Splash

by Charli Howard

  “Is Angela here?” he asked, looking behind me into the house. His voice sounded low and rough, like he’d smoked hundreds of cigarettes. Unfortunately for me, he smelled like them too.

  “Mum!” I yelled up the stairs, not taking my eyes off him. His arms were tanned and covered in green and blue faded tattoos – a lady in a hula skirt and an anchor.

  “You must be Milly,” he said.

  “Molly,” I replied, although I don’t think he was listening.

  I heard Mum bounce down the stairs. She appeared behind me, letting out a gasp.

  “Matt!” she gasped excitedly. “You made it!”

  She pushed past me as if I wasn’t there and gave him a huge hug, reaching high on to her tiptoes and throwing her arms round his shoulders. He glanced down at me over her blonde head.

  “I’ve missed you, babe,” he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

  “I wasn’t sure you’d show up! Come and see everyone,” she said, and brushed past me, leading him by the arm into the kitchen.

  “I wouldn’t go in there—” I started, but, as usual, Mum didn’t listen.

  Chloe’s mum was still crying in the kitchen, blowing her nose loudly. Nan was rubbing her back, saying “there, there”, which didn’t seem that helpful in the grand scheme of things.

  Nan looked up at Mum as they walked into the room. All of a sudden her face dropped, as though she’d seen a ghost.

  “What the hell is he doing here?!” Nan said fiercely.

  I’d never heard her sound like that before. She sounded livid.

  Chloe’s mum stopped crying for a second and looked up. We all found ourselves gawping at the big, hairy giant Mum was latched on to. He was so tall, his head almost hit the kitchen ceiling.

  “Gosh, look at me, making a huge fool of myself,” Chloe’s mum said, trying to break the silence and dabbing her eyes with a tissue. “Look at the time, Chloe. We’ve kept Carol far too long. We should probably leave you all to it.”

  She stood up and gave Nan a kiss on the cheek, thanking her. Then they scurried out of the kitchen like two little mice, leaving us all staring at one another, not knowing where to look or what to say. Nan was still glaring at Matt angrily.

  Chloe glanced over her shoulder as she was leaving, as if she was trying to tell me something. There was a look of guilt and sadness across her face, but I looked away. As much as I felt sorry for her, I was still mad at the things she’d said and how she’d almost ruined my special day.

  Nan had a face like thunder. She shut the kitchen door so none of my friends in the garden could hear.

  “Jack!” Nan yelled to Grandad, who’d been hiding away in the living room all afternoon. “Get in here!”

  Grandad hobbled in a few moments later.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, then glanced up at the giant. Like Nan, his face changed suddenly when he saw Matt.

  “Dad! You remember—” Mum began, but Grandad interrupted her.

  “Remember? Of course I do!” Grandad said angrily. “The guy you decided to run off with and abandon Molly for? How could I possibly forget?”

  I didn’t know what to say. I felt numb. And then I felt a huge pang of hate filling my body and rushing throughout my veins.

  I knew Mum had left with a man when I was little, but I had no idea it had been with this werewolf. Suddenly any anger I felt towards Chloe seemed insignificant. He was the reason I never knew my mum properly. He was the man who stole my mum away from me. He was the man who’d ruined my life.

  “Nice to see you too, Jack,” he said, like he wasn’t bothered by Grandad’s reaction. I felt my blood boiling.

  “It’s Molly’s birthday, Angela!” Nan said angrily, her voice rising. “Why have you invited him here today of all days?”

  “Oh, come on. It’s not her real birthday,” Mum said, rolling her eyes. “You’re overreacting once again. And as I organised the party, I think I’m entitled to invite whoever I want.”

  I didn’t understand why she was being like this. Mum had promised me this was going to be the best birthday party to make up for all the others she’d missed. It was like she’d forgotten how special it was supposed to be. She’d made it all about her.

  “I want him out,” Grandad snapped. “Now. What the hell are you playing at, Angela?”

  “He’s a different person to who he once was,” Mum said, moving her body closer towards him protectively. “He’s got a proper job now. Haven’t you, Matt?”

