AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Nine
Jamie
You’d think after my night shift that, I’d come home and sleep. That’s what normal people do, right? Yeah, me, not so much. Instead, I come home, change, go for a run, drink a bucket load of coffee, shower and then drive over to Mum’s. Where I proceed to sit outside for thirty minutes contemplating all the reasons this is a terrible idea and why I should go back home to bed. Clearly, they weren’t enough to convince me. Two seconds later, I’m walking up the path to my mum and dad’s— correction, my mum’s— house.
I pass a car I’ve never seen before in the drive and wonder if it belongs to the guy my mum has been seeing. I hope not because that will just tip me over the edge.
Stepping up to the front door, I reach into my bag, searching for my keys, but then I think better of it. Raising my hand to the door, I’m just about to knock, when it swings open in front of me.
“Take care now, Louise,” the guy in front of me calls down the hall, too busy looking behind him to have seen me here. As he spins back round to step out the door, he almost slams into me.
“Woah, there—” His eyes take me in, and instantly his demeanour changes. The dark threat that was present initially disappears to be replaced by a look that suggests he’s the cat that got the cream. A big smile, full of teeth, spreads over his face, and his eyes dance with excitement. “Hey, there. You must be Jamie.”
I look over his shoulder to see my mum standing at the end of the hall, worrying her bottom lip.
“That’s me, but I seem to be at a disadvantage,” I say, meeting his eyes. “‘Cause I don’t have a clue who the hell you are.” I pin my eyes on him, voice rising on the last bit and full of venom. I might not know who this guy is, but I sure as hell know a threat when I hear one.
He watches me, sidestepping past me onto the front step as I move to stand in the doorway, effectively blocking his view to my mum.
“Oh well, that’s easy, I’m a friend of your mum’s. Ain’t that right, Lou,” he says, trying to look past me without success. “I just came to check on her, you know, make sure she’s okay. Such a terrible shame what happened. Hopefully, it will all be forgotten quickly. In the meantime, I just wanted to let Lou here know that I’ve got her back.” His smile widens, and a chill passes over me. It’s not a pleasant smile filled with the warmth and concern of a friend, but sinister. A promise. A reminder. But of what, I don’t know. However, I intend to find out.
I plaster a false, overly exaggerated smile on my face. “How very lovely of you…” I pause “Sorry, I didn’t catch your name. Who did you say who were, again?”
“I didn’t,” he replies, and I can see he now realises I’m not the naive girl he had me pegged as.
“Never mind. I have a great memory for faces you know,” I say with a dismissive wave of my hand. “Anyway, I think you were just leaving, weren’t you? Or do I need to make a call?” My threat more than clear, and he knows it too. Although, I wasn’t expecting the laugh that bursts from him.
“You’re funny,” he quips, pointing a finger at me as he turns and walks to his car. Once he reaches it, opening the door, he pauses to look back at me. “You be careful now, Jamie Morgan,” he states, giving a me wink before getting in his car, backing down the drive and speeding off.
Turning back to the house, I see my mum is no longer in the hall, and I step through, closing the door behind me and go in search of her and some answers to what the hell that was all about.
Lately, I feel like I’m missing something. Dad’s being cagey and stressed more than usual, and something is clearly going on with my mum. I might be angry with her for what happened, but she’s still my mum, and no matter what, I still love her.
I find Mum in the kitchen, just finishing up stuffing some papers back into an envelope. I don’t get a good look before she shoves it into the pocket of her apron. Then the sweet smell of brownies cooking reaches my nose, making my mouth water.
Mum avoids looking at me, but I don’t miss her swiping an errant tear from her cheek as she moves to the sink where she was obviously cleaning up before her guest interrupted her.
“Mum?” She keeps her back to me, busying herself with the dishes, but I know she heard the unspoken question. I wait her out a few minutes, and when she doesn’t answer me, I move so I’m in her line of vision. “Mum?” I say again, touching her arm to stop her harried scrubbing.
She takes in a deep, calming breath before turning to look at me. “Everything is fine, Jamie,” she says, offering me a half-hearted smile that even a blind person could see right through.
“Mum, who was that guy? What did he want?” She bypasses my questions, drying her hands on the tea towel and pulling the brownies from the oven.
“I’m glad you came. How about we have a brownie and a cuppa, and you can tell me what’s been happening with you.” She takes two cups down from the cupboard and begins making tea.
This is ridiculous. “I didn’t come here to make idle chit chat, Mum. Or talk about me, for that matter. I came to get some answers, only when I turn up, I find some strange bloke coming out of the house, and you looking like you’ve seen a ghost. So, I’ll ask you again. Who was the guy and what the hell is going on?” I demand, keeping my voice low. Which is incredibly difficult given all I want to do is shout at her, shake some sense into her and get some damn answers.
Her back straightens at my harsh tone, turning to me, she says, “Who he is and what he was doing here are none of your business. And I don’t appreciate you coming into my home demanding answers to things that have nothing to do with you. I thought we raised you with more respect than that. Now, do you want tea or coffee?”
“You know what, you did raise me with more respect than that, but it appears that just recently I’m not afforded the same respect. You and Dad are keeping stuff from me. Besides, you have little room to talk about respect given the lack of it you’ve shown Dad recently. Come on, Mum, you screwed another man. Where’s the respect in that?”
My mum slams the plate she’s holding on the counter, snapping it in two.
“Enough! I made a mistake. Are you telling me you’ve never made a mistake? I find that incredibly hard to believe.”
“Of course, I’ve made mistakes, but I never cheated on anyone. I sure as shit know how it feels to be cheated on though. Or did you forget? I don’t remember you telling me that Josh made a mistake. In fact, I remember you calling him every name under the sun and threatening to cut his balls off. Top marks for the hypocrisy, Mum.”
She winces at the mention of Josh, but I can’t believe she’s using the ‘it was a mistake’ line after what happened to me. What that bastard did to me.
