THE TROUBLE WITH PAPER PLANES(60)

Alex blinked, as if desperately trying to keep up with the shift in focus. The fa?ade slipped away and he turned to Bridget. It was incredible, the way he could turn on a dime. One minute spoiling for a fight, the next minute looking young and vulnerable and full of remorse. My head spun, just watching him.

“I didn’t hit you, Mum – did you tell him that I didn’t hit you?”

“No, you didn’t hit me,” Bridget said carefully.

“You pushed her into a table instead.”

“I didn’t push her! She fell!”

“Trying to get the hell away from you!” I cried, losing it finally. “Get out, you’ve done enough for one night, don’t you think? She doesn’t want you here tonight – come back when you’re sober, you can apologise to her then.”

Alex reached up with both hands, pulling at his hair and grimacing, as if trying to think straight through the alcoholic haze clouding his brain. “You should’ve just given me my keys, Mum! That’s all I wanted – my keys!”

“And watch you kill yourself – or someone else?” Bridget demanded, in one of the rare times I’d ever heard her raise her voice. “Don’t you think we’ve had enough heartache in this family? Isn’t it enough that Em’s gone? You’re my son, the only child I have left, and yet you insist on destroying yourself right in front of me!”

My heart pounded in my ears. I’d never heard her speak to Alex like that before.

“Don’t do that!” Alex croaked, breaking down and making a grab for the dining room table to steady himself. “Don’t lay any more of that guilt shit on me!”

“It’s not guilt, Alex – it’s the truth! Why won’t you let me help you? You can’t go on like this – I can’t go on like this! You’re breaking my heart, can’t you see that?”

Alex sucked in a gut-wrenching sob, bending over the dining table. For a second, I thought he was going to pass out, and I swapped an anxious look with Bridget. Suddenly, he swept his arm across the table, knocking a bowl to the floor, sending fruit flying in all directions. The bowl smashed, the sound ricocheting through the room.

“Give me my keys!” he roared.

Bridget stared at him, wide-eyed, and I could see her trembling from where I stood. She was doing a good job of holding herself together, but I could tell the mask was wearing thin. Maia moved to put her arm around her, pulling her close. I couldn’t watch this nightmare any longer.

“That’s it!” I bellowed, striding towards him. “If I have to f*ckin’ throw you out, I will!”

Alex side-stepped me – impressive, considering his inebriated state – and made his way around the other side of the table, putting a barrier between us. This was no game though. My face was on fire as I struggled to keep my temper under control.

“No time for your bullshit,” I warned. “Final warning!”

“Yeah,” Alex said slowly, nodding as if he was actually enjoying this. “That’s right. That’s the real you, isn’t it? Maybe now your new girlfriend will see what kind of man you really are. S’pose you told her a bunch of shit about how you were gonna keep her safe too, didn’t ya?”

“You’re out of your f*ckin’ mind!”

Alex gave a huff, a kind of laugh with an edge to it that was far from funny.

“Yeah, right. I’m out of my mind,” he mumbled. “What’s the matter dude – truth hurt?”

In an instant, my blood-pressure sky-rocketed again. I hung on to one of the dining chairs in front of me, tempted to pick it up and throw it at him if that would make him shut up.

“Heath,” pleaded Bridget, just in time.

A timely reminder that we had an audience. God knew what Maia thought about any of this – I was too scared to find out.

I leaned forward, my entire body tense with the effort it took to keep my temper under control. “Get. The. Fuck. Out.”

“Please, Alex,” Bridget begged. “Please let me just drive you home?”

Let her, I pleaded silently, aware I was losing it and not sure how long I was able to keep up the fa?ade. Let her get you the hell away from me. Let her do it. Go.

Alex swayed on his feet for several moments, leaning on the table for support. Then he pushed himself upright and seemed to take control once more.

“You know what?” he said, eyes bloodshot and wide, as if he was having trouble seeing me. “You can all just go f*ck yourselves. I don’t need this bullshit.”