Chapter Eight
Laura
‘Laura, sorry to ring you at work, but has your mum been in touch?’
‘No, I haven’t spoken to her since last night,’ Laura said, her worst fears realised. ‘She’s gone back to him hasn’t she?’ She didn’t want the answer, but her stomach had been unsettled all morning.
‘I found a note on my bed, but I hoped she would call you,’ Theresa said.
Laura’s voice cracked like a dry riverbed. ‘I haven’t heard a thing.’
‘Her note said she would be in touch soon.’
They were empty condolences. ‘He nearly killed her Theresa. If it weren’t for her pure stubbornness, mum would be in hospital right now. Instead, instead she is choosing him yet again!’
‘She has never had a choice where your father was concerned.’
Incensed that Theresa never lost her temper, Laura bit down on her tongue. ‘She has a choice! She just doesn’t love us enough, that’s all, because if she did then she wouldn’t even think about going back to that monster.’ Her muscles tensed against the cold metal of the phone. There was nothing but white noise rushing around her brain.
The vein in her neck throbbed compulsively.
‘Your mum loves you don’t ever lose sight of that. You know what your dad is capable of, the mind games he plays.’
‘Does she love me Theresa? I’m not so sure. This isn’t the first time she has chosen him over me. Sometimes, I don’t know why I even bother to care, I really don’t!’
