Carnage: Book #1 The Story Of Us (Volume 1)(98)

Len passes me a glass of wine and what looks like whiskey to Sean. I take a long sip of my drink. “I need to speak to my Mum, I can’t believe she’d do this to me, she knew the mess I was in. We’ve talked so many times and I’ve told her that I still love you, that I will always love you, I just don’t understand.”

I look across at Marley sitting in the armchair. “You okay big brother Marley?”

“Gotta say little sister Georgia that I’m with you, Mum just wouldn’t do that, surely Mum wouldn’t do that?” He shakes his head, and then carries on, as if he’s talking to himself. “I don’t know if I’m just over thinking things, but now I am thinking about it, she has gone out of her way over the years to stop you two from having any kind of contact. I just thought it was to protect you George and then after that Sunday the other month.”

I feel Sean hold his breath and squeeze me just a little bit tighter. “After the way you reacted that Sunday, I thought she’d done the right thing but there have been a few times when she’s sort of been a bit irrational about things, the way she told me not to give you our address and she was really pissed off when you found it out that if she had her own agenda? What if there was more to it than just protecting you? Perhaps it was about hiding what she had done, I don’t know, I’m just surmising.”

I’m totally confused and have no idea what he’s talking about.

“I don’t understand Marls, what dya mean, giving me our address, I don’t understand?”

“Ours, mine and Sean’s, she told me not to give you our address because she was worried that you would just turn up unannounced. She said you’d been trying to find out where we lived so that you could stalk Sean.” I’m floored and now, I’m also starting to get more than just a little pissed off.

“Marley, I have no f*ckin’ idea where your place is and I had absolutely no idea that you and Sean lived together.”

Everyone seems to stop what they’re doing, even breathing.

“George, did you never go to the boys place and try and get past the reception area, did you not go there and scream abuse at the security guard and try and kick the doors in?”

I look around the room at everyone; I look up at Sean, who looks at me horrified. “I didn’t know about this babe, you came to our apartment?” What on earth is going on here?

“Are you all deaf, or just f*ckin mad? I have no idea where Marley lives and I had no idea that Sean lived with him, no f*ckin’ idea. Where is this coming from, who told all of you that I had been there causing trouble?”

There’s silence for a long moment as my brothers and Jimmie all look at each other, Jimmie shrugs her shoulders. “Your Mum, George, your Mum told us.”

My bottom jaw quivers as I try to hold onto the hurt and betrayal that I am feeling inside, this is at least equal or maybe even worse than how I’ve felt about Sean’s apparent misdemeanours for the past four years. I burrow into him and look up into his face. He looks pained and kisses my temple, very softly whispering, “Oh babe.”

“Why Sean?” I look around the room at all of them, pleadingly. “Why would she do that to me? Why would she do that to us?” I can’t control the sobs as I speak and once again, Sean pulls me into him and soothes and calms me down.

Eventually I resign myself to what needs to be done, I stand up and miss the closeness of being next to Sean instantly. “I need to call her; I need to talk to her.”

I look at Len and Jimmie. “Can I ask her to come here?”