"I've Done Twins", chapter 34
"So, Mum," Leah said, looking oddly over at the table. "How long are you planning to stay?"
"Well, I was talking to your Aunt Beth and she said that I should stay until Bub is born, but then I decided that you and Mike would need you're own space so... only a few days."
Leah's face dropped, "How many is a few?"
"Five."
Leah's jaw dropped. Mike looked at her, giving her a look that said 'Stop being fucking rude!'
"Oh, Mel, that's great! More time to spend catching up with your daughters."
"Not like that ungrateful Alex," She laughed, "He said he wouldn't come until after Bub was born."
"Can we please stop referring to my baby as 'Bub'?" Leah sighed.
"Well, it doesn't have a name," Mel said. "What else should be call it?"
"How about 'baby,'" Leah said.
"Leah, will you please help me with the dishes," Mike gritted his teeth at her. He stood up, gathered the plates and lead Leah away into the kitchen. Mike dropped the dishes in the sink and turned to face Leah. "What the hell's your problem?" He hissed.
"Problem? I don't have a problem. Only the fact my mother is gonna be here for the next five days!"
"I thought you liked your mom," Mike said.
"Yeah, I do. But... you'll laugh if I tell you..."
"Tell me what?"
Leah looked away and shook her head. "Nothing."
Mike put his hand on her shoulder. Leah looked up at him sadly. "It's stupid," She said.
"Tell me anyway."
"Well, you know the saying 'All girls turn out like their mothers?" She started.
"Yeah..."
"Well, I don't want you to think I'm gonna turn out like my mum."
Mike laughed.
"HEY! You said you wouldn't laugh," She snapped.
"No, I didn't, I said I didn't care if it was stupid. And it is!"
"It's not."
"Hun, you're mom's hot," Mike said, "If you turn out like that I'm a lucky man. Besides, you'll turn out better then you're mom."
She smiled. "You know how to make a girl feel special, don't you?"
"I was always a bit of a Ladies Man."
"Hah, yeah right," Leah muttered, getting the sponge. "C'mon, let's do what we came to do."
Courtney was sitting on the couch next to Billie, when all of a sudden she gasped.
"What's wrong?" Billie asked.
"Um, Billie... My mother is gonna wanna stay with us, you realise."
"So?" Billie shrugged," I think your mom might like me."
"Yeah, but... but... she doesn't know that I've been... foolin' around and all with you... she'll wanna kill you..."
"WHAT?!" Billie shouted indignantly, "How come she didn't kill Mike?! He got Leah PREGNANT!"
"Double standards," Courtney explained. "She thinks I'm the good one, that's saving herself for marriage."
"Well...we just won't tell her..." he said, trying to sound calm. "I mean, it's no biggie. We'll be fine."
"Bill...I can't keep this from her. She's my mum. I tell her everything."
"You tell Leah everything," he said, "Why not just keep it between you and her?"
Courtney stood up and sighed, "You don't get it, do you? Leah's my best friend, but that doesn't mean my mum and I aren't close either. I tell her things that I can't tell Leah."
"What can't you tell Leah?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
When Billie came to bed, Courtney was sitting there, flicking through a black book. "What's that?" he asked.
"Leah's old diary."
Billie snatched it from her hands. "Don't read it!" He hissed, "It's supposedly private!"
"Bill, I've read Leah's diary so many times it ain't funny."
"What's the deal?" Billie sighed, "what's her big secret? I mean, I know she has a crush on T-"
"HAD!" Courtney corrected fiercely. "She had a crush on Tre."
"But what else is there?"
She sighed. "There are secrets about Leah. I'd rather not talk about them." By this point, Billie had gotten changed and started crawling into bed.
"Babe, you can tell me anything," he whispered into her ear. "I won't tell anyone. Ever."
"It's a twin thing," Courtney said simply, forcing a smile onto her face. Billie looked into the soft blue eyes he fell in love with. He knew she was hiding something. This wasn't a twin thing.
This was a fucking big thing.
