Growing Pains ✔

Chapter 19

Jamie couldn't bring himself to read any more of his mom's diary, in a way he didn't have to. His father had hit her, there was no reason for his mom to lie in a diary she'd never intended anyone else to read. Okay, it was just the once, so far, but he guessed it must have happened again. His mom hadn't left his dad for another three years, he wasn't going to kid himself that his dad hadn't hurt her again during that time. Of course, he had, that was probably why she'd eventually left.

But why had she let his dad have contact with him? Didn't she think that he could hurt him as well?

'Jamie, lunch is ready,' his mom shouted up to him. He tried to straighten his face as he made his way downstairs for Sunday lunch. Louis's mom and dad had joined them so he knew he'd better be on his best behaviour.

'I want to sit next to mommy,' Julia said before anyone had taken their seats. 

'Don't you want to sit next to me sweetie,' Louis's mom suggested but Julia pouted. Louis's mom exchanged a look with Louis but she bit her tongue, seemingly accepting that Julia was very much a mommy's girl.

'Why don't you sit between me and your mom,' Louis said and Julia frowned at him like it was some sort of trick. When she realised it wasn't, and she'd still have her mom by her side, she perked up. Jamie couldn't believe how much even Louis indulged Julia.

'So how's school, Andrew?' Louis's mom asked Andy. He looked momentarily confused before he mumbled an incoherent reply. 'Now don't be like your dad, he was terrible at school.'

'He wasn't that bad,' Charlotte interjected smiling at Louis. 'He just wasn't very academic.'

'Yeah he was kinda stupid,' Louis's dad said, and Jamie did not miss his mom's scowl.

'I wouldn't say that,' she said tersely.

'No I wouldn't either,' Louis's mom said with a stern look at her husband. 'So Charlotte, what's this about you taking time off work? It's not like you.'

'Oh I've been a little under the weather,' she said lightly. 'Louis thought I should take a few days off.'

'I don't know why you even want to work when you've got your hands full with three kids. I honestly couldn't have coped in your position.'

Charlotte smiled slightly. 'Maybe you have a point, I might have to reconsider a few things.'

Louis smiled at her, and if Jamie didn't know his mom was pregnant the conversation would have made no sense to him, his mom loved her job. However knowing what he did, well it was only a matter of time before Charlotte packed her job in.

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Louis's mom and dad left not long after lunch. For once Jamie started doing the dishes without being asked.

'You should take next week off as well,' he heard Louis tell his mom.

'I can't keep taking time off for no reason Louis, and this is no reason.' Jamie turned an ear to the door.

'But with your history, I just don't want you to have any regrets if anything goes wrong.'

'I won't,' Charlotte said. 'How many times did we go through this with the doctors? There's nothing I can do to prevent a miscarriage if that's the outcome it's going to be.'

'Okay, well maybe I don't want you to go to work. You should rest up whatever happens.' Jamie heard his mom scoff but she didn't say another word, probably not wanting to risk him overhearing.

He tried not to feel resentful, it was his mom's decision, and it wasn't like she could hide it for long. But he wished she would trust him, it wasn't like he was going to make a fuss, or be broken hearted if she were to miscarry. However, he could at least show her a bit of sensitivity and consideration. She wouldn't allow him to do that though. She always had to do things the hard way. Maybe that's why she pissed his dad off? He shook his head feeling angry at himself, he knew that wasn't why his dad had got mad. He knew there was no excuse for him hurting his mom....but still, why did everything have to be a secret with her?

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The phone rang later that evening and Louis grabbed it. Jamie could see by the way the smile left his face that it wasn't anyone he wanted to speak to.

'Hold on,' Louis said. 'I'll get him.' Jamie grimaced as Louis's eyes met his own, it had to be his dad. He wanted to refuse to take the call but how could he? He glared at Louis, feeling a momentary flash of anger, Louis knew exactly what his dad had done, of that he was certain. No wonder he'd been the one who mostly dealt with Nick over the years.

'Hey dad,' Jamie said into the telephone receiver.

'Hi son, I'm sorry I wasn't able to see you this weekend, I've been snowed under with marking. Honestly, how half these kids have got into college I don't know.' His dad let out a laugh. 'Maybe their parents bribe the board.'

'I guess they do,' Jamie said. 'Or maybe the students bribe their teachers.' Yeah, he could well imagine his dad taking bribes, or payment in kind.

'What do you mean?' His dad asked sounding more serious.

'Well maybe they bribe their teachers to get good grades,' Jamie said. He wondered how Nick had got his mom's teachers to let her redo her essays, it wasn't exactly fair on the other students. 'Wouldn't you take money to raise someone's grades?'

'No Jamie, I wouldn't.' Nick sounded appalled at the suggestion and Jamie scoffed.

'Not even if she was a really fit student?' He caught Louis looking at him with a slight frown.

'I'm not interested in my students in that way,' Nick said testily. 'I don't care what they look like, male or female.'

'So why'd you get together with mom? She was one of your students.' There was silence on the end of the line, and Jamie could see Louis shaking his head while he whispered to him to shut up.

'Technically your mother wasn't one of my student's,' Jamie's dad finally said letting out a heavy breath. 'She was a student, but not one of mine.'

'Does that really make a difference?' Jamie asked. 'She was a student so wasn't that an abuse of power or something?' He almost expected Louis to take the phone off him but he left the room giving him some privacy.

'No it was not an abuse of power,' Nick insisted slowly, talking in his teacher's voice. 'Your mom was a student, not one of mine, I had no sway in her academic achievements.'

'So you didn't try and help her out? Get the other teachers to go easy on her?'

Nick laughed softly. 'Okay I might have, but I didn't do it with bad intentions. I didn't use my power, if you want to call it that, over your mother. But yeah, I might have helped her.' Nick chuckled under his breath as though Jamie was being absurd to make an issue of it.

'So you helped mom, is that what you're saying?'

'Maybe, but your mom was very capable, I wouldn't want to take any of her achievements away from her.'

Jamie pulled the receiver away from his ear. His dad sounded so reasonable, so nice really, he didn't know what to make of him. Could he have changed from the man in the diaries? Was that even possible? Maybe his parents could have worked it out together if they'd tried a bit harder?

One thing he was clear on, his mom clearly hadn't been over Louis when she'd married his dad, and his dad could not be blamed for that. In that sense, he felt a bit sorry for his dad, and he could well believe Charlotte had had her head turned by her ex-boyfriend turning on the charm. Maybe she had been hasty in throwing her marriage away, maybe Nick had only hit her the once? He rubbed his head not knowing what to think. None of the adults in his life was covering themselves in glory.

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