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“Can’t I check in on my baby sister every once in a while?”
“Well sure, but haven’t you got, like, work to go to tonight or something?”
“Nope, not tonight.”
“Does that mean you’re staying over?” She looks so hopeful that guilt riddles my chest.
When I don’t answer straight away, she plasters on a fake smile, grabs my hand and drags me towards the kitchen. “Let me make you a cuppa. Mum went shopping yesterday so we’ve got food in. Are you hungry?” she asks me.
“No. I’m good, but a cup of tea would be nice.”
“Sure.” She busies herself making tea whilst I take a look around the kitchen. It’s really clean, and despite the stale smell of cigarette smoke, the whole kitchen and living room is a lot tidier than it ever was when I was living here.
“The place looks… tidy,” I say, because whilst it’s certainly clean, it’s hardly the Ritz.
“Yeah, Mum’s been a bit better about tidying up after herself,” Lena explains, wrinkling her nose. I watch her as she scratches the tip, removing some of the facemask as she does so.
“Howarethings with mum?” I ask tentatively.
Lena hands me a mug of tea with plenty of milk and a dash of sugar, just the way I like it. “Good…” she hesitates, chewing on her lip.
“What, Lena?”
“Nothing.”
“Lena!” I warn.
She sighs and rolls her eyes. “She’s kinda sobered up a bit.”
“Sobered up a bit? You say that like it’s not a good thing?”
“I mean, she’s sobered upa lot.”
“Did she get a visit from the social, is that it?” I ask, putting Mum’s sudden change of attitude down to the fact that someone must’ve threatened to take Lena away.
“No, she didn’t. I swear one day she was pissed and lying on the sofa out of her head and the next she’s cooking homemade meals and cleaning the house up.”
“Fuck,” I say, as shocked as Lena is.
“Don’t get me wrong, she’s been a bit rough the last couple weeks. I’m guessing her body needed to adjust, but I swear it’s like she’s a new woman.”
“Yeah, I’ll believe that when I see it.” My eyes trail to the coffee table and the half-dozen cigarette butts sitting in an ashtray.
Lena follows my gaze. “She still smokes but believe it or not she’s got a nicotine patch on her arm and has cut down from thirty to twenty cigarettes a day.”
My mouth falls open in shock and Lena laughs. “I know, right? She’s a changed woman. It’s weird.”
The front door opens, and Mum calls out Lena’s name. It’s a strange feeling hearing the brightness in her voice and not the usual husky slurred speech from smoking and drinking too much. “Lena, who are you talking—?”
“Hey, Mum,” I say as she steps into the kitchen, surprise written across her face.
“Penelope, you’re home.”
“I just came to see Lena,” I explain.Not you.
She nods, understanding what I don’t say, but rather than coming back with a nasty retort like I expect her too, she steps into the living room and places her coat and bag on the sofa. “Are you staying for dinner? I was going to make a stir-fry.”
Lena’s eyes widen as she looks between me and our Mum. Clearly she was expecting a different reaction to my appearance too. I swallow, a tight feeling in my chest forming. “No, I can’t. I really was just popping in for a quick visit and a cup of tea,” I say.