"MARCO!" Tre shouted, walking around the house with a blind fold over his eyes.
"Tre, it isn't marco-polo, it's murder in the dark!" Jess shouted back, from her hiding spot behind the couch.
"But this is so hard," Tre moaned, "I can't hear a thing."
"Why not?" Jess asked.
"Well, you put up with eighteen years of extremely loud guitar, bass and drums and see how well your ears hold up!"
"Dude, I've put up with twenty-five years old extremely loud guitar, bass and drums, and my ears are fine. Now, shut up and spin around three times."
Tre rolled his eyes underneath the blind fold and spun around three times. Frankito scurried across the room while he did, trying to find a hiding place was that wasn't as obvious as his last one (which was sitting on the couch with his hands over his eyes, believing strongly in the theory that if I can't see him he can't see me).
Ramona was standing pressed up, hard, in a corner. Too afraid to move in case Tre heard her. Tre took an uneasy step forward. Towards Ramona. She held her breath. Her chest stuck out, her cheeks out like a squirrel and her lips pressed together tightly. Frankito had safetly found a new hiding spot, under the rug. Not wanting Ramona to get caught, Jess pulled off her shoe and threw it at Tre.
"HEY!" He shouted, "NOT FAIR! AGAINST THE RULES!"
"No such thing as rules," Jess started, pulling off her other shoe and tossing it at him. Ramona ran, on her tip-toes over to the couch, jumping over Frankito's lump of a body under the carpet.
Tre spun around again and started walking. He tripped over Frankito and landed with a thud on the floor.
"OW!" He yelled, "MY WRIST!"
Jess stuck her head over the couch and looked. Tre pulled off the blind fold and Frankito looked shocked.
"Sorry, Daddy," He said quietly. Tre was too busy looking at his wrist.
"Are you OK?" Jess asked, coming out from behind the couch.
"Do I look OK?" Tre snapped.
Jess ignored his snap and went over to him. She kneeled down and took his wrist in her hands.
"Does it hurt when I do this?" She bent it back slightly.
"AH! BITCH!" Tre screamed. Angrily, Jess dropped Tre's wrist, which caused a lot of pain, and stood up.
"FUCK YOU THEN! I WAS ONLY HELPING!"
"JESS!" Ramona shouted, "DAD!"
When Ramona frowned, she looked remarkably like Tre. She bent down and took his wrist in her hand. She felt it for a moment before declaring, "OK, nothing's broken."
"How do you know?" Tre asked, "You're only a kid."
"So?" Ramona smiled. "I may only be a kid but I'm smart. It's easy."
"How do you know it's not broken then?" Tre asked, tears welling in the bottom of his eyes.
"Because it feels exactly the same as it always has," Ramona said, "I've held onto your wrist and hand long enough to know if something's outta place."
Tre grinned at his precious little girl, "See? Holding Daddy's hands a good thing."
Jess smiled."I suppose we should take him to see a doctor?"
"Yeah," Ramona nodded, "I think so."
"I'll get some ice."
Tre sat in the backseat of the car while Ramona gave directions to the hospital.
"How come you know where the hospital is with so much... confidence?" Jess asked, smiling at her.
"Um, Jess, my father is Tre Cool. Biggest dick alive. I take a lot of trips to the hospital."
Tre moaned in pain as they went over a bump and his wrist bounced up on his stomach.
"Hold on, hun. We're nearly there," Jess said, looking through the mirror at him.
"Jessie, it hurts."
"Daddy?" Frankito said, looking over at him. Tre looked up, but didn't say anything. "Can we sing a song?"
"Um, not now, Kito," Tre mumbled, "On the way back."
When they got to the hospital, Tre tried to open the door for himself, but it was hard. Jess helped him out, and got Frankito out as well.
Expecting a series of questions while getting Tre into the hospital, Jess memorised everything about Tre. Name? Frank Wright. Age? Thirty-three. Contact details? Injury?
Instead, they got to the counter, a nurse looked up.
