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JOSIE
Once we were home, Harley left with a kiss to my temple and a promise he will be back later tonight, after his shift is finished. I feel a little lost after I’ve unpacked. I stare around the room, the walls surrounding me suddenly feeling less and less like home.
I experienced a taste of life outside Fern Grove—a very different experience to the last time I left—and I’m hungry for more.
After showering and changing into shorts and a strapless top, I head over to my family’s house. The heat is sweltering, making me feel anxious and hot.
I stroll inside. Mum is sitting on the lounge with a book in her hand, sipping wine. Sam, as usual, has headphones jammed into his ears and some sort of device in his hands. Dad is fluffing around with something that’s pulled apart and strewn across the dining table.
“Wow, look at you!” Mum’s eyebrows shoot up as she eyes me up and down. “You’re glowing!”
“Getting that D,” I hear Sam mutter, and I throw him a warning glare before moving to sit on the edge of the lounge Mum is on. We have been texting a lot. I love that we are getting close again. I missed him while I was away.
“I had a really great weekend,” I tell her.
“How lovely. Did you take your friend with you?”
“Yeah. Her friend.” Sam grins wickedly.
I send him an irritated look before facing Mum again. “Friend?”
“The one you work with?”
“Oh.” I shake my head. “No, uh, I went with Harley.”
The book in her hands crashes to the ground with a startling thump as every pair of eyes turn in my direction. Swallowing uneasily, I force a smile onto my face.
“We worked things out.”
“Worked things out?” Mum blinks.
“It was never him who did that to me. It was Brennon. You remember Brennon Michaelson?”
Sam scoffs. “How can anyone not remember that twat?”
I sneak a glance at my father, who is actually looking at me for the first time in a long time. He places the piece of metal onto the table wordlessly.
“It’s a long story, but I promise you, he isn’t the person you think he is.”
Heavy silence fills the room. My chest constricts and suddenly it feels hard to breathe in here. Every part of my body feels tense and I furiously pick at my nail polish. There will be hardly any left at the rate I’m scratching at it.
“Oh,” Mum eventually says. “So, what, you’re together, then?”
I nod.
“About time,” Sam comments.
“What about Nick?” she questions, looking a little pale.
“It was never Nick who had my heart.”
A sound leaves my father and we all look over at him. His lips are pursed in a surly looking scowl.
“Something to say?” I ask, a bite in my tone.
“Looks like nothing has changed in the four years you abandoned your family,” he answers.
I suck in a sharp breath. “You know what? I’m sick of doing this with you. If you don’t want to be a part of my life anymore, then that’s fine. I’ll stop trying.”
