Skye wriggles in her auntie’s arms and grips onto her short brown hair.
“How are things with Danielle?”
Nina releases a sigh. “They’re okay. The whole argument kind of put things into perspective for me. I haven’t spoken to Mum since I left on Christmas Day. I don’t really think I have anything to say to her.”
“Do you need the flat back?”
Her brows pinch. “What? No.”
“Okay,” I say with relief.
“I just need to work on things with Danielle. And myself.”
My lips twist to the side. “We all need to work on ourselves.”
“Yeah…” She trails off.
My eyes water at the way Nina looks at Skye. Almost like she’s seeing her for the first time without the influence of my mother breathing down her neck.
“I don’t want us to end up like Mum,” she murmurs.
“What do you mean?”
“I know we’ve never been super close.” She adjusts Skye in her arms. “But I don’t want us to be like her. For us to have a relationship like we do with her.”
I clear my throat. “Me neither.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry, too.”
“For what?”
“For how we were to each other. It wasn’t fair.”
“Sibling relationships, huh?”
I laugh softly. “Yeah.”
“I’d like to see you both more,” she murmurs. “Make an effort because I know I’ll regret not seeing my niece grow up and supporting my only sister.”
My heart swells as I nod frantically. “I’d love that. Skye would love that.”
Nina’s eyes soften as she smiles. “You’re a great mum, Maya.”
“Trying to be,” I snort.
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Deflect. It’s true. You’re a better mum than ours will ever be.”
“I’ll make sure I never end up like that woman, and we’ve always deserved better.”
Nina’s eyes soften. “Yeah, I guess we have.”
My phone lights up,and I see the time, 10PM on New Year’s Eve.
