Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 116759 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116759 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
“Dad has moved into one of the cottages in their village. I was to spend Thursday night and Saturday with him and then Friday and Sunday with Mum at the house. Juno came up on Friday too. Dad was very, very drunk for the most part. He rarely ever drank before. A whisky at special occasions. Maybe share a pint with the locals during the village on Field Day. It’s like a day of celebration. There are activities and a parade and all that stuff. Anyway, suffice it to say Dad is not dealing with the separation at all well and has turned into a very angry drunk who said nasty things about Mum and said something so cutting about Juno, I almost punched him.”
He’d called Juno a flaky waste of space just like Mum. I knew he was drunk, and I hoped when he was sober, he’d feel awful about it. I was glad Juno wasn’t there to hear him speak of her like that.
“Sebastian.” Lily tangled her fingers in mine, squeezing them. I laced my fingers through hers, seeking her warmth, her comfort.
“Mum, on the other hand, veered between talking shit about Dad and discussing her busy social calendar. Oh, and there were the boxes of my father’s stuff she was throwing out without telling him, so I had to rescue those. To top it all off, Juno discovered Mum’s on a dating app. When that became a discussion, I heard more about my mother’s sexual needs than any son ever, ever bloody well needs to hear.
“The pièce de résistance was Saturday evening. We heard loud rock music blaring from out on the estate and discovered my father there. He was rip-roaring drunk again, he had one of those old boom boxes I didn’t even know still existed, blaring Led Zeppelin, and he was digging up all the beetroot. Beetroot he insisted he was the one who wanted to plant so it was his to take. Juno and I stood there while they got into a physical tug of war over fucking beetroot. The shrieking and yelling … I’m surprised they didn’t hear them all the way to the village. Christ, it’s like they’re caricatures of a separated couple. And anytime Juno and I try to press for a real answer as to why they separated, my dad just shouts and stomps around and Mum zips up tight like a fucking airlock bag.” I looked down at Lily. “You don’t understand … these are two people who were so mild-mannered … and, like, unusually content with life. It would be like your parents suddenly turning around and telling you they were getting a divorce.”
Her fingers tightened around mine. “I am so sorry. I think parents have this bad habit of assuming because their kids are grown up that their actions and words don’t affect us the same way. But it’s a bond unlike any, and you can’t change that drastically on someone you love without it hurting them. What you need to keep in mind is that they were and still are, deep down, the parents you love and remember, and so for them to change like this … they must be in so much pain.
“Whatever happened between them … well, things always have a way of pushing their way to the surface. Like a splinter beneath the skin. And it’ll hurt like hell while it’s in there, but when it comes out, when the truth comes out, there might be some pain, but there will also be relief. The truth will come out, Sebastian. It just takes time.”
A swell of emotion tightened around my chest, crushing almost in its intensity. My voice was gruff when I eventually replied, “I was in a shit mood before I got here. But you and your family … you made it better. Thanks for inviting me.”
“You’re welcome anytime, Thorne.”
We sat in silence for a while, and it wasn’t until the bus arrived that I finally let go of her hand.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
LILY
I’d known the final year of my MA would be brutal, especially considering I needed to maintain my grades to keep my spot on my postgraduate, but I hadn’t realized how time-consuming it would be. The girls and I found ourselves relying heavily on January and Aiysha to keep the podcast going. Thankfully, audiences were loving my sister’s nutty dating antics and Sierra was still dating enough to share some of her own funny stories.
Maddie had started seeing someone six weeks ago and it had developed into a serious relationship. His name was Shaun. He was a six-foot-two, rugby-playing Scot who seemed so reserved, I’d been shocked at the pairing. However, the more I got to know him, the more his sly sense of humor came out. Maddie always did love someone who could make her laugh. I’d marvel at how she was managing to juggle it all, but then I was somehow still managing to see Sebastian every other day and text and talk with him daily.