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Back The Library
Chapters (57)
  1. Cover
  2. THE LIBRARY
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. 31
  37. 32
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. 35
  41. 36
  42. 37
  43. 38
  44. 39
  45. 40
  46. 41
  47. 42
  48. 43
  49. 44
  50. 45
  51. 46
  52. 47
  53. EPILOGUE
  54. Questions for your Book Club
  55. Acknowledgements
  56. About the Author
  57. Become an Aria Addict

I fussed over the lamb while Maggie made herself a cup of tea and a bottle of formula for Tyrion. ‘Come on. Out with it, Tom, it would be far better if you said what’s on your mind. Let the anger out. It does no good to bottle things up.’

I looked up at her and she handed me the lamb’s bottle. ‘Thanks,’ I said. She was right about me being angry, it was like that diagram on the indigestion advert having something acidic bubbling inside me all the time. But it was too awkward being instructed to have a go at someone especially when they were expecting it. I concentrated on the liquid in the bottle.

‘I know I hurt you. And I’m truly sorry but I can’t change what happened.’

Why was she always so reasonable? ‘I assumed River was dead,’ I said. Tyrion bleated for his bottle.

‘I know. I wasn’t sure how to tell you that he’d been taken away from me because I was an alcoholic.’

It was strange to hear her say that. I would never really be able to see her in the same group as my dad but she was. It seemed there was no particular type for who became addicted to stuff. ‘You could have said. I wouldn’t have minded.’ She raised her eyebrows, which said plenty. ‘Okay, maybe I would have minded but it would have been better than finding out like I did.’ We both looked at the kitchen table like it was to blame.

‘I know that must have been horrible for you. You see I wasn’t thinking straight. The letter was a bit of a shock and I’d left in such a hurry.’

For the first time I thought what the letter had meant for Maggie. Her son didn’t want to meet her. She’d reached out to him and he’d flatly refused. My anger disappeared like someone popping a balloon. I’d been too caught up in how I felt. Poor Maggie. Whatever she’d done, she was a good person and I didn’t like to see the sadness in her eyes. You didn’t get stories like this on that soppy Davina McCall programme. That was full of happy ever afters played out for the camera. This was real life, where real people hurt each other.

‘It’s a terrible thing to lose people you love from your life. The pain is the same however it happens and regardless of who is to blame,’ she said.

She was right but, for me and Maggie, things weren’t going to instantly go back to how they were. I tipped the bottle and Tyrion guzzled the formula down, his tail lashing about wildly. Maybe I’d stick to animals.

42

MAGGIE