by Sarah Hope
Tearing away from her, he scooted backwards on the bed, his back against the wall. ‘I knew you wouldn’t understand. I knew I shouldn’t have said anything.’
Biting down on her bottom lip, Molly turned around to face him and laid her hands on his knee. ‘You should have told me. I’m glad you told me. You know if anything upsets or worries you, it’s always better to talk about it, and I’m your mum, I want to know when you’re upset or worried.’
‘Then why don’t you believe me when I say that it wouldn’t have mattered if I’d told them or not. They’re all about Ruby. They don’t care about me and Lauren. Whatever she does, she gets away with.’ Ellis took a long shuddering breath and wiped fresh tears from his cheeks with the body of the dog. ‘They always say it’s because she’s younger and she doesn’t understand or that me and Lauren are older and should know better.’
‘Okay. What did Daddy say when Jessica said that to you?’
‘He didn’t say anything. He just told me to tidy up and went downstairs.’
‘Oh, right. Okay. Look at me, Ellis.’ Holding her hands out, she waited until Ellis had raised his head and he was looking. ‘You are the most caring, kind and lovely little boy. Jessica should not have called you a bully and I can tell you, hand on heart, that she didn’t mean it. She would have just said it accidentally without thinking. She does not think you are a bully. She knows you, remember, and she’s known you longer than Ruby has even been alive so I can tell you she doesn’t think that of you.’
‘Why didn’t she say sorry then? She just stayed in the living room when me and Lauren went. She normally says bye and gives us a cuddle.’ Holding a dog ear with his thumb and forefinger, he rubbed it against his flushed cheek.
Looking across at the Lego strewn on the floor by Ellis’ chest of drawers, Molly frowned. Had Jessica seriously ignored them? Was that why Trevor was early dropping them off? What kind of adult would act like that? Especially Jessica, who was supposed to be this all-maternal perfect being? How dare she? And how dare Trevor rush them out of their so-called second home? What kind of message was that sending to their children? Taking a deep breath, Molly smiled and turned back to Ellis. ‘Why don’t you have a bit of your toast now? I’ve got your hot choccie here too.’
Rubbing his eyes, Ellis crawled forward, sitting next to Molly as she passed him the plate of toast.
Wrapping her arm around him, Molly drew him closer as he bit into a slice of toast as his sobs began to fade.
Chapter Sixteen
Tucking the duvet around his small body, Molly stood up. Pausing by the door, she listened to him breathing. After eating the toast and taking a few sips of hot chocolate, Ellis had begun crying again before falling asleep exhausted. Pulling his bedroom door closed, Molly padded down the hallway.
‘Mum? Is that you? You’ve been ages.’
Following Lauren’s voice into the living room, Molly leant against the doorframe. ‘Sorry, love. Ellis has only just stopped crying over what happened at your dad’s.’
Shifting on the sofa, Lauren looked across at her mum. ‘Can we have dinner now? I’m starving?’
Frowning, Molly shook her head. ‘I thought you had dinner at your dad’s? You normally do.’
‘We didn’t today, even though Jessica had spent the entire afternoon cooking a roast dinner. I assumed you’d asked Dad to bring us back early? Unless it was because of what happened with Ellis. It was straight after him being told off that we left.’
Molly frowned. It wasn’t fair on Ellis, or Lauren for that matter, to think that Trevor had wanted to get rid of them. She cleared her throat. ‘I think it must have been a miscommunication. He must have thought I was doing dinner. Sorry. What did you want?’
‘I don’t mind. Can we have something quick, though?’
‘Yes. How about I shove some oven chips in and we have chip butties?’ Ellis had only had toast. If she’d known he hadn’t had dinner... Never mind, he probably wouldn’t have been up to eating a big meal anyway, not the way he was feeling. If he woke up later, she could always make him something quick then.
‘Ooh yes please! Have we got tomato sauce?’
‘Yep. I’ll go and pop the oven on.’
