I sighed. ‘Yes, Bertie. They’re having an argument, so we should stay out of their way.’
Bertie kicked the toe of his trainer against the fence. ‘When can we go home, Mum? I don’t want to stay here anymore. I miss my room, I miss Dad, I even miss school, though only a little bit.’
My heart broke for my son, and I could think of nothing to say that would offer any comfort. ‘I’ll tell you what, why don’t we go for a walk? Your aunt and uncle could do with some space, and there are things we need to talk about.’
I took the hand of my beautiful boy and prepared to shatter his world.
Chapter Ten
‘You didn’t need to do that.’
‘It’s the least I could do.’ I swiped a rubber-gloved arm across my forehead to remove some of the scrubbing-induced sweat. ‘Did you manage to get some sleep?’
Cass leaned against the doorframe and yawned. ‘A little. It took me ages to calm down after rowing with Jasper. I hate it when we argue. You’ve done an amazing job in here.’
We both looked around at the sparkling bathroom tiles. The hair dye had come off easier than I’d expected, so I’d set my sights on the grey-black grout, scrubbing hard with an old toothbrush. ‘Thanks, I’ve had plenty of practice. Actually, the job centre rang me up this morning about a cleaning job that’s come in.’
‘What kind of cleaning job?’
‘Cleaning the football stadium after matches.’
Cass shuddered. ‘You can’t do that.’
‘Someone has to.’
‘But not you. Finish up here, Liv, there’ll be no grout left if you scrub any more. There’s something I need to talk to you about.’
I smiled until Cass had left the room, then sank back against the bath, trying to stop the tears which were itching my eyes. She was going to kick us out. That was why she wanted to talk. I knew no one as kind or generous as Cass and Jasper, but even they had their limits. It was plain as day the house was too small for all of us, and Jake had made his feelings on the subject plain.
With rubber gloves removed, and cold water splashed on my face, I went to find Cass in the kitchen. She had the radio playing and danced her way between the kitchen cabinets as she made a pot of coffee. From nowhere, a memory of dancing around the kitchen with Mum entered my head, stealing my breath as my chest tightened. How could it still hurt so much?
‘Oh, there you are,’ said Cass, spinning around and stopping mid pirouette. ‘Sit down, coffee’s almost ready.’
I waited until I had a cup of coffee in front of me before I dared speak. ‘Look, Cass, I know us being here is tough, and you’ll be wanting us out from under your feet…’
‘I love having you here,’ said Cass, covering my hand with hers.
‘And I love being here, but I know it’s not easy for you all. Jake made that clear to us this morning.’
‘Oh, ignore him.’
‘But he had a point. Maybe if I take the cleaning job, I’ll be able to find a small flat somewhere.’
‘On a cleaner’s wage?’ Cass laughed. ‘Liv, have you even checked the price of rentals these days?’
Hopelessness smothered me, and I felt as though I might choke.
‘Listen, when I said I wanted to talk to you, it is about you moving out, but not in the way you think.’
‘How do you mean?’
Cass took a sip of her coffee. ‘OK, before I tell you this, I need you to promise you won’t jump to any conclusions and you’ll let me finish before writing the idea off.’
‘Well now I feel reassured.’
Cass grinned. ‘It’s nothing terrible, I promise.’
‘Go on then.’