  Matt grunted like an ape.

  “Congratulations,” Grandad said, though he obviously didn’t mean it. “You’ve finally got a proper job in, what – your late thirties?” He turned to Mum. “You destroyed Molly’s life when you ran off with him, abandoning her like that.”

  “Please stop ruining Molly’s day,” Nan begged, looking across at everyone. “Please, Matt – just leave.”

  Mum looked up at Matt and grabbed his hand.

  “If he goes, I go,” she said defiantly.

  We all stared at her in disbelief. I couldn’t understand why Mum was being so hurtful. Why was she taking his side? Wasn’t I enough? I thought she’d come back for me!

  “Then go!” Grandad snapped. “I’ve truly had enough of you, Angela. You think the whole world revolves around you.”

  My heart began beating faster and faster. She couldn’t go – not now. Not on my unbirthday. Not when we’d started getting to know each other. And not when my swimming contest was just around the corner.

  I don’t know why I stuck up for her, but the idea of losing her again was too upsetting.

  “Please, Grandad,” I pleaded, grabbing his arm. “Don’t make her leave. Let Matt stay, if that’s what Mum wants.”

  Grandad’s eyes widened as he looked down at me. I knew I’d put him in an awkward position. But I also knew he’d take my side.

  “Come on, Dad,” Mum begged. “Just give him a chance, at least.”

  And as I looked at Mum, I only wished she cared about me the same way she did Matt.

  17

  Grandad made Matt sleep in his car that night. I kept peering out of my bedroom window, trying to make sense of the shadows in the dark and making sure he stayed firmly in his car. I could make out the odd wriggling of him lying on the back seat, but I didn’t trust him to not break Grandad’s rules and come inside.

  Matt was allowed to have breakfast with us the next morning. Nan had made us all a fry-up, which would have been lovely had Matt not been there.

  Then I noticed Ed’s present on the kitchen worktop. I must’ve left it there and forgotten about it as the drama unfolded yesterday. I leaned over and grabbed the box, unwrapping it carefully underneath the table so nobody could see.

  It was a ring – a beautiful silver ring in the shape of a dolphin. I put it on my finger and it fit perfectly, shining in the morning sun. It was perfect. It wasn’t as expensive as a phone but it was better. It was the best present I’d ever, ever had.

  Nan was trying her best to be polite to Matt but I could tell she wasn’t pleased having him there. In my head I nicknamed him “Matt the Prat”, because whenever he said anything he sounded incredibly stupid. He also kept referring to Mum as “babe”, which got really annoying after a while. Nan’s always said she hates the word because it’s sexist to women.

  “Make us a coffee, will ya, babe?” he asked Mum, chomping on his food noisily. He didn’t have any table manners by the looks of things, and didn’t eat with his mouth closed, which was gross.

  Yet Mum happily obliged, running round the kitchen like his slave and fussing over him like a baby. She never fussed over me that way.

  “So how long do you plan on being around here for, Matt?” Nan asked, which I knew in grown-up language actually meant “When are you planning on leaving?”

  “Dunno,” Matt grunted, chewing on a piece of toast. “Depends how long I’m in the area for work, innit.”

  I hoped he’d leave as soon as possible so that we could just g
et on with our lives and start becoming a happy family again.

  “Ready to go, babe?” he asked Mum. He got up out of his seat – without thanking Nan for breakfast – and threw his coat on.

  “Where are you going?” I asked, my heart thumping suddenly. Where were they going? Was she going to run off with him again?

  “Oh, we’re only off out for a bit of shopping,” Mum said. “It’s not a big deal, honestly.”

  “Well, can’t Molly go with you?” Nan asked, interrupting.

  Mum and Matt looked at one another. I knew they secretly didn’t want me tagging along. I knew they wanted to be on their own.

  “Oh, it’s OK,” I said, though it most definitely was not OK. “I’ve got a bit of homework to do actually.”

  “That’s a shame,” Matt said, though I could tell by the gleam in his eyes that he was very pleased to have Mum to himself.