CHECKING THE TIME, Molly closed the door leading up to the flat and walked towards the counter. She had ten minutes until the oven heated up. Ten minutes to ring Trevor and find out exactly what had happened. Shuffling the stack of leaflets next to the till, Molly took a deep breath and scrolled to Trevor’s name in her mobile. She had a feeling this would be a conversation she didn’t want Ellis or Lauren overhearing.
‘Hello?’
‘Hi, Trevor. It’s me, Molly.’ Why did she always do that? Introduce herself? She knew full well that Trevor had her number saved and he would have known it was her before he’d picked up.
‘What’s up?’
‘I think you probably know why I’m calling.’ Molly listened as the phone was muffled. She heard him speaking to Jessica presumably, and then the dull bang of a door closing.
‘Is this about what Ellis did?’
‘Not so much about what Ellis did, but the way he was told off. Yes.’
‘Before you jump down my throat about how to parent, he had pushed Ruby. I’m assuming he didn’t tell you that part.’
‘Yes, he did. He told me that Ruby had been kicking cars at him and he had asked her to stop but she’d continued so he’d closed his door only for her to come in and kick cars again. He’d even set up his other car mat for her and she’d carried on.’
Trevor scoffed. ‘Remember he is a child and his perspective on things might be slightly biased to save himself from getting into trouble.’
‘Are you telling me you think he’s lying?’
‘Kids do lie. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s not the way you’re parenting them or anything. It’s just a stage they go through.’
Holding the phone away from her ear, Molly stared at it. Was he actually being serious? Closing her eyes she brought her mobile to her ear again. ‘Trevor, he’s telling the truth. He’s not lying. This is Ellis we’re talking about here. Your son. Not some stranger.’
‘I know that, but I also know that children go through phases of lying. And if he’s feeling threatened by Ruby, then this phase may be more magnified than it may have otherwise been.’
Molly shook her head. That was Jessica talking. She knew Trevor, and Trevor would never in a million years say something like that. ‘He’s telling the truth. He’s been inconsolable since you dropped him off. He’s been sobbing in my arms thinking that you and Jessica hate him.’
‘That’s a bit of an overreaction.’
‘Is it? Jessica called him a horrible bully and then basically chucked him out of the house without giving him any dinner! How do you think that made him feel?’
‘Look, I’m sorry if he’s been upset but he really shouldn’t have pushed Ruby.’
‘No, he shouldn’t have and he knows that, but he’d had her kicking his cars around for goodness knows how long before. He’s even got a gash on his head from where she kicked a car at his head. But, I guess you didn’t know that, being as it hadn’t been cleaned up. I guess you just took what had happened at face value, and because Ruby was, no doubt, upset, you automatically assumed Ellis had pushed her for no reason.’
‘I... I didn’t know he’d got hurt, no. Is he okay?’
‘His head is fine. His mental health not so good.’
‘Look, I didn’t know that she’d kicked a car at him. He didn’t say anything. Are you sure he did it here?’
Molly shook her head. ‘Are you asking me if, in the few minutes it took me to go after him when you’d left and seen him running upstairs crying, that he did it then? In those few minutes? No, he didn’t. And if you need any proof, I’m happy to send you a photo. You can tell it’s not fresh.’ Why couldn’t he just see that Ruby wasn’t the perfect little princess he thought she was? All kids had their naughty moments, and that wa
s normal, what wasn’t normal was the parents not believing their little darling could put a foot wrong. Their expectations of Ruby’s behaviour were so screwed up, they were risking not teaching her any boundaries at all.
‘Okay, okay. So, maybe she kicked a car at him. You don’t know if it was on purpose though.’
‘For goodness’ sake, Trevor. Ellis is your son too. It’s not all about Ruby and your so-called perfect little family you have now. You have other children and you’re risking alienating them if you carry on with this favouritism lark. Do you remember before we split up? Think back to when Ellis was Ruby’s age, you used to tell him off when he teased Lauren. I know you weren’t about much then, but you must still have some memories of them at that age. I’m not telling you that Ruby isn’t lovely, she is. But you also need to realise that she’s a kid. She’s a child, and she needs you and Jessica to step up and take control. She’s got you both wrapped around her little finger. You both think she’s this perfect little thing that can do no wrong. But she’s a child. Children learn by making the wrong choices sometimes, or she would do if you set her boundaries.’
