Page 92 of Mark

Dad glances at Mum, who looks away. “Don’t get mad,” she warns. Which means I’ll most likely get mad. “Esther mentioned how badly she feels that we’ve barely spent any time with you or together as a family. She made some good points, which got us thinking. It’s not good for you to be alone whilst we are all together.”

“I’m not alone,” I point out. “I have Nanna, and I’ve made friends.”

“But those friends aren’t family,” Dad points out. “We want us to do something today, together. Maybe this can be the first step of mending the tension between everyone.”

“What tension?” Mark asks, dropping down beside me in the vacant chair. I gape at the pile of food on his plate. There’s enough to feed a family of six on there. He leans over, pressing a kiss to my cheek before bringing his lips to my ear. “Stop sneaking out on me.”

“I didn’t sneak. It’s not my problem you can’t hear anything over your snoring,” I whisper.

“I do not snore,” he snaps, rearing back.

“Funny, because there’s a video on my phone that says otherwise.”

“You recorded me when I was sleeping?” he asks, then turns to my parents. “She has no boundaries, your daughter.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “What are you doing here, Mark?”

The flesh between his eyebrows creases. “I’m on holiday.”

I point to the table. “I mean here. At this table. Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”

“No. Not really,” he replies, then digs into his food. “Continue with your discussion.”

I roll my eyes and turn to my parents. My dad is trying to hide his amusement, but my mum is watching Mark like he might pull a knife out and stab one of us.

Always judgemental.

“We were just discussing about spending time together as a family,” Dad explains.

I drop my toast back onto my plate. “Dad, I would love to spend some time with you and Mum, but only if it’s you two,” I reply.

“Honey, your sister is family too,” Dad replies softly.

“So you don’t want to spend time with me?” I question. “You only want to spend time with me if Esther is there?”

“Of course not,” Mum denies. “We just want our girls back together. We want to fix this between you.”

I push my plate away, having lost my appetite. Mark growls low in his throat, dragging the plate over to him. “We don’t waste food.”

“Have at it,” I mutter before turning to Mum. “I know you don’t want to believe this, but Esther manipulated you.”

Mum’s eyes widen. “Why on earth would she do that? If you want the drama to stop, you need to stop creating it.”

I sigh, expecting that reaction. I want to keep the peace. I am far too exhausted to be arguing. Mark, however, doesn’t have the same issue. “Freya is right. Why you automatically assume it’s her causing the issues is honestly baffling to me. You can’t really be that blind to your other daughter’s attitude.”

“This doesn’t concern you,” Mum snarls. “You do nothing but make the situation worse.”

“Why? Because I stand up for Freya instead of Esther? As far as I can see, you have a daughter who has done nothing but try to avoid drama. Some might state she does it for herself, but I reckon she does it so she doesn’t upset you two. She loves you. But your other daughter makes it hard for her. I’ve witnessed how catty Esther can be. I’ve seen her manipulate all of you. And watched her smile whilst you laid into Freya.”

“Son, maybe you should leave until you’ve calmed down,” Dad warns.

“I am calm, and I am not your son,” he declares calmly. “My dad would never pick sides with his children. Esther came up to our table last night. She is so desperate to try and get Freya to react, she will do just about anything. That includes forcing Freya to spend time with you all. She’s got no one to bully if Freya isn’t there.”

Mum meets my gaze. “Is this true?”

“Yes,” I breathe out. “She told me I was being ungrateful, that you guys didn’t pay for my ticket for me to spend time with other people. She used you two to get me to do what she wanted.”

“We will talk to Esther,” she assures me.

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