We get to mine a couple of hours later. There are no cars around so we go in. I take Tony up to my room and head for the shower. This is going to be fun, I think gritting my teeth. I wash my hair as well as I can and brush it then attempt to get dressed. I just can't fasten my bra, so go without. It feels strange. We sit on the bed together, watching a film when I hear mum coming in.
"Charlotte, can you come here please?" she calls up the stairs. I roll my eyes and tell Tony to wait there.
She looks shocked to see my arm in it's sling.
"Oh darling, I'm so sorry" she says grabbing hold of me and hugging me, making me wince with pain.
"Mum, a bit too tight" I say.
"Is this Tony guy here too?" she asks. She knows he is as his car is outside so why she asks I don't know.
"Yeah, he's upstairs. We were watching a film" I sigh, waiting for the screaming to start.
"Can I meet him?" she asks.
"Come on up then" I say.
She follows me up the stairs.
"Tony, this is my mum, Linda. Mum this is Tony."
He gets up off the sofa, where he must have moved to when I went downstairs and shakes her hand. I see the look on her face when she sees his tattoos and I give her a look to say don't even go there.
"Pleased to meet you" he says smiling. That smile could melt an iceberg and I see her face change at this point. Ha, I think.
"Would you like to stay for dinner?" she asks him.
I wasn't expecting that and I answer for him "yes please, that would be lovely" making them both smile.
Mum goes back downstairs and I go outside for a cigarette, dragging Tony with me.
We go into the back garden and sit on the lawn in the sunshine. I love this garden - it always smells so good out here because of all the flowers. Mum and I worked hard on it when we first moved so a lot of the ideas came from me.
He moves closer to me and carefully puts his arms around my waist.
"That went better than I thought it would" he laughs.
"She's on her best behaviour - guilty conscience probably."
"Well, at least she didn't kick me out of the house" he laughs.
"Did Mike tell you about our little visitor yesterday?" I ask him.
"Anna" Tony sighs. "He told me you put her in her place."
"What's her problem exactly?" I ask.
"I dumped her because she couldn't keep her legs closed and slept with at least three other guys that I know of behind my back. She even tried it on with Jaime, Vic and Mike. They told her where to go though and so did I when I found out" he tells me.
"So she's a grade A slutty psycho Bitch."
"Yeah, pretty much."
"Well, you'll be glad to know that I'm neither slutty or psycho. I can be a bitch but only towards people like her."
"She deserved it" he says "picking on my girlfriend."
"Girlfriend?" I say, blushing. "Go on then!"
This makes him laugh and he kisses me tenderly on the lips. My stomach gets it's butterflies again.