‘She has boundaries. She’s so good with her bedtime routine. You can’t say the same for Ellis and Lauren.’
‘And what about Jessica calling Ellis a horrible bully, I suppose you think he deserved that?’
‘I’m quite sure she didn’t say anything of the sort.’
‘So again, you’re calling him a liar?’
‘What? No, all I’m saying is that he’s probably got things a bit confused.’
Gripping the side of the counter, Molly could feel her nails sink into the wood. ‘I give up. Do what you want, but I doubt Ellis will want to go to yours next time.’
‘You can’t cut contact. I’m their father. I have rights.’
‘I’m not cutting contact. I’d never do that, but if you carry on treating Lauren and Ellis like second-class members of your family, then they won’t want to come.’ Ending the call, Molly turned and leant her back against the counter. Chucking the mobile behind her, she listened as the dull thud of glass hit the wooden counter.
Great, now she’d have to get her screen repaired. Covering her eyes with the palms of her hands, she sank to the floor and pushed until all she could see was a black expanse and dancing white spots. She couldn’t do this. How was she supposed to protect Ellis when he was at Trevor’s? She couldn’t be there for him, and she couldn’t control what was said to him or how he was treated by the two other adults who were supposed to love him like she did. When were things supposed to get easier?
The shrill ringtone of her phone filled the shop. Standing up, she looked at her mobile as it danced across the counter, vibrating on each beat of the tone. Bracing herself for another argument, she picked it up.
Pausing her finger over the answer button, she read the name flashing on the screen. It wasn’t Trevor looking to have the last word after all. It was Richie. Slamming it back down on the counter, Molly stared at it until the voicemail kicked in. She really couldn’t deal with him. Not now. Not today.
Gingerly picking up her mobile, she went into the back kitchen and put it on the table. She needed a strong coffee and five minutes to collect her thoughts before going back up to Lauren. She just needed a bit of time to work out what she should do next.
Flicking the kettle on, she spooned a heaped teaspoon of coffee powder into a mug, mixing in a heaped teaspoon of sugar for good measure.
It had only been yesterday when everything had felt right. More than right. For once she’d felt as though her life was actually turning out okay. That she was finally getting things on track. Yesterday, she’d thought she’d finally met someone she could actually see a future with. Things had been so perfect with Richie. He’d seemed so perfect.
Molly poured the boiling water in, stirring vigorously as the brown and white granules mixed and dissolved. Why had she been so stupid? Why had she dared to think that her car crash of a love life had turned a corner? She’d always attracted the cheats and the liars. Why had she dared to think that Richie was any different?
And then there was Ellis. How was she supposed to try to fix the relationship between him and his dad when Trevor couldn’t even see there was anything wrong in the way he and Jessica had treated him?
Taking her mug to the table, Molly slumped into a chair and wrapped her hands around the boiling ceramic. She hadn’t put enough milk in. Shrugging, she took a sip, instantly regretting it as the boiling coffee burnt her tongue.
What was the point? She couldn’t even make a cup of coffee properly. Standing up, she tipped the coffee down the sink, watching it swirl and discolour the plughole, before putting the mug on the side, grabbing her phone and heading up the stairs to the flat.
SLIDING THE OVEN TRAY full of frozen chips into the oven, Molly straightened her back.
‘Mum, are the chips done yet?’
‘Shh, you’ll wake up Ellis!’ Rushing to the living room, Molly put her finger to her lips.
‘Sorry! Are they done yet though? I’m starving.’ Turning around, Lauren peered over the back of the sofa.
‘I’ve just put them in. They’ll be done in twenty minutes or so.’
‘Seriously? I thought you’d put them in ages ago?’
‘Well, I had to make a quick phone call. It’s not long. You’ll survive.’ Sitting down next to Lauren, Molly put her feet up on the coffee table in front of her. She hadn’t felt this tired in a long time. And she still hadn’t had her shower.
