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Chapter Sixteen
Evie
Mothers are huddled in their little playground gangs, chatting away, while we all wait for the kids to be let out of class. Me? I stand alone, arms crossed over my chest. I’ve never clicked with anyone in the playground. You’d think cliques would stop when you leave school, but the parents are just as bad, judging and gossiping about anyone who’s not like them. I used to be jealous, wishing I had someone to talk dribble with for ten minutes or so until the bell rang, but it didn’t take long to realise they weren’t the kind of people I wanted to talk with.
There’s two minutes till the bell is due to ring, and I’m hoping the dark, heavy rainclouds looming above us hold off until we make it home. It was sunny when we left this morning, so I didn’t think to pick up an umbrella.
“Evie?”
A woman I vaguely recognise comes to stand beside me, and I give her a tight smile.
“We met briefly at the clubhouse the other day,” she explains.
“Oh! Hi.”
I brace myself for another warning to stay away from Psycho, or Louis, as I call him, but it doesn’t come.
“What year is your boy in?”
“Year two.”
“Mine is in year three. They grow up so fast, don’t they? I remember dropping him off on his first day at nursery like it was last week.”
“I know what you mean. Thomas asked me for a motorcycle the other day, thinking he was old enough to actually ride one, and delusional enough to believe I’d actually buy him one.”
Nodding, she laughs. “Yeah. One thing about being around the guys, little boys look up to them and think they’re grown like them. Wait till Psycho brings him around a mini crosser. Your boy will love it, but you’ll spend every second riddled with anxiety, hoping the damn thing breaks, and not your boy’s bones.”
I vividly imagine her scenario and shudder. Maybe I should talk with Louis and lay down some rules where Thomas and anything with an engine is concerned.
“That’s not happening,” I say.
The thought has crossed my mind that one day I’ll wake up, and Louis will have bought him some kind of minibike. I definitely need to speak with him.
“How did you find your first time at the club?” she asks.
“It wasn’t what I was expecting.”
“No? How was it different?”
“Everyone was nice,” I admit, choosing not to gossip about the woman in the bathroom. “I didn’t think I’d be able to relax there, but I’m glad Louis showed us around.”
“I forget he has a birth name. He’s always been Psycho to me.”
“How long have you known him?”
“A couple of years. I tend to stay away from him. Not that there’s anything wrong with him,” she’s quick to add. “I just mean, he’s a little unapproachable.”
I’m starting to see my relationship with Louis is vastly different to everyone else’s, and I hide my joy at the thought of Louis belonging to me, while they get Psycho.
The bell rings and the doors fly open with teachers leading their classes out.
“There’s my kid,” she says, pointing to a door farther up the school.
I point Thomas out and gush, “He’s mine,” even though she probably saw him around the club the other day.
His teacher sees me waving to him and lets him run over.
“I should get this one home. It was nice talking to you.” Just then, a big drop of rain hits the top of my head.
