My Not So Perfect Summer by Phoebe MacLeod

Author:Phoebe MacLeod [MacLeod, Phoebe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Boldwood Books

18

‘Autumn, darling. This is a surprise.’ Marc’s mother’s voice is warm down the phone. ‘How are you?’

I’m in no mood for pleasantries, so get straight to the point.

‘Chloe found Marc on YouTube,’ I tell her. Although I’m livid, a part of me is also curious to see how she’ll react. Will she try to weasel her way out of it by pretending she didn’t know? The @mrandmrslloyd comment should be more than enough to bring her to her senses if she tries.

There’s a long silence and then a sigh. ‘I warned him this might happen,’ she says.

‘How long have you known?’ My voice is dangerously quiet.

Another sigh. ‘From the beginning. He told us when you came over just before he left. He didn’t want us to be worried.’

I cast my mind back, but I can’t remember whether Marc was alone with his parents for any time during that visit. It’s not important though; it doesn’t lessen the betrayal I feel.

‘And you didn’t say anything to me because…?’ I’m still quiet. The calm before the inevitable storm. I’m so angry I’m literally trembling with rage.

‘We wanted to, but he absolutely forbade us.’

‘Why?’

‘I can hear you’re upset, Autumn, and I completely understand, but⁠—’

‘Of course I’m fucking upset, Melissa!’ I snap. ‘You let me think he was dead, when all along you knew what he was up to. In case you’ve forgotten, I’ve lost my career, my home and my partner because of this. Chloe has lost her dad. And you just sat there, watched it all happen and said nothing?’

‘It’s complicated,’ she says soothingly. ‘I tried to talk him out of it. When that didn’t work, I begged him to tell you how he was feeling and what he was planning, but he wasn’t in a good place, Autumn. I think he was depressed.’

‘He doesn’t look very bloody depressed on the video I’ve just seen. What’s he got to be depressed about anyway?’

‘Look. You and he, well, you were so very young when you fell pregnant with Chloe. It was a big thing for him to deal with. He was barely more than a child.’

‘It was pretty sodding big for me too, or doesn’t that matter?’

‘Of course it matters, but the point is that it was your decision to keep the baby,’ she says mildly.

‘That is totally unfair!’

‘Is it? You presented him with a fait accompli, Autumn. By the time he knew you were pregnant, you’d already decided to keep the baby. What was he supposed to do?’

‘That’s not fair either. Yes, I chose to keep Chloe after I saw her on the scan, but I made it perfectly clear at the time that I didn’t expect anything from him. You know that, Melissa. He could have walked away with a clear conscience, but he made the choice to stick by us. I didn’t force him to do anything.’

‘Yes, but can’t you see that he was way too young to be taking on so much responsibility? He stuck by you because he

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