My heart hammers in my chest because I know she was probably bitching about us, and it fills me with relief that I wasn’t there to witness it.
“Do I even wanna know?”
Nina shakes her head. “Then she was rude to Danielle, and then Danielle left, and I couldn’t find her. And when I did, she lectured me about how I let Mum walk all over me, and how I allowed her to talk about you and my niece. That I’m blinded by her, and maybe I am.”
I purse my lips. “You still want to believe she’s a good mum,” I say truthfully. “And I learnt a long time ago that she’s not. I understand why you still cling to her because she’s our mother, but she’s never been good to us, Nina. Never.”
“You were always her favourite,” Nina comments as she turns her head towards me.
I pull back like I’ve been slapped. “What? Are you kidding? I’ve never been Mum’s favourite. She’s always despised me, and even more so when I had Skye.”
“Not true.”
“Completely true.”
Nina looks back to Skye for a brief second.
“Is that what this is about?” I shuffle closer to her.
“I just don’t understand why she’s not like other mums.”
I raise my shoulders to my ears before dropping them with a long exhale. “Some people aren’t born to be mothers. Her priorities are elsewhere, and ever since dad broke her heart, she doesn’t care about who she hurts in the process.”
“I’m sorry,” Nina says again.
“For what?”
“For being a total bitch and not helping you out when you needed it.”
“You gave us a home,” I respond. “And I’ll forever be grateful for that. But I was trying my best, and I had no one, nothing, and upsetting you was the last thing I wanted.”
Nina turns to look at me. “Looks like you have everything in order.”
“Barely.”
“Are you with Finn?”
I pause before I respond. “Yes.”
She looks back to Skye. “Can I hold her?”
“Of course.”
The moment I watch Nina lean down to take Skye in her arms, I admire the sight. “She’s gotten so big,” she says with a soft laugh.
“Yeah, she has.”
“How was your Christmas?”
I hold my tongue before I blurt it was the best Christmas I’ve ever had. I don’t think she needs to hear that right now.
“It was good.” I smile. “We had lots of fun.”
“Here?”
I shake my head. “Finn’s parents.”
“Oh—”
