Page 149 of Mark

“I have a date. And if she’s not going to go over there and get laid, it doesn’t mean I should miss out.”

“I’m fine,” I yell, getting to my feet. I don’t want to hear them arguing. “Nanna, you can go meet your date. Mum, I’m sure you have places you need to be.”

“I don’t. I want to spend time with my daughter.”

“Don’t you have that late dinner with the Henrys today?”

Her eyes widen. “Oh no, I’m going to be late.”

“You won’t if you leave now. If I need to talk, I will call.”

“Are you sure?” Mum asks, getting to her feet.

I kiss her cheek. “Of course. I appreciate you coming here. It means more than you know.”

Nanna kisses my cheek next as we move towards the door. “We will see you in a couple of weeks.”

“A couple of weeks?” I question.

“Yes, it’s your birthday, remember.”

Oh God, it completely slipped my mind. “Oh crap.”

She shakes her head. “Go get the boy back.”

“Love you both.”

“We love you too, sweetie. Now go get showered,” Mum orders.

I close the door behind me and stare at my best friend. She looks just as shaken as I do. “That was seriously weird and disturbing.”

She can say that again. My mum was nice.Nice. I shudder at the reminder.

“Want to watch a horror movie and order takeout?” I ask.

She throws herself down on the sofa. “Fuck yes. I need something to make me laugh after that display of horror.”

“Chinese? Or pizza?”

“Chinese. Duh,” she replies.

I go to head into my bedroom to grab my phone, but then stop in the hallway and turn back to my friend. “That did just happen right? I’m not passed out drunk and asleep.”

“Oh no, it really happened. I’ll be having nightmares for a week so this horror movie had better be good enough to make them go away.”

My nose scrunches at her words. “We’re so weird. Normally people play a happy movie after a horror movie.”

She shudders, grabbing the throw blanket. “None of them witnessedthat.”

She’s right.

“Maybe two horror movies then.”

She throws a pillow in my direction. “Then feed me because I am starving.”

I head into the bedroom, picking up my phone before dropping down on the mattress.

He didn’t betray me.

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