The Wish by Alex Brown

Author:Alex Brown [Brown, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers
Published: 2018-03-19T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Half a hour later, and it seemed that Myles had forgotten all about bringing back the bottle of Prosecco; he was now having a game of darts with Mack and all his army mates over from the base in Market Briar.

‘So, how are things with you and Sam now?’ Jude asked.

‘Pretty bad, to be honest, Jude. He just seems incapable of getting it.’ Chrissie shook her head.

‘Getting what?’

‘The whole thing. You saw how he was the other night. Leaving Holly on her own and then going to the pub. It’s immature. Why can’t he just take some proper responsibility? Why is it always down to me?’

‘I don’t know, Chrissie. But you know he won’t have done it on purpose, just to annoy you.’

‘Hmm, maybe. But I’m the one who has to deal with the fallout. She begged me and then shouted and then sulked for at least an hour this evening to force me to cancel the babysitter that I had booked. Telling me she’s, “not a baby and Dad trusts me so why don’t you?” Until I caved in and thought, maybe she has a point. But it’s hard, bloody hard … I lost count of the times I was left at home on my own as a kid, and sometimes for a whole night. Mum would go out at teatime for “just a few” and still not be home by breakfast time the following morning. So I would just come to school and try to forget about it.’

‘Oh, Chrissie. I never knew,’ Jude said, shaking her head. ‘Of course, I knew that your mum was an alcoholic, but not back then, not when we were kids.’

‘That’s because I didn’t want you to know. Being friends with you at school was a good thing in my life, and I never wanted that spoilt. Ever wonder why we never went to my house to hang out? I didn’t know if Mum would be slurring her words and I’d feel embarrassed. And your dad is so lovely, it was better at your house.’ Jude squeezed her friend’s hand. ‘But, Holly isn’t me, she’s right … she isn’t a baby. So I cancelled the babysitter and left Holly instructions to call me immediately if she needed to.’

‘Well done. I’m sure Holly will be fine, and we’re not going to be out for very long. And she’ll call if she isn’t and you can keep in contact by text. She’s going to push the boundaries. I guess that’s teenagers for you,’ Jude said, pleased to see a chink of a change. She was sure that if Chrissie could relax a little and ease up on Holly, then Holly would soon feel a lot happier.

‘Is it though? You know, Holly and I have always clashed, but now that Sam is back it’s like she blames me for everything. It’s all my fault he’s living at Dolly’s cottage. I must have driven him away. He can do no wrong as far as Holly is concerned.

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