"Back again, Frank?" She smiled. Tre nodded. "What happened this time?"
"My wrist," He said.
"Again?" She gasped, "What happened?"
"Playing Murder In The Dark."
She shook her head and laughed. "Alright. C'mon, we'll get you x-rayed."
Jess stood, stunned to the spot. "How do they know you so well?" She gasped.
"I'm in here once every month for something," Tre laughed weakly. "C'mon, I need an x-ray."
Jess sat with Frankito on her lap on a plastic chair outside the x-ray room. Ramona sat around boredly. A few people came past who she knew from previous trips. Jess sort of felt sorry for her. Having Tre Cool as a dad would be awesome. But it would also suck.
"What do you think of your father?" Jess asked, looking curiously at Ramona. She looked like her father. Bright blue eyes, but dirty dark blonde hair. The same shaped face and the same smile. Ramona was a beautiful little girl.
"I love my father," Ramona said simply.
"What about when he goes on tour?"
"Eh," She shrugged, "It isn't bad. Frankito goes to live with Claudia and I go back to New York."
Jess nodded. "Must be cool having a rockstar dad."
"Sometimes. It sucks when you're trying to have a day out together and random people walk up to him and say they love him. They don't know him like I do. I really love him. I love him for who he is. Not what he is."
Jess smiled again. "You're so smart, Mona. And mature. I guess you get that from your mum?"
She half shrugged. "Dad has his smart moments. Most people think he's a big clown, y'know. He has feelings. He says really nice things and is really smart."
"Nice things?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "Such as 'I can suck my own'?"
She giggled. "No, he says... just... comforting things. Like when you have a bad dream. He'll let you stay in his room, or he'll come and check if everything is locked."
"And check under your bed," Frankito added. Ramona nodded.
"Stuff like that. Dad stuff."
Jess turned her head forward. Her nose rested on top of Frankito's head and her lips were against his mop of brown hair.
"What about your parents divorce?" Jess asked, still only curious. "You must have been mad at him then."
"Oh, no," Ramona shook her head gently. "I was sorta glad. I'd rather have divorced parents then parents that hated living together... well... hated each other, basically."
"Sorry if I'm asking stupid questions," Jess murmured, "I'm just interested to know what you guys think."
"Mona's doing all the talking," Frankito piped up.
"Shut up," Ramona snapped.
Tre came out and smiled. "It's fine. Just sprained it."
"That's good," Jess grinned.
"Just keep the ice-pack on it and the swelling will go down and everything will be fine," The doctor said. "Thanks for coming."
"Yeah, thanks," Tre muttered. He walked away, muttering, 'asshole' under his breath.
"Asshole?" Jess asked. "What'd he do?"
"He was bending my wrist back when he knew perfectly well it fucking hurt," Tre hissed. "What a fuckhead. God, I hate doctors."
"Trust me, Dad," Ramona started, "They hate you too."
Walking down the hospital hall to the front door, Tre was smiling and saying hello to nurses who knew him. They were on first name terms. Except for one stuck-up looking old nurse who called him 'Mr Wright'.
Jess quickly reached over and kissed his cheek. "Lucky your wrist was OK."
"Yeah I know," Tre grinned cheekily, "Guys can't function unless their wrists are OK."
Jess looked confused. Tre started to pump his wrist up and down in mid-air. Jess narrowed her eyes.
"Disgusting," She laughed, shoving him playfully.
3 A.M. That Morning...
"Lee."
Leah shook her head. Someone was shaking her. They shook harder, and harder. She could feel them pushing her so hard she was getting shoved up against Mike.
"Lee."
She couldn't open her eyes. They were too heavy.
"Leah Marie!"
She shot up. "What?" She asked. It was her mother. "Mum? What the hell are you doing?"
"Just testing you," She said.
"Testing?" Leah yawned. "What for?"
'When your baby is born you're gonna need to get up every three hours to feed it, love. You've gotta get ready."
