Total pages in book: 150
Estimated words: 143633 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 718(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 479(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 143633 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 718(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 479(@300wpm)
I prayed this time it would last, and she’d settle into a life which didn’t have Scott in it, but within three weeks she seemed to be getting preoccupied, messages pinging in constantly on her phone. She always tilted the screen away from me when she opened them, so it became obvious. As much as I hated it, it had to be him. There had been no begging from Jayden in days, and he’d been keeping his distance, since his dad clearly didn’t need my help anymore.
“Don’t do it, please,” I said to Mum before I left for work on Friday evening. But my words were wasted. She was already dressed up in her Zaza’s purple dress.
“Don’t do what?” she asked, and that sealed the deal for me. Her pretend ignorance confirmed it.
I was almost out of the door when she cleared her throat in the hallway.
“Me and Trish will probably be hanging out here late tonight, so maybe you could stay with one of your work friends? You haven’t seen them in ages. Or your college ones. How about them?”
She was clutching at straws, because I hadn’t been around the pizza house gang for months now on a night out. And as for my college friends, well. I barely even knew what they did on the weekends.
“I’ll come home,” I told her. “Don’t worry, I’ll have my book on, like always. I’ll set the volume up high.”
She looked so uncomfortable it hurt.
“You’ve got work so early though…” she tried. “I’d hate to keep you up like that.”
“I’ll be fine,” I said, and left her behind.
I had ten unread messages when I left work and set off for home later that evening. All of them came with a warning.
It’s going to be loud here, love, sleep over somewhere.
Go out and have fun, Rosie, and get an early night somewhere else.
We might not hear you. It’s going to be a loud one.
On and on they went.
I didn’t reply, anger already rising as I marched up the street. I dashed up the stairs to scope out just how far the situation had gone, but when I turned my key in the lock the door stayed shut. I elbowed it, but it didn’t shift an inch.
It was bolted.
“Mum!”
The music turned up louder, and I could have burst into tears on the spot.
She was probably dancing around the living room with the guy who made her life hell. I was so enraged I could have killed him. He was that pitiful, it made me feel sick.
Another message pinged through to my phone, which almost drove me crazy. If I’d had more strength, I would have kicked my way in there.
You could head over to Jayden’s tonight, sweetheart. He’d love to see you and could make up the spare bed. Or go to Trisha’s? She’s only down the hall. x
She knew I knew Scottie was in there, but she didn’t care. She was so desperate for attention, so needy for someone to love her, that she’d rather shunt me aside than tell him goodbye.
I didn’t want to go to Jayden’s, and I didn’t want to hang out with my pizza friends, or my college friends, and I definitely didn’t want to sculk down the corridor to Trisha’s place. She’d have been in on Scott worming his way back into Mum’s heart from the very first message.
I slid to the floor with my back to the door, fighting back the tears, because I didn’t want them. I needed to be the strong one, not the hurt one. Mum would have plenty of hurt coming her way.
I put my earbuds in, but tonight books meant nothing to me. I had my eyes closed for ages, trying to focus, and must have been there for way over an hour when I felt a shadow over my face.
I tugged myself free from audio, heart suddenly racing when I saw just who it was. His tie was loose, and his hair was ruffled, and I could smell the whisky right the way down from the floor.
“Are you ok, Rosie?”
The bass was still thumping out from my apartment, but I shrugged and dropped my eyes.
He’d told me to stay away from him, so I would stick to it.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
Julian gestured to my door.
“Is he in there?”
I didn’t want to confess the obvious, so I shrugged again.
“I don’t know. She’s in there with someone.”
The man upstairs didn’t even humour my lie.
“Have you got nowhere else to go to stay away from him?”
“What does it matter? He’ll still be here in the morning.”
Julian crouched down, right in front of me.
“It matters a lot.”
I couldn’t help but crack a hurt grin.
“Yeah, sure it does. Don’t worry, I’m used to it by now.”
He looked so pissed off, I felt it in my gut.
“Is there nowhere else you can go? Nobody who’ll let you stay?”