Page 51 of The Two Halves of My Heart

“Sure.” His response was immediate and clipped.

“Why don’t I quite believe you when you say that?” My eyes scrutinised his, watching the depths of his gaze. He broke first, turning away.

“Come on, Grace. Let’s not go there now.”

“If we’re going to live together, I think we should know where we both stand, don’t you?”

“Fine. You know how I feel about you. I know how you feel about me, and we seem to be dancing around what’s right in front of us. But that’s your call.”

“You’re putting all of this on me?” My irritation was clear.

“Do you want me to be honest or not?”

“Yes, but things aren’t always as simple as you make out, Mads.”

“Why can’t they be? That’s what I don’t get.”

“Fine. You don’t get it.” I looked at his empty bottle of beer. “You done?”

“Yeah, time to leave,” he grumbled.

How could he not see that this was far from simple?

The quick journey home passed in silence, but the tension was palpable—like a physical pulse between us. Maddison pulled up outside of my house but left the car running, his eyes pointing straight ahead with a determined glare on his face, the square of his jaw tense and unmoving.

As I left the car, the overwhelming urge to lash out at him took hold. With my grip still on the door, I bent down and took aim. “Thanks for the birthday drink.” I slammed the door on Maddison’s response and turned to the house, slamming that door behind me as well.

“Hey, hey, that’s not what I want to hear on your birthday.”

“Sorry, Mum.”

“What happened at the Rays’? Not like you to come back in a mood, or without cake.” Her voice rose in mock horror as she clocked my empty hands.

“Sorry… I went for a drink with Maddison.”

“Ahh, so that’s the reason for the door abuse.”

I walked past and flumped onto the sofa. Bob trotted through the house and hopped up to sit on my lap, realising I was now home.

“Want to talk about it?” Mum called from the kitchen.

“He asked me to move in with him,” I blurted it out, ripping the bandage off. Perhaps, the more I said it, the easier it would be to figure out the right answer. I focused on Bob, who was padding a little nest on my lap with his claws, ready to settle in for the night.

“Move in?” Mum appeared, and the worry on her face stood out a mile.

“Yeah. He’s getting his own place and thought it would be a good idea for us to move in together. What do you think?”

Mum returned with two mugs of tea. “Well, where? That’s my first question. You know how I feel about you moving away.” She handed me the mug and sat down next to me.

“We didn’t get to that part. Just the principle of the idea.”

“He’s one of your best friends. He’d be able to look after you.”

“Mum, you’re talking like I’m a damsel in need of someone to protect her.”

She gave me a pointed glare. Of course, that was how she saw me. I was her daughter, and I’d given her no reason to believe that I was capable of standing up for myself. I’d never needed to.

“Look, if it’s local and still out of the city, I can’t really complain. I’ll worry, but you’ve sacrificed moving away because of my paranoid fear over your father. I can’t keep you locked in the house for the rest of your life. As much as I’d be happy with that.” I leaned against her shoulder, suddenly feeling like I was saying goodbye to her.

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