Page 24 of Worth the Wait
No good ever came of watching someone live a life you weren’t in.
He exhaled, defeated. “Fine. Be there in five. But I’m warning you, I look like shit, too.”
“That’s alright. Pretty sure Mr Harper’s straight.”
“Sounds like a challenge.”
“Prick,”she chuckled fondly.“Hurry up.”
Freddie ended the call, dropped the phone onto the duvet, and let his head fall back onto the pillow for exactly three seconds.
Then he sighed again, louder this time, rolled out of bed, and started pulling on yesterday’s jeans.
So much for Monday being his Sunday.
By the time Freddie pulled up outside his sister’s place, Tilly was already bouncing up and down at the garden gate as if she’d had a double espresso for breakfast, and as soon as he stepped out of the car, she launched herself at him with all the force of a pint-sized rocket.
“Uncle Freddie!”
He caught her with a grunt, nearly slipping on the wet pavement as he hoisted her up. “Jesus, Tills. You been mainlining sugar again?”
She giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck, and he pressed a kiss to her temple before carrying her towards the house.
Piper’s place was organised chaos at the best of times. A rented terrace with a wonky fence and a front garden half-covered in broken chalk drawings. It wasn’t much, but she made it feel lived in. Home. Somehow. She’d been doing it on her own for years now. Tilly’s dad was technically still “around,” but only in the loosest, most disappointing sense of the word. He popped up now and then with promises he never kept. Birthdays missed, school plays skipped, the occasional half-hearted video call that ended with Tilly more confused than comforted. Heliked theideaof being a dad more than the actual work of it.
Ryan’s dad was another story altogether.
A mystery, even to those closest to her. Piper had never said much, and Freddie had learned not to push. But he had his suspicions. The father was a married man, someone she’d met while cleaning his house during a stretch of rough months, picking up cash-in-hand jobs to keep the lights on. Whether it had started as a misguided affair or something murkier, something she hadn’t had the power to say no to, he didn’t know. Maybeshedidn’t, either. She’d never tell him. Not when she knew exactly what he’d do. Freddie had never needed much of a reason to swing first and ask questions later. Uniform or no uniform. And if Piper ever gave him a name, he’d be on his doorstep in minutes, fists clenched, ready to blow up whatever neat little life the bloke had. He didn’t care if she never asked him to. He’d do it, anyway. For her. For what that bastard had left her with. Because she was his sister. And this chaotic, complicated, full-of-noise family was all he had.
And it was mornings like this that reminded Freddie why he stuck close. Why he hadn’t left Worthbridge behind. Even when every part of him had once wanted to.
Tilly wriggled out of his arms and raced up the path shouting, “Mummy, Uncle Freddie’s here!”
Freddie followed with a quiet smile, bracing for whatever level of chaos Piper had achieved before eight a.m. A trail of socks and crayons led to the living room where Piper, in a fluffy onesie, was attempting to zip up a reading folder with her teeth, cradle a wailing baby with one arm, and wedge a water bottle into a side pocket using her chin.
“You’re a sight,” Freddie said, stepping in.
Piper looked up, wild-eyed, hair in a pineapple bun, dark circles under her eyes. “And you’re a fucking bellend but we move on.” She shoved Tilly’s book bag into his hands like it was a live grenade. “You need to ask the teacher what lunch is. Tilly has to pick what she wants in the morning, but I’ve no fucking clue what rotation we’re on. Chicken nugget week? Jacket potato week? Who bloody knows. And she needs her hair up. I haven’t had a second to plait it. Green bow’s around heresomewhere.”
Freddie plucked a bow from the back of her sick-stained onesie. “This one?”
Piper blew a piece of hair from her face. “You’re a lifesaver. And a wanker.”
Freddie gave a cheeky salute, tickled baby Ry-Ry’s cheek, earning a fresh burst of sobs. “Go get your coat, Tils.”
Off she darted, bare legs and all.
Freddie watched her go with a smile, then turned to his sister. “You need a nap. Or a spa day. Or to marry a millionaire.”
“I’d settle for a shower and a coffee if you can come back and give me five minutes away from this tiny screamer?” She jiggled the baby on her hip.
Freddie shoved the green bow into his pocket, slung the book bag over his shoulder. “I’ll be back after drop off.”
“Has anyone told you you’re an actual Godsend?”
“Not recently. Although I’ve made a fair few blokes scream his name.”
Piper snorted, shoving his arm with her elbow. “You’re disgusting.”