  “Angela, can I have a word?” Nan said, and pulled Mum out of the kitchen by the arm before she had a chance to respond.

  Nan must’ve thought she was speaking quieter than she actually was, because Matt and I could hear everything that was being said through the crack in the door.

  “You’re her mother,” Nan hissed. “So start behaving like it. You can’t just leave her out of your plans because Matt’s shown up out of the blue.”

  “But we—” I heard Mum argue, trying to come up with an excuse.

  “Imagine how you’d feel in her position. She’s your daughter. She should be your number-one priority. Not him.”

  Matt the Prat and I were looking at one another awkwardly, trying to pretend we couldn’t hear the conversation happening outside. My eyes turned to slits as I glared at him across the table. I wanted him to know just how much he wasn’t welcome here.

  “It’s ridiculous,” Mum said. “I’m trying to spend time with Matt and you’re making things awkward for us both. I’m twenty-seven years old and can’t have my boyfriend stay in my room with me.”

  “If you don’t like my rules, Angela, you know where the door is.”

  There was silence for a bit, then they walked back into the kitchen, fake smiles plastered across their faces.

  “Are you going to get dressed then?” Mum asked me, trying to sound upbeat. “Come on, you’re coming with us.”

  I really wished Nan hadn’t said anything now. The last thing I wanted to do was go shopping with them, especially when I knew I wasn’t wanted.

  Matt’s car was as disgusting as he was. I felt dirty getting into the back seat. It reeked of cigarettes and there was rubbish everywhere – empty crisp packets and chip-shop wrappers on the floor.

  He went round to the passenger side and threw the bits of rubbish into the back where I was sitting so Mum didn’t have to sit near them. I didn’t understand why he couldn’t have just thrown the rubbish in the bin that stood right next to the car.

  But Mum acted as if he was her knight in shining armour, clearing things out of her way like he would for a princess.

  “Watch out,” he said, throwing some used coffee cups on the floor by me. One of them hit my knee as it bounced on to the carpet but he didn’t apologise.

  Nan watched nervously out of the window as we drove off. Matt rolled down the windows and put the radio on full volume, the seats vibrating from the noise.

  “Isn’t this nice?” Mum yelled over the speakers as we sped down the road. “It’s like we’re one cute little family!”

  I rolled my eyes. I was going to make sure Matt the Prat would never become part of my family, if it was the last thing I did.

  We drove to the town centre and parked up. Matt got out of the car to pay for the parking. I was embarrassed to be seen with him as he waltzed across the car park in his dirty clothes. He looked like he was in desperate need of a shower.

  “He’s so lovely, isn’t he?” Mum sighed as we watched him walk away.

  “Hmmmm,” I murmured, hoping that made her aware of how I felt.

  She wasn’t listening.

  “I was thinking,” she said, turning to look at me. “Now that we’ve had some mother–daughter bonding time the last few weeks … would you like to live with me?”

  “With you?” I replied.

  “Well, don’t act so shocked,” she said. “I am your mum, after all. I mean, I know I don’t have a flat yet or anything. But I will soon, once the council approves my request. They let women with children go to the top of the waiting list, letting them have their own flat, so I told them about you. Isn’t that great?”

  It didn’t feel great at all. It felt like she was deciding things for me, like grown-ups often do.

  “We can paint the walls any colour you’d like. And it won’t be like at Nan’s, with all those stupid rules all the time. We can eat whatever we want, when we want. And we can stay up late every night watching films.”

  I know it sounds silly but I didn’t want to spend all night watching films. I liked going to bed early. I liked having a routine.

  “But what about Nan and Grandad?” I asked. I couldn’t imagine life without Nan’s dinners and hugs. I’d miss Grandad’s stories and jokes, even if they weren’t that funny.

  “What about them?” she said, her tone changing.

  “Well … they’re a bit like my mum and dad too,” I said.

  Mum’s face suddenly turned sour, like she’d bitten into a very bitter sweet.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” she snapped. “They’re not your mum and dad at all. I am.”