Mike rolled over and moaned. "No... Tre... it's my pony..." He moaned. Leah turned and faced him, with an eyebrow raised. "My pony... Ricebubbles... Tre... No... Tre... It's mine..."
"Oh... kay..." Leah whispered slowly.
"Alright, love. Go back to sleep." Mel brushed shoulder length brown hair behind her ears and smiled. Mike was right. Leah and Courtney's mum was pretty cool. She remaind cool her whole life. Especially when the girls father died.
"Night, mum," Leah sighed, falling down onto her pillow. Mel pulled the blankets up higher on her then kissed her head.
"Night, love."
Mel walked away, and was about to shut the door. Leah swallowed her pride and quickly said, "Hey mum?"
"Hm?" Mel said, sticking her head through the door again.
"I love you."
"I love you, too, Leah, darling."
Leah smiled and nodded. She put her head back down and Mel went back to bed. Leah smiled all the way back to sleep.
Billie's eyes were glued to the TV. He quickly moved them and grabbed the quarter-empty cup of coffee.
Courtney came into the lounge room and squinted at the brightness of the TV.
"What are you doing awake?" She asked, her voice sounding husky from tiredness.
"Couldn't sleep," Billie said, sounding panicked. Courtney looked at all the mugs of coffee on the coffee table.
"Wonder why?" She asked sarcastically. She looked at Billie, messy sticking-up black hair, wide, scared green eyes, shaking hands, and chattering teeth.
"Fucking hell, Billie. What's the matter?" She came over and sat by his side. Billie started hyperventilating.
"Fuck! What's wrong?" Courtney asked, grabbing his shaking hands. She wrapped the blanket around him and rubbed his shoulders.
"The diary..." He stammered, "Leah..."
Courtney's mouth fell open. "You didn't read it? Did you?"
Billie shook his head. "I-I-I need to...k-k-know..."
He was having a panic attack over Leah. Courtney couldn't talk.
"Look, OK. I'll tell you. But you have to promise not to tell anyone."
Billie nodded. Courtney sat down, took Billie's still shaking hand and looked into his eyes.
"It started when she was fourteen..."
"Well, I was talking to your Aunt Beth and she said that I should stay until Bub is born, but then I decided that you and Mike would need you're own space so... only a few days."
Leah's face dropped, "How many is a few?"
"Five."
Leah's jaw dropped. Mike looked at her, giving her a look that said 'Stop being fucking rude!'
"Oh, Mel, that's great! More time to spend catching up with your daughters."
"Not like that ungrateful Alex," She laughed, "He said he wouldn't come until after Bub was born."
"Can we please stop referring to my baby as 'Bub'?" Leah sighed.
"Well, it doesn't have a name," Mel said. "What else should be call it?"
"How about 'baby,'" Leah said.
"Leah, will you please help me with the dishes," Mike gritted his teeth at her. He stood up, gathered the plates and lead Leah away into the kitchen. Mike dropped the dishes in the sink and turned to face Leah. "What the hell's your problem?" He hissed.
"Problem? I don't have a problem. Only the fact my mother is gonna be here for the next five days!"
"I thought you liked your mom," Mike said.
"Yeah, I do. But... you'll laugh if I tell you..."
"Tell me what?"
Leah looked away and shook her head. "Nothing."
Mike put his hand on her shoulder. Leah looked up at him sadly. "It's stupid," She said.
"Tell me anyway."
"Well, you know the saying 'All girls turn out like their mothers?" She started.
"Yeah..."
"Well, I don't want you to think I'm gonna turn out like my mum."
Mike laughed.
"HEY! You said you wouldn't laugh," She snapped.
"No, I didn't, I said I didn't care if it was stupid. And it is!"
"It's not."
"Hun, you're mom's hot," Mike said, "If you turn out like that I'm a lucky man. Besides, you'll turn out better then you're mom."
She smiled. "You know how to make a girl feel special, don't you?"
"I was always a bit of a Ladies Man."
"Hah, yeah right," Leah muttered, getting the sponge. "C'mon, let's do what we came to do."
