Chapter Forty- Mother And Son’s Talk

Mum’s eyes were still cool as I walked back into the kitchen, “You’re digging yourself into a dangerous situation, son of mine.”

“What?”

“You shouldn’t reassure him about last night,” she said stubbornly. “What you did was wrong and you both know that. And yet you went to comfort him…”

I rolled my eyes, moving to the fridge defiantly, “Do you really want me to apologise for being compassionate?”

“Compassionate?! You cheated on your boyfriend!”

“Yes,” I snapped, turning back to her. “I know and I feel really bad about it. But is making Dougie feel bad about it when it was both of us really going to help?”

She sighed, dragging a hand over her face, “What am I going to do with you…? You need to pick.”

“I have,” I told her. “That was it. I’m going to Danny; he’s going to Harry. We’re done.”

She pursed her lips slightly, her face contorting as she tried to work out what to say to me. But then, luckily for me, the phone began to ring. I snatched it up off the kitchen counter immediately, “Hello?”

“Bloody hell, Tom! That was barely one ring!” a voice commented with a chuckle. “You must have known it was me…”

My stomach gave a painful churn, “Hey, Dan.”

“Happy New Year!”

“Happy New Year…”

He laughed gain and there was a shuffling on the other end of the line, “I was going to call last night, but I didn’t want to interrupt anything you might have been doing with your mum. Family traditions and all that.”

Another queasy stomach roll. “Yeah. This is good. So how was your night?”

“Good. Good.” He let out another loud laugh, “Get off me, you arse!”

“What?”

There was more scuffling on the other end of the phone, “Oh! Not you, Tom. This muppet. Dave, get off! I’m on the phone!”

I couldn’t help but laugh in response to how happy he sounded, “You okay there?”

“No, this idiot’s giving me cramp!” Danny snarled and there was a yelp as he presumably harmed his attacker. “I’m sorry. We never could teach him any manners,” he said to me.

I laughed again, “That’s fine. Has it been good to see all your friends again?”

“Bloody brilliant,” he admitted. “Not that you and Harry aren’t great company, mind, but it’s been good to come back home for a while.”

“Definitely,” I agreed. “How much longer are you away for?” I knew I should probably hang up soon. Mum was burning holes in the back of my shoulder with her glare.

“I’m back on the fifth,” he reported. “The day before we go back.”

“Then I’ll see you at school on the sixth,” I told him with a grin.

He gave a low chuckle, “Mm. See you there.”

“‘Bye.”

“‘Bye,” he said, just before there was a cry of ‘pile-up!’ and the call cut out on Danny’s loud laugh of protest.

I smiled as I pressed the green button to end the call on my end. I was glad that he was having fun. It at least meant that I’d made the right choice not to go to Bolton with him. It would have been awkward if I’d been in the middle of all of his happy reunions with his friends and family.

My mother gave a displeased sniff, “And how’s Danny?”

“Fine,” I responded woodenly, still cradling the phone in my hand. “He’s having a good time.”

“I’m glad.”

After a moment’s silence, I sighed and set down the phone silently on the counter. “I’m going to my room.”

“Okay.”

I walked to the door; turned back, “Mum… I’m sorry.”

This time she didn’t answer.