Page 37 of Fury

Once I disconnect, I tuck my phone away and rest my head against the window. I have a thumping headache, and I’m so tired despite having slept uncomfortably on the floor for a few hours.

“I know it all seems like a lot right now,” says Fury gently, “but I swear it’ll get better.”

“When?”

“I don’t know,” he mutters.

“Then don’t make stupid promises,” I snap, and we fall into silence for the rest of the journey.

He stops two streets away from Mum’s place, telling me he’s not sure if Donnie’s vehicles are tracked. I twist in my seat and take a deep breath. “I have to act normal in front of my mum,” I say. “She knows me well, and she’ll sense I’m upset about something, so I’m going to say I broke up with Donnie and pretend I’m devastated.”

“You told her about him?” he asks, and I see in his eyes it bothers him.

“Yes.”

“And now you’re going to act heartbroken,” he mutters bitterly.

“Yes, and then I’m going to say you turned up at the hospital today.”

He scoffs. “And you thought you’d invite me to dinner?”

“Yes. She knows how upset I was when you left. She’d fully expect me to welcome you home, where I always knew you belonged.” He rolls his eyes and gets out the car. I sigh and thenfollow. “You have to lose the attitude before we go in there,” I snap.

“She knows how it went down in the end,” I snap. “Me and her, we both sat at that table whilst your dad told me I was gonna leave. I promised to stay away.”

“That was years ago. Besides, you showed up at the hospital. You weren’t to know I’d be there. She’ll assume I’ve been my usual persistent self and forced you into this.”

“You have,” he mutters.

I march off towards her house, leaving him to trail behind me.

Mum greets me in the usual way, wrapping me tightly in her arms. Only this time, I recognise the second she spots Fury because she stiffens slightly, and I think I hear a slight gasp. She releases me, her eyes firmly fixed past me and on him. “Surprise,” I say with forced enthusiasm. “Look who I ran into.”

“Reese,” she almost whispers.

“Hey, Dianna. How are you?” His voice is off. It sounds empty of emotion, and for the first time, I think about how hard this might be for him. But it’s too late now, so I smile wide.

“He was at the hospital.”

“Are you hurt?” she asks, moving past me to him, where she holds him at arm’s length and scans him with her eyes. I feel a warmness spread through my heart watching how she checks him over, like he never left her sight. He towers over her small frame, but it doesn’t seem to bother her as she reaches up to cup his cheek. “You’ve grown into a big, strong lad,” she comments. “I knew you would. Now, come inside. Let’s eat and you can tell me everything.”

CHAPTER NINE

Fury

Istare in wonderment as Dianna goes back inside followed by Xanthe. I should be angry. The seventeen-year-old boy inside me should be even more angry. But I find myself following them like the desperate, unloved kid I’ve always been because I need her approval. I need her to smile at me with the warmth I remember before she turfed me out.

I close the door and turn to the walls adorned with hundreds of pictures of every kid they’ve ever fostered. They had the same ‘wall of fame’, as Xanthe called it, at the last place. And the same scent—the smell of food mixed with a sweet hint of honeysuckle. Whenever I smell the flower, I’m reminded of this family. It makes me feel safe, like a comfort blanket.

I step into the kitchen, where Xanthe is flicking through a pile of mail and Dianna is stirring what looks like gravy. “I need someone strong to carve the beef,” she tells me, nodding to where the meat is resting on the worktop.

I head over and pick up the carving knife. I feel Xanthe’s wide eyes on me, just like when she watched me earlier.

“So,” says Dianna, smiling, “what do you do for work?”

Xanthe brings her eyes to mine, and I look away, returning Dianna’s smile. “I’m a boxer. I work some shifts at a gym and do occasional bar work.”

“You’re busy then,” she remarks. “You always had to be on the go. What about marriage or kids?”

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