Courtney was sitting on the couch next to Billie, when all of a sudden she gasped.
"What's wrong?" Billie asked.
"Um, Billie... My mother is gonna wanna stay with us, you realise."
"So?" Billie shrugged," I think your mom might like me."
"Yeah, but... but... she doesn't know that I've been... foolin' around and all with you... she'll wanna kill you..."
"WHAT?!" Billie shouted indignantly, "How come she didn't kill Mike?! He got Leah PREGNANT!"
"Double standards," Courtney explained. "She thinks I'm the good one, that's saving herself for marriage."
"Well...we just won't tell her..." he said, trying to sound calm. "I mean, it's no biggie. We'll be fine."
"Bill...I can't keep this from her. She's my mum. I tell her everything."
"You tell Leah everything," he said, "Why not just keep it between you and her?"
Courtney stood up and sighed, "You don't get it, do you? Leah's my best friend, but that doesn't mean my mum and I aren't close either. I tell her things that I can't tell Leah."
"What can't you tell Leah?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
When Billie came to bed, Courtney was sitting there, flicking through a black book. "What's that?" he asked.
"Leah's old diary."
Billie snatched it from her hands. "Don't read it!" He hissed, "It's supposedly private!"
"Bill, I've read Leah's diary so many times it ain't funny."
"What's the deal?" Billie sighed, "what's her big secret? I mean, I know she has a crush on T-"
"HAD!" Courtney corrected fiercely. "She had a crush on Tre."
"But what else is there?"
She sighed. "There are secrets about Leah. I'd rather not talk about them." By this point, Billie had gotten changed and started crawling into bed.
"Babe, you can tell me anything," he whispered into her ear. "I won't tell anyone. Ever."
"It's a twin thing," Courtney said simply, forcing a smile onto her face. Billie looked into the soft blue eyes he fell in love with. He knew she was hiding something. This wasn't a twin thing.
This was a fucking big thing.
"MARCO!" Tre shouted, walking around the house with a blind fold over his eyes.
"Tre, it isn't marco-polo, it's murder in the dark!" Jess shouted back, from her hiding spot behind the couch.
"But this is so hard," Tre moaned, "I can't hear a thing."
"Why not?" Jess asked.
"Well, you put up with eighteen years of extremely loud guitar, bass and drums and see how well your ears hold up!"
"Dude, I've put up with twenty-five years old extremely loud guitar, bass and drums, and my ears are fine. Now, shut up and spin around three times."
Tre rolled his eyes underneath the blind fold and spun around three times. Frankito scurried across the room while he did, trying to find a hiding place was that wasn't as obvious as his last one (which was sitting on the couch with his hands over his eyes, believing strongly in the theory that if I can't see him he can't see me).
Ramona was standing pressed up, hard, in a corner. Too afraid to move in case Tre heard her. Tre took an uneasy step forward. Towards Ramona. She held her breath. Her chest stuck out, her cheeks out like a squirrel and her lips pressed together tightly. Frankito had safetly found a new hiding spot, under the rug. Not wanting Ramona to get caught, Jess pulled off her shoe and threw it at Tre.
"HEY!" He shouted, "NOT FAIR! AGAINST THE RULES!"
"No such thing as rules," Jess started, pulling off her other shoe and tossing it at him. Ramona ran, on her tip-toes over to the couch, jumping over Frankito's lump of a body under the carpet.
Tre spun around again and started walking. He tripped over Frankito and landed with a thud on the floor.
"OW!" He yelled, "MY WRIST!"
Jess stuck her head over the couch and looked. Tre pulled off the blind fold and Frankito looked shocked.
"Sorry, Daddy," He said quietly. Tre was too busy looking at his wrist.
"Are you OK?" Jess asked, coming out from behind the couch.
"Do I look OK?" Tre snapped.
Jess ignored his snap and went over to him. She kneeled down and took his wrist in her hands.
"Does it hurt when I do this?" She bent it back slightly.
