Chapters (60)
- Cover
- Books by Sheryl Browne
- Dedication
- KARLA
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Epilogue
- The Affair
- Hear more from Sheryl
- Books by Sheryl Browne
- A Letter from Sheryl
- The Babysitter
- The Second Wife
- Acknowledgements
Thus my unscheduled visit to Mum’s. I need to talk to her. I really need to talk to my father. I can’t punch him in the mouth for his constant bullying of Jason, but it’s time I start sticking up for my husband.
I just hope to God I still have one.
Eighteen
KARLA
‘Good Lord, you’re absolutely drenched.’ Mum looks me over, her eyebrows raised in concern as I let myself through the front door, herding Holly and Josh in before me. ‘What have you been doing, trying to drown yourself?’
‘It’s a thought.’ I smile wanly.
‘Karla? Everything all right, sweetheart?’ Mum asks worriedly.
‘Holly thumped Nathan Miller in the mouth,’ Josh supplies excitedly.
‘Did she indeed?’ Mum gives him an unimpressed look.
‘But only because he was picking on me,’ Josh adds gravely.
Mum arches an eyebrow in Holly’s direction. ‘Is this true, Holly?’
Holly nods, and shrugs guiltily. ‘He made him break his glasses, so…’
‘She smacked him in the gob,’ Josh finishes, clearly still awestruck. ‘Pow! She was totally awesome. The headmistress told her off though, so Mum brought us here for some apple pie as a treat.’
‘Not a treat, twit!’ Holly rolls her eyes in despair, and then turns her best beguiling gaze towards Mum. ‘Because we’ve had a really bad day.’
‘Ah, I see,’ Mum says, as I stand there, dripping rain all over the carpet and willing myself not to cry in front of the children. ‘In which case, you shall have some. But upstairs first. Grab some towels from the airing cupboard and give your hair a good rub. Both of you – go on. And then into the lounge and watch some TV while I talk to your mum.’
Ushering them in the direction of the stairs, she turns back to me. ‘I take it it’s not Holly hitting some little bully you’re looking devastated about?’ she asks shrewdly.
Breathing in hard, I shake my head, pull my phone from my pocket, select my texts and hand it to her.
A frown crossing her face, Mum reads the cryptic text Jason eventually sent in response to mine: Need some space. Don’t wait up for me. About the financial backing, by the way, it’s not happening. Your father way exceeded my expectations.
That was it. No further contact, and his phone’s been going to voicemail since. I have no idea where he is. How he is. What happened between him and my father. I can only assume he went through Jason’s accounts and turned him down.
Mum’s frown deepens. ‘Oh no.’ She closes her eyes, a swallow sliding down her throat, then, ‘That bloody man,’ she seethes. ‘What on earth is he up to now?’
Her eyes are fraught with worry as she looks back at me. ‘I take it you two have argued again?’