‘Is that your phone? And you moaned at me for calling you quietly. That’s more likely to wake him up.’ Raising her eyebrows, Lauren shook her head.
Glancing at Lauren, Molly pushed herself to standing and made her way back to the kitchen.
‘Is there anything I can have to eat now?’
Molly looked down at her mobile. It was Trevor. She’d have to get it. ‘Yes, just have a look. I need to get this. I won’t be long.’
‘Okay.’
‘Trevor?’ Speaking quietly, she made her way back downstairs again.
‘Molly. Do you think we can have a civilised conversation about this now? Without you hanging up on me?’
Breathing hard out of her nose, Molly shut the door leading back up to the flat firmly behind her. ‘I hung up because you weren’t listening to me.’
‘Just because I didn’t agree with you, it doesn’t mean I wasn’t listening.’
‘Right, okay.’ Molly rolled her eyes and sunk back into the kitchen chair. This was going to be a long conversation.
‘I don’t like the way you imply I don’t treat Ellis and Lauren the same as I treat Ruby. You’ve got to understand that’s its very difficult. Ruby lives with me and so naturally I do spend more time with her, but when Ellis and Lauren visit, I treat them the same way. If you’d gone on to have another child, you’d understand how tough it can be.’
Opening and closing her mouth, Molly fixed her eyes on a mark on the paint in the far corner of the room. If she’d had another child? He damn well knew that she’d have loved to have another child. Fat chance of that ever happening now though. Talk about rubbing salt into the wound. ‘I sympathise that it must be tough, but it has nothing to do with how much time you spend with them all, it’s to do with how you treat them when you do have them. You’ve got to admit that by the sounds of it you’re a lot more lenient towards Ruby than you are with Ellis.’
‘She is a lot younger than him.’
‘Yes, she’s younger, but this isn’t the first time that Ellis has come home really upset over the way Jessica has spoken to him after a clash between him and Ruby.’
‘Yes, well?’
‘Just that. She needs to watch what she says to him, she’s really upset him.’
‘Look, I didn’t hear what she said. I was downstairs when Ellis got pushed, I only saw the aftermath and told him off.’
Molly sighed. ‘Why didn’t you say that before?’
‘I didn’t th
ink it was important.’
‘Well, it is. If you were downstairs, how do you know what Jessica said to him? Do you agree with the way she handled it?’
‘She told him off. That’s what I would have done too. Look, it’s not her fault if Ellis didn’t say that Ruby had kicked a car at him. She’s not a mind reader and neither am I.’
Laying her hand palm down on the surface of the table, Molly scrunched her fingers into a tight fist before releasing them. ‘I’ve already told you that he doesn’t feel the point in telling on Ruby anymore. Surely we don’t have to go through all of this again? What I want to know is are you happy that Jessica called our son a horrible bully?’
‘No.’
‘So, you believe Ellis now? You believe he didn’t make that up.’ He wasn’t denying it now, not like he did earlier.
‘Yes, I do.’
Frowning, Molly ran her index finger over the table top, drawing star after star. Well, that was certainly a turnaround. What? No sticking up for Jessica anymore? Lowering her voice, she spoke quietly. ‘You’ve changed your tune. Has she admitted it?’
‘I asked her if she’d said that, yes, and she said she may have done.’
‘She may have done? What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘It means she doesn’t remember. She knows she told him off, but she doesn’t remember what she said.’
‘Seriously? I think I’d definitely remember if I’d said that, especially to my stepchild!’ Molly scoffed, Jessica knew what she’d said. It was ridiculous of her to lie.
‘She’s very sorry if she’s caused him any upset. She’s crying herself now. Can we just leave it at that?’
Pursing her lips, Molly could feel the telltale bubble of anger stirring again. ‘Trevor, for goodness’ sake, she’s an adult! Don’t you dare tell me she’s crying and expect me to feel sorry for her when I’ve had to sit with our son - a nine-year-old – and have him sobbing into my arms until he finally fell asleep!’