"AH! BITCH!" Tre screamed. Angrily, Jess dropped Tre's wrist, which caused a lot of pain, and stood up.
"FUCK YOU THEN! I WAS ONLY HELPING!"
"JESS!" Ramona shouted, "DAD!"
When Ramona frowned, she looked remarkably like Tre. She bent down and took his wrist in her hand. She felt it for a moment before declaring, "OK, nothing's broken."
"How do you know?" Tre asked, "You're only a kid."
"So?" Ramona smiled. "I may only be a kid but I'm smart. It's easy."
"How do you know it's not broken then?" Tre asked, tears welling in the bottom of his eyes.
"Because it feels exactly the same as it always has," Ramona said, "I've held onto your wrist and hand long enough to know if something's outta place."
Tre grinned at his precious little girl, "See? Holding Daddy's hands a good thing."
Jess smiled."I suppose we should take him to see a doctor?"
"Yeah," Ramona nodded, "I think so."
"I'll get some ice."
Tre sat in the backseat of the car while Ramona gave directions to the hospital.
"How come you know where the hospital is with so much... confidence?" Jess asked, smiling at her.
"Um, Jess, my father is Tre Cool. Biggest dick alive. I take a lot of trips to the hospital."
Tre moaned in pain as they went over a bump and his wrist bounced up on his stomach.
"Hold on, hun. We're nearly there," Jess said, looking through the mirror at him.
"Jessie, it hurts."
"Daddy?" Frankito said, looking over at him. Tre looked up, but didn't say anything. "Can we sing a song?"
"Um, not now, Kito," Tre mumbled, "On the way back."
When they got to the hospital, Tre tried to open the door for himself, but it was hard. Jess helped him out, and got Frankito out as well.
Expecting a series of questions while getting Tre into the hospital, Jess memorised everything about Tre. Name? Frank Wright. Age? Thirty-three. Contact details? Injury?
Instead, they got to the counter, a nurse looked up.
"Back again, Frank?" She smiled. Tre nodded. "What happened this time?"
"My wrist," He said.
"Again?" She gasped, "What happened?"
"Playing Murder In The Dark."
She shook her head and laughed. "Alright. C'mon, we'll get you x-rayed."
Jess stood, stunned to the spot. "How do they know you so well?" She gasped.
"I'm in here once every month for something," Tre laughed weakly. "C'mon, I need an x-ray."
Jess sat with Frankito on her lap on a plastic chair outside the x-ray room. Ramona sat around boredly. A few people came past who she knew from previous trips. Jess sort of felt sorry for her. Having Tre Cool as a dad would be awesome. But it would also suck.
"What do you think of your father?" Jess asked, looking curiously at Ramona. She looked like her father. Bright blue eyes, but dirty dark blonde hair. The same shaped face and the same smile. Ramona was a beautiful little girl.
"I love my father," Ramona said simply.
"What about when he goes on tour?"
"Eh," She shrugged, "It isn't bad. Frankito goes to live with Claudia and I go back to New York."
Jess nodded. "Must be cool having a rockstar dad."
"Sometimes. It sucks when you're trying to have a day out together and random people walk up to him and say they love him. They don't know him like I do. I really love him. I love him for who he is. Not what he is."
Jess smiled again. "You're so smart, Mona. And mature. I guess you get that from your mum?"
She half shrugged. "Dad has his smart moments. Most people think he's a big clown, y'know. He has feelings. He says really nice things and is really smart."
"Nice things?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "Such as 'I can suck my own'?"
She giggled. "No, he says... just... comforting things. Like when you have a bad dream. He'll let you stay in his room, or he'll come and check if everything is locked."
"And check under your bed," Frankito added. Ramona nodded.
"Stuff like that. Dad stuff."
Jess turned her head forward. Her nose rested on top of Frankito's head and her lips were against his mop of brown hair.
"What about your parents divorce?" Jess asked, still only curious. "You must have been mad at him then."
"Oh, no," Ramona shook her head gently. "I was sorta glad. I'd rather have divorced parents then parents that hated living together... well... hated each other, basically."
