Page 15 of The Attraction

“Damn it, Mum, I have told you before, I will pay for anything you need, especially a doctor. Have you looked in your bank account lately? I’m sure you can afford a doctor or ten.” I maintain all their investments that I have set up, and neither of them know that I have also been slowly depositing money into their everyday account so there should never be an issue that they can’t afford anything, because my dad will always be too proud to ask. He never got over the fact that I gave them money when he was out of work and insisted on paying it all back to me, so I lied about how much I had given them, and I think he paid back about a third of it. Then of course I just drip feed it back into his account anyway.

“But it was from a site that had the word medical in it,” she replies with such innocence of a woman in her late sixties and totally ignoring my comment about the money as she usually does.

Smacking my forehead, I try to explain this to her… again.

“Mum, please listen to me. The internet can be very useful, but it can also be a load of rubbish. Just because you read it there doesn’t always mean it’s true. I mean, look at all the crap that was written about Flynn and Felisha after the video was leaked. None of it was true.” I lean back in my chair and close my eyes at this conversation that I’m sure we have had at least twenty times.

“But it was true that it was his cute little white bottom on the internet.” Her little giggle rings through my ear.

“God help me, Mum, seriously. Yes, it was his ass, but that was the only truth in what they said. Now can you just make an appointment for Dad with a proper doctor? Let me know what they say, and for the love of God, can we stop talking about Dad’s bowel habits?” I put my fingers back on the keyboard and set a reminder to check in a week that she has done something about this and seen a doctor.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Forrest, of course.” Hardly stopping to take a breath, she changes direction with her conversation. “Have you found a nice girl to date yet?”

Fuck, now I’m thinking I should have stayed with the talk about shit!

“No, Mum, no girlfriend on the horizon. Maybe you should call Flynn and check on him and Felisha and how the wedding plans are going. He might need some help or suggestions.” Deflection is my only option here. He will kill me, but I can’t do this phone call tonight with Mum, I just don’t have the mental strength.

“Oh, good idea. He hasn’t told me one thing about it yet. Do you know anything about his plans?” The excitement in her voice that at least one of us is getting married makes me kind of sad. This poor woman has been waiting for grandchildren for so long, but just because Flynn is getting married, it doesn’t mean there are any plans on the horizon to have a baby.

“No, I don’t know a thing, best to ask him.” I see a message from Flynn pop up on my screen to let me know they are in the elevator and will be here shortly, which gives me a good excuse to get off the phone.

“Anyway, lovely to hear from you and give my love to Dad as well, but I have to run, I’ve got a delivery coming to the door. Love you and talk next week.” I get up and walk with my dish to the kitchen and put it in the dishwasher as Mum says her goodbye.

“Okay, lovely to hear your voice. Love you too, and I’ll give Flynn a call now. Ta-ta.”

I can’t help smiling to myself as I hear voices outside my door and Flynn say the words, “Hi, Mum.”

The light knock I know is not Flynn, that’s for sure.

Opening up I find three people.

Felisha with a grateful look on her face that I’m protecting her best friend so she doesn’t have to worry.

Flynn, who is looking at me with daggers as I can hear Mum on his phone telling him I suggested she give him a call and then going off on her million and one questions about the wedding.

And of course, Harper, who looks like she would rather be anywhere than at my front door with her life in bags around her.

I can’t help but laugh. “You could at least look like you are happy to be here.” I grab the first bag that Felisha had obviously been pushing.

“I’m not, so can you just move out of the way so we can get out of the corridor?”

Oh, this is going to be fun… not.

I step to the side with the suitcase in my hand and hold the door open for the girls, and Harper mumbles as she passes me. “Wipe that smirk off your face, it’s not fucking funny.”

Which of course only makes me laugh out loud now.

“Yes, Mum, that is Forrest’s laugh. I’m just here helping his… girlfriend move into his apartment.” He makes sure I’m paying for the phone call he just received.

“You prick!” I mouth at him as he passes by me at the door, flipping me the bird. I’m just thankful the girls didn’t hear his comment. But I can guarantee my phone is about to blow up with phone call after phone call from my mother.

“Oh, he didn’t tell you? Well, it’s new, and I’m sure when he is ready, he will share it all with you. You know how he is, such a private person. Anyway, I have to go, but yes, I will pass on to Felisha your offer to help with the wedding. You know it’s a girl thing, and I’m just happy with whatever she wants.” There is a pause and then he replies, “Love you too, bye, Mum.”

Felisha has already taken Harper down the hallway to the spare bedroom, which she knows where it is because she has stayed there before with Flynn.

“You’re an asshole, why would you do that to your elderly mother?” I ask, smacking him across the back of the head as I come up behind him.

“Ouch. That’s payback for being a dick and telling her to ring me.”

---