Six Months Later

The night of the party we'd agreed not to tell Mum about Ashley's sudden appearance, and I guess, agreed not to talk about any of it. For his part, our father had obeyed our instructions and skipped town, leaving the explosive fallout in our hands.

Over the last six months a lot has happened... And yet it feels like nothing's changed.

I should start with Trish and Rouge, they're an official item now, Mum took the news well, I think it was the fact that Rouge explained she still liked guys, I think Mum could comprehend it a bit better. They haven't told Trish's parents yet, but I can't blame them from what I hear, it seems like it's at Trish's insistence, Rouge is ready to rip them to shreds if they so much as scowl at her. Otherwise, they're much like they were before, except I catch Rouge smiling to herself every now and again, didn't take me long to realise that's when she was thinking of Trish.

Jasper's been working more, but his company's giving him paid paternity leave when the baby comes, which is great for him. I think our brief conflict with Ashley has made him want to be dad of the year for the next hundred years. Minnie's only about a month away from giving birth, so excitement and nervousness are the flavours of their household. Mum's spending most of her time at theirs now, she was disappointed that the wedding wasn't before the birth, but Minnie was adamant that she wouldn't walk down the aisle pregnant.

My plan with Anya, Jessie, and Skye? Unexpectedly successful. Skye's actually living with them now, her and Trish came clean about everything, it was very heartfelt apparently, so, no awkwardness there thankfully. I did go out of my way to apologise to her for manipulating her life so much, she wasn't exactly happy, but her thoughts were 'all's well that ends well.' It's a weekly ritual for all of us to meet at the Free Ride each Saturday... Well... Almost all of us.

I'd be lying if I said I haven't thought about Jenny the last few months. It took me a while to wrap my head around it, the whole half-sister thing. I've talked with Rouge about that bit at least, skirting around the paternal situation. We agreed that it isn't really Jenny's fault that she was sired by a waste of space, but it doesn't make us family either. The result of this is that I haven't really spoken to her, I only see her briefly for drama, and even then it's in passing. There's a part of me that wants to forget we're sisters, and another that wants to make sure she's doing okay, but the perpetual conflict means I don't end up doing either. Rob and her are apparently going steady, taking it slow despite their display at the party. Him and Rouge still occasionally joke about how bad their date was, luckily he's not the bitter type.

Of course, since the original timeframe of us looking after Ruby had run up, she is, of course, still here. Less of a furry egg, now more of a full loaf of bread, still barks at the door though. Mum's okay with leaving her here while she goes to Jasper's nowadays, especially since... Recent developments.

Okay, I can't hold off the biggest development any further. Camille moved into Jasper's old room. That's right, now me and Elise both have our parents under this roof. After a while it became obvious she wouldn't be able to find anywhere close enough for Elise to stay at school, so my Mum offered the old room. Took forever to clear out the old boxes, but it means Elise gets to stay with me, which is more than I could ever hope for. She's spoken to William once or twice, mostly about getting her clothes and such, but it's been pretty amicable, for what it's worth, he really does seem to be trying.

As for Elise and I? Well, I thought, when I said 'I love you' to her that I couldn't mean it any more than I did then. I was wrong. She's been my rock, I don't know how I could have gotten through all the Ashley brain-fuckery without her. Sometimes, when I'm alone, I feel myself welling up with tears, just because I miss her so much, and it makes me happy that she's there. Apparently I've become sappy in the last six months, but I mean it. It's not all been smooth sailing, but she's my co-captain.

That's of course, without mentioning our sex life, and wow, has that gone from strength to strength. We agreed to call the bet a draw, which meant neither of us got our fantasies, but then we both had made them up on the spot, so it didn't feel like much of a loss... Especially when we then decided to do them both. I'd love to talk about how it felt to fuck Elise with a strap-on while she wore a cheerleader outfit, but then I'd have to go into all the spicy details from the last six months. Lubricant, food, toys, dirty talk, outfits, we've been working our way through as much as we can think of. Of course, just as often, it's slow, and tender, and sweet, and I can just stare into her eyes and remember all the things I love about her.

It's after such an act that I find myself now, naked in bed with Elise, when the question she asks me breaks my mind.

"Can you repeat that?" I request, trying to grapple with the words I just heard.

She smiles at my reaction and stares into my eyes unflinchingly. "Do you want to move in together?" She repeats.

"I mean, don't we already?" I point out.

"You know what I mean." She giggles. "I want a place that's ours, not just a room, somewhere I can cook you food, and play you music, and cuddle in front of the TV. I know we don't have the money yet, but we graduate soon, and then we can get jobs and find a place that's close and... You know... Have a life together."

I've been thinking about the future too. There's kind of a joke online that you never end up with your first girlfriend, which I found myself getting pissed off at. See, I've come to a conclusion, I'm never letting this girl go.

"I'd love to." I answer, unable to contain the joy on my face. "But I thought you wanted to go to university?"

Elise scowls at the reminder. "That was Papa's decision, not mine, I don't want his dream for the future, I want mine." She explains, cuddling into me. "I want a house, and a dog... I want Sunday afternoon naps, and oversized jumpers... I want my wife, a kid or two, and a simple life."

I look down to my girlfriend, we're always in sync nowadays, and I can tell because that's the same dream I have.

"Oh, I see, I assume that'd make you Mrs Elise Cray?" I joke, kissing her forehead, to which she looks at me with an expression that tells me I'm very much mistaken.

"Erm, no. I think you'll find that makes you Mrs Scarlet Monroe." She decides for me with a grin. Damn, that does sound better. Truthfully, I think I prefer it to my name now... How quick can we have a wedding?

In all seriousness, I know what she's really saying. 'I'm committed to you.' And I couldn't be happier to hear it. See, with school winding down, everyone's looking forward, wondering what they do next. Now I know. My mind's already abuzz with job options, and potential locations. Study leave starts soon, which for most students means no classes until exams... But the only exam I have is for Science, Drama's graded on coursework and our performance last month, and PE's exam is done early.

Basically, this means that, apart from my one test, I'm free to start job-hunting. The only problem is, where? There's the Free Ride, but I can't imagine the pay would be high enough to let us move any time soon. I could see if I could get a job at Honey's, but Trish says it's mostly just part-timers. The real answer is obvious, it's just an issue of pride, it feels like a cop-out, like cheating my way in, but if it means I get to live with Elise... I'll take it.

It's time to catch up with Jasper.