“I ain’t your mate.”
“Okay, then, Mason. I might not be your mate, and I know I’m nothing important to you, but you need to understand that you only have one mum.”
“Duh.” He rolls his eyes again.
“Well, when she’s gone, that’s it. Think about it. If something were to happen and she wasn’t around, would you want the way you’re treating her now to be the last thing you remember?”
He suddenly looks sullen, and I feel like a grade-A prick. He stands, making his way across to where the bikes are parked. I take the opportunity to follow him and try to find something that interests him. A way in. He’s leaning against the wall, kicking the dirt under his feet. He looks up, and it’s the first time since he has been here that he looks conflicted.
“That yours?” he asks, nodding to my bike.
“Yeah, sure is. You like her?” He nods and grins, the first genuine smile I’ve seen all day.
“You wanna sit on her?”
“Can I?” There’s a twinkle in his eye.
“Of course.”
He walks over to me, handing me his phone, and I place it in my pocket, lifting him onto the seat and holding him in place.
“Erm, can you . . .” He suddenly sounds nervous, so I give him a moment. “Could you rev it?”
I reach in, taking the keys out of my pocket, and lean over to place them in the ignition.
“You see this here?” I ask, showing him the throttle. “If you rev that.” He looks at me with wide eyes, excitement mixed with panic. “It’s in neutral, so it’s not going anywhere. Go on.” I encourage, nodding. He pulls on the throttle, smiling broadly as the roar of the engine comes to life.
“Now, that’s cool,” he says, letting go of the throttle. I lift him off the bike, putting him back to the floor and he circles it, running his hand over the chrome.
“Maybe we can get you one when you're older, mate.” I wink at him.
“Nah, mum and dad would never let me.” I notice that he doesn’t pull me up on calling him mate this time, feelingconfident that we’ve made progress in such a short period of time. I look up and catch Bella watching us, tentatively. A warm smile playing on her lips.
He tries to put the kickstand down. “Leave that to me,” I say, putting my fist out for him to bump, and when he does, I inwardly congratulate myself. We make our way up to where his mum and Noah are sitting. He throws his arms around his mum, and she initially freezes, mouthing ‘what the fuck’ before embracing him.
“Sorry, mum,” he mutters into her side and she kisses his head.
“Nothing to be sorry about,” she sighs into him.
He releases her and sits down next to his brother, who’s showing him a board game that we brought early that day.
“How?” she whispers to me.
I wink, “Call me the child whisperer.”
She bursts out laughing and shakes her head, taking a seat with the boys.
Chapter Eighteen
Bella
I watch in awe as my boys settle into this new way of life. It’s been a few weeks of them visiting now, and it’s only gone from strength to strength. That first visitation, I worried that Mason would never accept me again, that his view of me had been tainted by both Liam and Brandy. Watching him bond with Clay over motorcycles and football has been the highlight of my weekends, they chat animatedly. Clay, being a Man City supporter and my boy being an Arsenal fan, did not initially go down well, so when the rival clubs met, I expected cold shoulders, but they laughed, taunting each other over every goal, it was heart-warming. His dad was never interested in football, so watching him bond with Clay filled me with joy. Their newfound relationship had helped him accept me again.
“Yessss!” screams Mason, and I look up to find him jumping on the sofa in front of the television. Clay’s head is in his handsas Arsenal score yet another goal and are now on top. “We love you, Arsenal! We do! We love you, Arsenal,” Liam chants.
“Mason,” I say sternly, “sofas are for you to sit on. We’re guests here, remember.”
He puts his hands up as he jumps back to sit on his bum. “Soz, Mum,” he shouts.
