Page 21 of The Winning Ticket

I take a little longer to follow her, relieved that she doesn’t know about the spooning. It's best to leave that between Jake and myself.

Not that there is anything between Jake and I…

The next morning, my mother enters my bedroom without knocking, a basket of clothes in her arms, which she places on the floor.

“Still asleep? Come on, lazy bones. Up you get.” She stands at the end of my bed with her hands on her hips, shaking her head at me while I peek out from under my blanket.

“It’s not even 8 am on a Saturday, Mum,” I groan after looking at the clock.

“Prime time for getting stuff done.” She starts busying herself by putting my folded clothes away and banging drawers and cupboard doors.

“Oh my god, Mum! Stop putting my stuff away. I can do that… When I get up… Which isn’t now,” I say, sitting up and pushing my hair out of my face.

“Oh darling, I’m just so happy to have you home. Besides, you know how I am about the washing machine. I’ll do all your laundry while you’re here.” She continues putting clothes away, and I grit my teeth and flop back down, fighting the urge to explode.

Once she’s finished, she doesn’t leave like I’d hoped; instead, she sits on my bed and smiles at me.

“What?” I ask, wishing she’d leave so I could go back to sleep.

“How are you doing?”

“Seriously? Mum, I was asleep. I’ve been working all week, this is my first chance to sleep in since everything happened. Can we have this conversation another time?” I have lost all patience now, but she doesn’t move.

“Well, I’m just worried about you, darling. You’ve refused to talk to me about what happened and what your plans are.”

I can tell she isn’t going to leave without me giving her something, so I begrudgingly sit up again.

“Mum, I’m fine. You know me, I’ve never been too big on talking about my feelings. And as for my plans, I’m looking for somewhere to live. It’s just going to take a little while,” I say, rubbing my face to try and wake up properly.

“I don’t think you are fine, though, Bri. You’ve just been humiliated by that man, and you’re walking around like nothing even happened,” she replies, and I stare at her for a moment.

“Thanks, Mum, way to kick me while I’m down.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Well, I don’t know what you want me to say. Yes, Richard humiliated me. But what good is it going to do me crying about it? He chose to end our relationship without a second thought or discussing it with me, so I’m not going to give it a second thought either.” I cross my arms, and Mum pats my leg.

“That doesn’t seem very healthy.”

“Leave the poor girl alone, Clara. If she doesn’t want to discuss it, that’s her choice.” Dad appears at the door, and I’ve never been so relieved to see him in my life.

“Just because that’s how you deal with problems does not mean I want that for our daughter,” Mum snaps at him, and he shakes his head.

“She is twenty-four years old. She is an adult, so it is up to her to manage her problems. Stop hovering.”

He stomps off, and I stare after him, thrown by the fact that he’s stood up to her for a change. Mum is clearly thinking the same thing, blinking a few times before shaking her head.

“You two are so similar.” She sighs and gets to her feet, collecting the laundry basket on her way out and closing the door behind her.

I have no idea how to process that whole exchange, and all I can think about is how badly I need to find a new place to live. And fast.

10

SHE ALWAYS HAD SUCH A CRUSH ON YOU

JAKE

“Thanks so much for helping, baby. You know how hard it is for Dave to do these things around the house.” Mum follows me as I walk down the side of her house carrying a ladder.

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