the book tour

♥︎ 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑒

°˖✧✿✧˖° lia °˖✧✿✧˖°

I could hear voices in the bedroom so rubbed my eyes and rolled over. Kennedy was in there, giggling and I could hear Annie too. I sat up slightly, being conscious of my headache. Both of them were looking right at me and I smiled.
"Hi," I said, my throat was quite sore.
"Hiya," Annie chuckled. I smiled and laid back down, closing my eyes but staying awake. The bed dipped beside me and Kennedy leaned over, her cheeky grin on her face.
"Hi baby," I muttered, lifting my hand to caress her cheek.
"How do you feel?"
"My head hurts but I want to shower," I told her. It was truth. My belly felt okay again but I just needed some food and to freshen up.
"There's a shower in the ensuite. Are you hungry?" She helped me sit up and I nodded, sighing. I probably looked a right state.
"Yes," I told her, laughing slightly.
"Okay, go jump in the shower, we'll order room service and then we can chill here," she told me. I nodded and got up. She'd already laid out an outfit for me and a towel on the bed- like she knew I'd need to shower. I smiled and kissed her forehead as I walked past.

In the shower, I thought about the last few days. Kennedy had been the most amazing and supportive girlfriend throughout it all. I don't remember the last time I was that ill. I have faint memories of Addie bossing me about the last few days and faint memories of arguements with her about work but in all of it, Kennedy was by my side and I couldn't be more grateful. She was my love and she proved that! I knew she wanted to go and see her dad today and I was excited for it but I think she said she didn't want me to, which upset me. Kennedy has told me all about her dad, she talks about him where she can but sometimes it gets a little too hard for her. My parents lived in London and were the sweetest, oldest couple you'll see. They were both in their late 60s, living their best lives - tennis clubs, wine, golf, trips to the seaside with the other older people! They were so sociable and loved to tell everyone who their dauughter was. I missed them but we were seeing them on the tour- in fact, we were staying with them for a few days whilst we do different book shops around london. Obviously we were going to picadilly waterstones for a meet and greet and god, I was terrified for that one- the biggest book store in Europe! It made Kennedy upset sometimes, thinking about her dad because he was slowly slipping away, she had so many lovely memories of him and she told me them of course but at the same time, in the last month and a half of living with him, she saw a whole different side to him and with her trauma, it was quite hard for her to grasp. Nevertheless, I wanted to meet him. He seemed like a man, so full of life and laughter!

Once I got out of the shower, I saw Kennedy curled up in Annie's arms, watching tiktoks together and I smiled at their cuteness.
"Food is on its way," Kennedy told me, yawning slightly.
"Alright, what did you get?"
"What do you think she got us?" Annie chuckled, Kennedy smiled and blushed and I rolled my eyes, knowing immediately. Pizza. I got dressed and crawled up the bed beside Kennedy, she smiled at me sweetly and reached to hold my hand. I smiled and wrapped my arm around her, pulling her into me. She put her head on my chest and carried on watching Annie's phone.
"Thank you for helping me, love," I whispered to her, kissing her head.
"It okay," she whispered back, cuddling further into me.

An hour and a half later, we were pulling up to her dad's care home. I'd managed to convince Kennedy I was well enough to come out and she was excited to see her dad. We walked in, hand in hand and Annie was in front of us, signing us in.
"How is he today?" She asked the nurse, whose name was Rosie.
"Really good, he's been the life of the party for the last few days!"
"That's great, in his room?"
"He is indeed, you know where it is?"
"We do indeed," Annie smiled widely, heading in that direction. "Thank you!" We followed Annie through the corridors. The carehome was lovely. It had a beautiful vibe. Annie stopped outside a room and knocked softly. We heard a cheery "come in!" from the other side so she pushed it open.

"Oh my darling Annabelle!" He instantly shreiked. I heard him before I saw him but it put an instant smile on my face. His arms wrapped around Annie and she hugged him back. He let go of her, kissing her cheek sloppily and then turning to Kennedy. "You get more and more grown up everytime you come and see me," he chuckled, cupping her cheeks and giving her a kiss.
"Daddd, I am an adult," she giggled and wrapped her arms around him.
"You'll always be my baby," he whispered in her ear, hugging her close. I smiled at the sweet interaction. "And who is this?" he asked, beaming ear to ear and looking me up and down.
"Dad, this is Lia Emory, my girlfriend," Kennedy said, smiling at me.
"You're girlfriend?" he smirked, wiggling his eyebrows and pulled me into a hug. We all laughed.
"I'm Freddy but you can call me Dad, darling. I hope you're looking after my girl well," he said, shaking my hand.
"I sure am, thank you," I giggled and kissed his cheek.
"Now, now girls, come sit." He waved to his bedroom but it was quiet small- not many seats. He sat in his big chair and Annie offered me the desk chair, she sat on the bed and I pulled Kennedy onto my lap. She smiled and put her arm around my neck.

Half an hour later, we were wandering through the park, all four of us.
"It's such a delightful day," Freddy stated, hands behind his back, head up. He was a real gentleman. He wore pants and a shirt and waistcoat as well as his best shoes. I felt quite underdressed in my jeans! Kennedy had a nice, flowery dress on but Annie was wearing jeans and a croptop. "Are we near that cafe, the one I took you to when you were both little girls?" He asked, looking around across the canal.
"We are, do you want to go Dad?" Annie asked.
"Yes, I think that would be lovely, don't you girls?" He smiled at us widely and we all nodded. He was a delightful man.