“So, what now? Are you two gonna become best buddies? Get your nails done and compare notes on my dad? Or better yet, why don’t they come and live with us, Mum? Then we can all be one happy fucking family.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Emily. Once your dad is home we’ll work something out.?
?
I shook my head at her. My mother was certifiably crazy.
“He isn’t coming home, Mum. Even I know the jail sentence for money laundering is pretty steep. Add the manslaughter charge and he won’t see the outside of a prison cell for a very long time. I’d get used to living on your own, Mum, because Dad isn’t coming home, and neither am I.”
She gasped and tried to stop me as I headed for the door.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Emily, stop and come back here. We need to talk about this. You can’t just leave. Where will you go?”
I stopped, ready to give her one more minute. It was all she was going to get from me for a long time.
“I don’t know, Mum. I’ll stay with Liv, Effy, or maybe Ryan’s dad will let me crash at theirs.”
She frowned. “Ryan? Daniel’s friend, Ryan?”
“Yes, Mum. My boyfriend, Ryan. Not that that’s any of your business. I think you forfeited the right to have a say in my life the minute you chose Dad over us.”
“It was never about choosing sides. I wanted, no, I needed to keep my family together.” And a fucking stellar job she’d done at that.
“I don’t think Dad got the memo. He was too busy making another family without you.” I could see the hurt on her face as I said that, but she needed to hear the harsh truths. Her life was no rose garden and she was trying to preserve something which was irrevocably broken. Paper over cracks that were huge gaping holes. No amount of damage control could save us. As a family, we were finished.
“The house is in my name, Emily. Whatever happens to Dad, they can’t take that away from us. I have money. We’ll be okay.”
I knew what she was saying. The police would freeze Dad’s assets. But I think she was fooling herself. It wouldn’t be that easy. Every part of her life would be scrutinised too. Suddenly, a pang of regret and remorse hit me.
“Mum, if you need me, you’ve got my mobile number. Whatever it is, I’ll be there.”
I heard a car door open and I turned to see Ryan standing next to his van, giving me a look that asked if I was all right. Mum sighed behind me and then said, “Make sure that boy takes good care of you. I only ever wanted the best for you. For both of you.” She started to cry, so I put my arms around her.
“It’ll take time, but we’ll get through this, Mum. You have to be strong.”
She pulled away first, dabbing at her eyes to stop her make-up from running. Then she painted on her smile and said, “I’ll let you know if there’s any news. The solicitor should be out shortly.”
She wouldn’t change. It didn’t matter what I said. She was stuck in her little world that revolved around my dad. I felt sorry for her.
“Okay.” I sighed. All my fight was gone. I had to concentrate on me now. She was a grown woman. I couldn’t live her life for her and I didn’t want the kind of life she led for myself. I had to get away. Distance myself from the Winters’ circus.
I had a future and it was standing in the car park waiting for me.
Three months later
The last few weeks had been some of the toughest I’d known since Mum died. Emily had moved most of her stuff out of her family home and was living with Effy, although technically that wasn’t true. She spent every night with me, and Dad loved having her around, we all did. It wasn’t always easy to find time to be alone, and that was part of the reason I was taking her out tonight. I had a proposition that I hoped, no, prayed she’d take me up on.
We’d tried to look towards the future and plan a life together. Dwelling on the past didn’t help either of us, but it was hard to switch off sometimes. Emily’s dad’s trial date was set for next month, but it wasn’t looking good for him. The maximum sentence for money laundering in the U.K. was fourteen years. Add the manslaughter charge for Danny’s death and he was looking at maybe twenty years, probably life. The fact he’d left Danny in the driver’s seat, and the drink driving, meant the odds were stacked against him. In my opinion, he deserved everything that was heading his way. Em didn’t want to talk about it, but I had to prepare her as best I could. The press and media intrusion that’d follow the case was gonna be a shit-storm to get through, but we’d weather it out together.
I’d always be there for her.
After everything that’d happened, Emily had decided she wanted to pursue a career in journalism. I guess she liked finding justice and truth where she could. I’d given her the bug for it. It was while we were looking at prospectuses for courses she was interested in that we started to talk about my kit car business and how I could expand and make a good living from it. I didn’t want to work for my dad forever and the demand for work was there. I just needed help knowing what to do next, where to take it.
We managed to find a part-time business and accountancy course at one of the colleges she was looking at, so we both applied for our separate ventures and we both got accepted. I never thought I’d see the day when I’d be going back to school, but the look on her face when she saw those acceptance letters made it worthwhile. I’d do anything to keep her smiling and give her the happiness she deserved.
As for Brandon, no one had heard from him since the fight night. It was as if he’d been wiped off the face of the earth. We checked in on his Nan every week, and even though she’d insisted she didn’t know where he was, we noticed a few new things dotted around her room. A new T.V. that she had no idea how to use, an iPad that was never switched on and various other things that an elderly lady would never use. We didn’t ask her where she got the money from and we didn’t want to know. Whatever was going on was her business. We were just there to make sure she had a fully stocked kitchen and to lend a hand with any heavy lifting or chores she couldn’t manage. It was our brotherly duty. Brandon would’ve done the same for us.
Zak, Finn and I had decided to start the events up again too. At first, it felt wrong doing it without Brandon, but it was what we were all good at. We missed the brotherhood, and even though there’d be no fighting we still had the music, the art, the bonding it brought to a community that’d been shattered by the events of the last few months. Our generation needed the release it offered, and we needed to feel useful again.