Page 13 of Losing the Forbidden
“I…”
“You were brave enough to show your face now Dad’s gone?”
I open my mouth to argue, but in a way what she’s saying is correct.
“No, Lauren. It’s more complicated than that.”
“Is it? Because the way I see it…” She walks closer, but her angry eyes never leave me. “You got scared, you ran, and you continued running until you no longer had to. The risk of coming home has gone, and you are free to do whatever your selfish, pig-headed self wanted to do. You should just do us all a favour and crawl back to wherever it was you ran to.”
When she runs out of steam, she’s right in front of me, staring hate-filled daggers down at me.
Slowly standing, my eyes run up the front of her until I find hers. They’re dark and angry, but I also see more in them. Our bodies are only a breath apart, and her heat seeps into me. I clench my fists to stop me reaching out and pulling her to me.
Her breath tickles over my face as her chest heaves with anger.
“Nothing’s changed, has it?” I ask, searching her face and dropping my eyes to her full lips.
“Y-yes. Everything’s changed. Everything has changed.” Slamming her palms against my chest, I fall back onto the chair as she spins and storms away.
My lips twitch up into a smile. I’ve gotten to her. She might think her act is fooling me, but I see her. I can see underneath the façade she’s trying to show the world.
“Son, it’s so good to see you,” Uncle Chris says, pulling his front door open later that day.
“You too,” I grunt when I find myself dragged into a brief man hug.
“Thank you,” he says taking the folder from my hands. “Did you manage to get everything?”
“I think so. All the bank details should be in there. I can always go back if need be. Is everything…as it should be?”
Chris knows I had concerns about Nick’s business decisions, but like me, he never found any evidence of any wrongdoing. As our family solicitor for as long as I can remember, Chris has always known the ins and outs of the business, and he’s always been in the best position to know if there was anything questionable happening. The fact that he never found anything makes me doubt myself.
“So far so good. We’re yet to get the will, but I’m assuming your mum is to get everything. But someone’s going to need to take over, and soon.” He pins me with a look, and I don’t need to ask what he means by that statement.
I always thought the business was my future; but standing here now with it once again in reach, I’m not sure it’s what I really want. As much as I’ve wanted to be back here, I can’t deny I’m missing my new life just a little bit.
“How are your mum and Lauren doing?” he asks, changing the subject when I keep my lips sealed.
“Mum’s…lost.” She didn’t show her face this morning. The only reason I knew she was still in her room was the sounds of her cries as I got ready to come here. I knocked, tried to convince her to come down for food, but she ignored me. “And Lauren’s…angry.”
“You sound surprised.”
“Not really. I expected it.”
“You need to tell her the truth, you know.”
“I will. I just want her to get the funeral done first. I think it’s important that she says goodbye to him as she knew him.”
“You’ve got a wise head on those shoulders, boy. Your dad would be proud of you.”
The mention of my dad, as always, has a lump climbing up my throat.
Chris looks over when I don’t respond, his face full of sympathy. “You know the only person he’d want to take over now is you, don’t you?”
Nodding, I sip at the coffee he placed in front of me.
Am I ready for this?
“Are you planning on attending the funeral?”
