The Love of a Stranger

Family Reunion

My eyes shot open. She knows, she always knows, how does she always know? Jack's back was facing me as he continued to talk on the phone.

"How are you?...yeah...no, she's here..."

The pace of my breath quickened, they're talking about me. Jack turned round to face and immediately I shut my eyes.

"Um, she's asleep, she's having a tough time right now...no I'm not going to wake her up!"

God, she wants to talk to me, I can't, I don't want to. Thank you Jack.

"Yeah, okay I'll tell her you called. Bye mum love you too."

Well that hurt. Never have I ever experienced my mum telling me she loved me, I just assumed that she never said it to anyone being the selfish, heartless bitch that she is. What did she have against me? I was just being a child, a toddler, a baby.

Now that every single drop of happiness had been drained from me I sat up from the couch rubbing my head. It pounded and I blamed her. This is what she does to me, she makes me physically sick. I walked to the kitchen to see Jack cutting up some vegetables.

"Did you have a good sleep?" He politely asked.

"Yeah I did thanks. What're you making?" I asked leaning against the work top spectating everything he was doing, how and when did he learn to cook?

"Just a casserole. It's mum's recipe...which reminds me, she phoned earlier, she wanted to speak to you, she seemed worried."

Bullshit.

"Do you and mum talk often?" I hesitantly asked.

"Sometimes. Why? Don't you talk to her?"

Before I answered I repeated in my mind, like a mantra;

I am going to be truthful.

"Never. Not since I left." Jack looked up and furrowing his brows while I nonchalantly leaned against the counter.

"Jack, you should know what really happened between me and mum. I'm fed up with hiding and being afraid all the time." He didn't change the confused look on his face.

So I explained to him, exactly like I did on the letter I wrote for Dan. I also explained what happened between me and Dan and why I had to painfully leave him.

"But why did you hide the truth?"

"Because she threatened me Jack, you know what mums like, once she's angry there's no pleasing her. And now that's she's found me, I'm terrified of what she will do."

For Jack, he couldn't seem to get it into his head that the mother he knew, the mother that raised him with love and tender care had completely neglected his younger sibling.

"Laura, I'm sorry I wish I could've done something, I could've helped if you told me sooner."

"I just need you to help me now, as far as she's aware of you don't know."

Then suddenly I had a plan like it slapped me in the face.

"I have a plan." I ran to Jack's phone knowing he had mums number. Since Jack was a lawyer, I thought that I could somehow give him enough evidence to prove that my childhood was one that wasn't one to be lived and how my mother completely destroyed the definition on motherhood. My breath hitched when I phoned her. She answered thinking it was Jack, obviously acting all innocent and angelic. I immediately turned the speaker on making her voice echo around the room.

"Hi Jack, darling. Is Laura up yet? Can I speak to her?."

She sounded so sweet, I've never heard her be this calm, it didn't suit her annoyingly nasally voice. I signalled silently to Jack to answer.