  “Well, I know you’re my real mum,” I said, starting to feel flustered. “I mean, it’s just because I’ve just lived with them since I was a little baby, and—”

  “It sounds like you don’t want to live with me at all,” Mum replied, and turned to look away. I felt really bad.

  “Of course I want to live with you,” I said, trying to sound upbeat. “It’s just Matt I don’t want to live with. Can’t we live on our own?”

  “Look,” she said, sounding annoyed. “I know you don’t like him but he’s a nice guy, Molly. You don’t know him like I do. Give him a chance.”

  “Well, I don’t like him.”

  “He hasn’t done anything for you not to like,” she snapped back.

  Matt wandered back to the car and opened the door for Mum. She shot me a look as she stepped out, then put on a false smile.

  I was annoyed and hurt at what she’d just said. I couldn’t believe she’d somehow forgotten they’d driven off and abandoned me as a toddler. I climbed out of the back seat and watched as they giggled and held hands, walking in front of me like I didn’t exist.

  It was annoying watching Mum and Matt together. Matt would pinch Mum’s bum and they’d giggle and kiss each other like teenagers, which was gross.

  When we got to the town centre Matt suddenly stopped and turned to look at me.

  “Now, why don’t you be a good girl and let me and your mum have some time alone together?” he said patronisingly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a crisp ten-pound note, placing it in my hand. “There you go. Walk round the shops and go and treat yourself to something.”

  “But Nan says I can’t go round town by myself,” I replied anxiously, looking at Mum for help. Plus, regardless of what Nan said, I didn’t want to go round town by myself.

  Mum looked confused as to whose side to take.

  “She is a bit young, Matt,” Mum said, glancing up at him nervously.

  “Oh, come on,” Matt said. “She’s about to go to secondary school.” He widened his eyes and looked at Mum pleadingly.

  “I … I suppose it won’t do any harm for an hour or so,” she replied. She looked down at me. “You’ll be all right, won’t you, Mol?”

  I suppose I didn’t have a choice in the matter. I nodded sheepishly, pretending it was all OK. I just wished I’d stayed at home in front of the TV with Nan and Grandad, like we did most Sunday afternoons.

  Matt smiled, obviously very pleased with himself, and put his arm rou
nd Mum’s shoulders.

  “See you back here in an hour then,” he said, smirking, and off they wandered down the high street together, leaving me standing in the town centre on my own.

  I walked around town and peered into the shop windows, but hardly anything was open. There were ‘closing down’ signs in some shop windows, and old ladies pulling their wheelie shopping bags behind them.

  I didn’t like being on my own. And I didn’t realise how expensive everything was. Ten pounds wasn’t going to get me very far at all.

  Then I spotted Burgerman, the fast-food place Nan takes me to after school sometimes as a treat. I decided I’d buy myself some lunch. That would help pass the time, surely.

  The restaurant wasn’t that busy either. I was one of the only people in there, apart from an old man talking to himself and a mum trying to control two rowdy twins. I felt like such a loner sitting on my own.

  Then I heard someone call my name.

  “Molly!”

  I looked up. It was Alice from swimming, carrying some shopping bags. She was dressed in denim shorts and a T-shirt, with make-up on and gold hoops in her ears – completely different to how I was used to seeing her at swimming practice.

  “What are you doing here on your own?” she asked. “Where’s your mum?”

  “She’s gone shopping with her boyfriend,” I said, trying to sound like it didn’t bother me. “I’m allowed to go round by myself, you know. My mum’s cool about stuff like that. I have to meet them in an hour.”

  “Oh,” she said. “Well, do you mind if I join you for lunch?”

  I shook my head. Alice went up to the cashier, got her burger and chips, then came and sat down next to me. I was happy I had some company.

  “So,” she said, biting into her burger. “Less than a week to go until the swimming contest. Are you excited?”

  “A bit,” I said. “But I’m really worried about coming last.”

  “I’m sure you won’t,” she replied. “You’re easily the best swimmer in the team, Molly.”