutter in my stomach as I smile back at him.

"It sure is but I'm excited to go back home. I'm going slightly mad in the countryside . . . Yesterday I started talking to the sheep." Tobias laughs, shaking his head. Ivory and I giggle before pulling open the car door and sliding inside. Her phone buzzes and I watch her from the corner of my eye as she glances down at the screen before choosing to ignore it. The smile fades away and instead her eyes fill up with a sadness before it's quickly masked over. I frown slightly but choose to push it aside as I pull over my seatbelt.

"Ready girls?" Tobias says, sitting into the drivers seat and turning the key in the engine. I turn towards Ivory and she nods, tucking her hair behind her ears. She breathes in deeply, glancing outside the window at our holiday home for the last time.

"Yes, I'm ready to go back."

"Me too." I chime in.

"It's been refreshing, right Ivory?" Tobias says, glancing at her from the drivers mirror. His eyes narrow slightly and I know he's waiting to analyse her reaction. The past two weeks have definitely been an emotional rollercoaster. When Ivory was faced with the decision to choose between Ben and the drug business or her family, she choose her family. That didn't make it any less painful for her to cut Ben out of her life. Endless tears, takeaway binges and ice cream pints later, Tobias and I decided to take her out of town for a while.

"Yep, very. I'm looking forward to not hearing you two in the bedroom every single night." Ivory says, mimicking throwing up. I gasp loudly before laughing, my cheeks burning bright red. In the drivers seat, Tobias chuckles under his breath, glancing at me in his mirror. He gives me a flirty wink and I feel my stomach twist in knots and my body begin to heat up.

"Sorry," I respond sheepishly at her, wishing the ground would open up and swallow me whole. The truth is, Tobias and I can't get enough of each other. There's always a flirty comment here, a touch there that could be slightly inappropriate for anyone catching sight of us. I always knew Tobias would be good in bed but I definitely underestimated how good. My cheeks begin to heat up further at the thought of him and I lift my hood up over my head, sinking lower in my seat.

"Don't apologise Sugar, it's a beautiful thing." Tobias smirks, shifting in his seat.

"It's not a beautiful thing when I can hear my brother at it." Ivory chimes in, her voice laced with disgust. I groan loudly and turn to give Ivory and Tobias a deathly stare.

"Pleeeease can we stop talking about this."

"The sooner the better." Ivory laughs, noticing my uncomfortable expression and beetroot red cheeks.

*****

I press the call button on my laptop and shift on the sofa, wrapping a blanket around my body. It rings for a few seconds before Dad answers the call, the image of him filling my laptop screen. He's sat in his office chair, dressed in a sleek black suit. His hair is scraped back and he definitely looks healthier. I smile at the sight of him —

"Hey Dad, you look handsome."

He breaks out into a smile however it doesn't quite reach his eyes. It hasn't done since Leroy's death.

"Thank you sweetheart. How are you? Have you been taking care of yourself?" Dad asks me. I nod my head and answer with the same response every time we call each other.

"Yes Dad. The house is clean, the cupboards are full, my stomach is well fed and I'm happy."

He chuckles quietly, already knowing that would be my response. I smile and snuggle further into the sofa, glancing over my laptop to look at Tobias who's scrolling through his phone. He's lying opposite me, one arm resting behind his head to prop it up. He glances up for a second to catch me watching him and gives me a small smile. I smile back at him, a warm feeling settling inside my chest.

It feels like being home.

"How is work going?" I ask Dad, turning my attention back to my laptop.

"Very well. I'm days away from signing a major deal with a company. This could be huge Trish." Dad says, excitement lining his voice.

"Congratulations, I'm proud of you. I hope it goes well." I tell him. Beside me, Tobias sits up and slides over to me, getting in frame of the camera.

"Hey Mr Lockwood. Congrats on the deal." He says, giving Dad a little wave.

I think Dad is beginning to like Tobias more than he likes me. His eyes practically widen and he sits up straighter, looking pleased with himself.

"Thanks Tobias. You've been taking care of my little girl well I hope?"

"Always." Tobias grins handsomely before looking up at me with his dark chocolate eyes. My insides melt in a pool and I bite down on my lower lip to stop myself from grinning like a love sick puppy.

"I look toward to walking you down the aisle soon honey." Dad jokes with me, a humorous glint in his eyes. I roll mine at his comment —

"Dad! I turn nineteen in a few weeks! I'm still a little young for marriage, don't you think?" I laugh, shaking my head at him.

"I don't see what's wrong with marriage if you know you've found the one." Dad shrugs, a coy smile on his lips.

"I agree Mr Lockwood. Why wait?" Tobias smirks, agreeing with my father. I lightly slap his chest, shaking my head at the pair of them.

"No, we're way too young."

"Never say never sweetheart."

"Yeah Sugar, never say never." Tobias winks. If he's terrified at the idea of marriage which I thought he would be, he doesn't show it in the slightest. If anything, he seems eager and excited by the conversation. The warm feeling in my chest only intensifies as we continue on chatting to my Dad, him and Tobias laughing as if they've been friends forever.