Circles | Jody & Tyler | The Dumping Ground

Mum

Tyler POV

I watched the tea bag soak in the hot water; little wafts of lavender and herbs scenting the room. Smiling, I replaced the lid of the tea pot and carried the tray of tea and biscuits into the living room.

Lavender always reminded me of one thing; my mum.

Today we were meeting for our fortnightly catch-ups. Last time I'd seen Mum, she'd looked healthier than ever - remembering everything I'd been telling her the weeks before and asking about my studies. We'd made real progress and I knew that unlike some of the other kids here, I had a chance.

A real chance to make things work with my mum.

I sat and waited for her to arrive; taking in the peace and quiet of the DG. May-Li had taken them all out to some educational workshop so that meant Mum and I could chat in peace.

I had so much to tell her. My podcasts were getting more popularity and I could finally see myself with a future in radio and broadcasting; my CV looked amazing with the amount of experience I'd gained. A little part of me also wanted to see her, remind myself that she still had my back.

Though Alex had been a good friend, it wasn't the same as hanging out with Jody - with her, it was always a laugh and we had too many inside jokes to even relate to the others. It was like I was starting from scratch again - relearning what it was like to fit in a house with strangers.

Maybe she'd see how I was feeling about Jody and Brandon; maybe she'd help.

I glanced at my watch again - Mum hadn't shown up in a while and I was starting to get worried. She was normally punctual so something must've been wrong. I paced and glanced out the window, but there was nothing.

Wait.

My eyes narrowed as I saw a figure stop a little way from the house. Even from here, I could tell it was Jody. She'd neglected May-Li's offer of the workshop and decided to hit the gym early. As she'd done every day of this week.

I was about to turn away from the window but I caught sight of another figure approach her. I watched in anticipation to see if it was Mum.

No.

It was just Brandon. I hadn't realised but it seemed like it wasn't just enough for him to spend time with her at the gym; he had to walk her back home as well. No one had mentioned Brandon as being Jody's boyfriend yet, but it looked like things were turning out that way. I sneered involuntarily as he leaned in to kiss her head.

I couldn't look. Tears welled up in my eyes and though I kept blaming it on my mum's tardiness - the envy in my stomach wouldn't go away. I couldn't pretend that I liked Brandon.

I couldn't.

The front door opened and closed and I sat back down on the sofa, trying to still my pounding heart. Jody entered the living room and frowned confused.

"Are you sure you've got the time right?" she asked.

"It's the same time every visit..." I told her, not daring to meet her eyes. She had a point though; maybe Mum had gotten confused about the time. But that almost never happened unless...

Unless she'd stopped taking her meds.

I phoned Mum but it just went straight to her voicemail. She sounded funny on there as well. Almost too happy. I made my excuses to Mike and decided to go up to the house.

After getting off at the nearby bus stop, I jogged trying to rid my mind of any unwanted thoughts. If Mum hadn't been taking her meds, this would be a massive step back in our future together. We'd suffered enough of those already and I couldn't think why she'd just suddenly revert back to her old self.