"Sorry if I'm asking stupid questions," Jess murmured, "I'm just interested to know what you guys think."
"Mona's doing all the talking," Frankito piped up.
"Shut up," Ramona snapped.
Tre came out and smiled. "It's fine. Just sprained it."
"That's good," Jess grinned.
"Just keep the ice-pack on it and the swelling will go down and everything will be fine," The doctor said. "Thanks for coming."
"Yeah, thanks," Tre muttered. He walked away, muttering, 'asshole' under his breath.
"Asshole?" Jess asked. "What'd he do?"
"He was bending my wrist back when he knew perfectly well it fucking hurt," Tre hissed. "What a fuckhead. God, I hate doctors."
"Trust me, Dad," Ramona started, "They hate you too."
Walking down the hospital hall to the front door, Tre was smiling and saying hello to nurses who knew him. They were on first name terms. Except for one stuck-up looking old nurse who called him 'Mr Wright'.
Jess quickly reached over and kissed his cheek. "Lucky your wrist was OK."
"Yeah I know," Tre grinned cheekily, "Guys can't function unless their wrists are OK."
Jess looked confused. Tre started to pump his wrist up and down in mid-air. Jess narrowed her eyes.
"Disgusting," She laughed, shoving him playfully.
3 A.M. That Morning...
"Lee."
Leah shook her head. Someone was shaking her. They shook harder, and harder. She could feel them pushing her so hard she was getting shoved up against Mike.
"Lee."
She couldn't open her eyes. They were too heavy.
"Leah Marie!"
She shot up. "What?" She asked. It was her mother. "Mum? What the hell are you doing?"
"Just testing you," She said.
"Testing?" Leah yawned. "What for?"
'When your baby is born you're gonna need to get up every three hours to feed it, love. You've gotta get ready."
Mike rolled over and moaned. "No... Tre... it's my pony..." He moaned. Leah turned and faced him, with an eyebrow raised. "My pony... Ricebubbles... Tre... No... Tre... It's mine..."
"Oh... kay..." Leah whispered slowly.
"Alright, love. Go back to sleep." Mel brushed shoulder length brown hair behind her ears and smiled. Mike was right. Leah and Courtney's mum was pretty cool. She remaind cool her whole life. Especially when the girls father died.
"Night, mum," Leah sighed, falling down onto her pillow. Mel pulled the blankets up higher on her then kissed her head.
"Night, love."
Mel walked away, and was about to shut the door. Leah swallowed her pride and quickly said, "Hey mum?"
"Hm?" Mel said, sticking her head through the door again.
"I love you."
"I love you, too, Leah, darling."
Leah smiled and nodded. She put her head back down and Mel went back to bed. Leah smiled all the way back to sleep.
Billie's eyes were glued to the TV. He quickly moved them and grabbed the quarter-empty cup of coffee.
Courtney came into the lounge room and squinted at the brightness of the TV.
"What are you doing awake?" She asked, her voice sounding husky from tiredness.
"Couldn't sleep," Billie said, sounding panicked. Courtney looked at all the mugs of coffee on the coffee table.
"Wonder why?" She asked sarcastically. She looked at Billie, messy sticking-up black hair, wide, scared green eyes, shaking hands, and chattering teeth.
"Fucking hell, Billie. What's the matter?" She came over and sat by his side. Billie started hyperventilating.
"Fuck! What's wrong?" Courtney asked, grabbing his shaking hands. She wrapped the blanket around him and rubbed his shoulders.
"The diary..." He stammered, "Leah..."
Courtney's mouth fell open. "You didn't read it? Did you?"
Billie shook his head. "I-I-I need to...k-k-know..."
He was having a panic attack over Leah. Courtney couldn't talk.
"Look, OK. I'll tell you. But you have to promise not to tell anyone."
Billie nodded. Courtney sat down, took Billie's still shaking hand and looked into his eyes.
"It started when she was fourteen..."
