Читать книгу The Neighbours: A gripping, addictive novel with a twist that will leave you breathless - Hannah McKinnon Mary - Страница 23

NOW NANCY

“HAVE YOU SEEN anyone from next door lately?” I asked Zac and Liam as we cleared up after dinner together, me putting leftovers in the fridge, Liam washing up and Zac—under usual duress—haphazardly drying the dishes. Neither of them responded at first so I asked the question again.

Zac shrugged. “I see Sarah at school sometimes.”

“Oh, do you?” I said in an attempt to be the fun mum, which backfired immediately.

“It’s not like that,” he said with a huff, puff and eye roll. “I mean I see her around. In the corridors and stuff.”

“You could walk to school together,” I said. “You might have something in common.”

As Zac turned and put the glass dish on the counter I saw him meet Liam’s eye. “We’re not five, Mum,” Zac said. “You’ll be trying to arrange playdates for me next.”

Liam chuckled quietly, and I clenched my teeth. Why couldn’t he be on my side? It hurt when he made me feel like the odd one out. As for Zac, I was almost used to his verbal jabs and remembered being the same with both my parents at his age, but I missed him being the cuddly little boy he’d once been, always willing to wrap his arms around me like Mr. Tickle, whether his friends were watching or not. Time had passed so quickly, and these days I was lucky to get a hug on Christmas morning. My son was growing up, pulling away from me—and rightly so—and yet the legitimate distance it created between us hurt like sandpaper on an open wound.

I smiled breezily and looked at Zac with my head tilted to one side. “Playdates, that’s a good one. No, I just meant that I think Sarah’s—”

“Nancy,” Liam said, and I thought he was about to ever so politely tell me to back off, but he did a one-eighty. “I thought I’d take you out for dinner over the weekend.”

“That would be lovely.” I smiled back, a bit surprised yet delighted at the prospect. “The three of us haven’t been out for ages.”

“Actually,” Liam said as he flicked the kettle on, “I meant just the two of us.”

“But what about Zac? You want to come with us, don’t you, honey?”

“Like I said, I’m not five,” Zac snapped. “I’ll be perfectly happy on my own.”

“Watch your tone, Zac.” Liam pulled the rubbish bag out from under the sink and held it out toward him. “First of all, don’t speak to your mother like that. And second, empty the rest of the bins around the house.”

“But I’m drying—”

“Just get it done.”

Zac snatched the bag from Liam and stormed out of the kitchen, and within seconds I heard him stomping up the stairs.

“Thanks, love,” I whispered, glowing at the fact that Liam had sprung to my defense. “And by the way, I know he’s in touch with Sarah. They’re connected on Facebook.”

Liam pulled out the jar of coffee. Despite the fact that I’d bought one of those fancy machines, he hardly used it. According to him there was nothing wrong with instant. I smiled to myself, grateful that, despite his successful career, he’d remained a man of simple tastes. My heart fluttered, as it often did when I thought about him, about us, but then it almost stopped when Liam looked at me with his brow furrowed, eyes narrowing, judging me.

“And how do you know that?” he said.

I turned away so he couldn’t see my face flush. “I’ve been looking.”

“Nancy.”

“I’m his mother. I’m perfectly entitled to—”

“Snoop?”

We’d had this discussion before, and never agreed. He thought it was an invasion of Zac’s privacy. I thought it was good, old-fashioned common sense. Everybody looked at what their kids were doing online these days.

“Call it what you want,” I said. “It’s my job to keep tabs on him. Make sure he doesn’t—”

“You don’t need to keep tabs on him. He’s a good kid. He’s never been in any trouble.”

I crossed my arms. “You’re forgetting the incident at his last school.”

Liam stirred his coffee with more vigor than I thought necessary. “He didn’t start it.”

“Yeah, well. Anyway...while I was on Facebook I connected with Nate.”

“That’s nice.”

I knew he wouldn’t ask me why or show any signs if it bothered him. Honest to goodness, my husband was a smart man, but didn’t he realize a little bit of jealousy from his side would make me feel better? More confident and safe—more desired? But if I raised it he’d almost certainly counter that the ring on my finger should be enough reassurance.

It never had been. Not really.

I told myself to stop being so petulant and smiled again. “You know what, though? I couldn’t find Abby. I looked on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram—”

“Sounds laborious.”

“—but I couldn’t find her anywhere. Doesn’t that strike you as odd in this day and age? What deep, dark secrets do you think she’s hiding?” I’d meant it as another joke, but judging by Liam’s tone and expression, he didn’t find it funny.

“You know she lives next door, right?” he said. “If you have such a burning need for information, why don’t you go over there and ask?” His words stung as much as the look he threw my way.

“Baby, it’s not—”

“Some of us don’t want to spread our lives over the internet for all to see,” Liam said.

I stiffened. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, dear.” Liam sighed.

“Don’t ‘dear’ me. I hate it when you do that. So you think I post too much online?”

“Look.” Liam used his placid voice, the one that could calm me down or light my fuse in a second, depending on the situation. “I mean this in the nicest possible way, but I wonder if anybody’s interested in the paint colors you’re thinking of using, or the lunch you’ve made or...”

“I’ve got to share those things with somebody,” I snapped. “You’re not around much these days, are you?”

“Nancy...”

“The few girlfriends I have are back home, so I can’t see them. I’ve asked you to look at the plans for the house, but you’re either too busy or not here. You hardly take an interest—”

“I’ve taken on a new role at work, Nancy. More responsibility. More direct reports. You knew I’d be swamped for a while when you agreed to us coming here.”

“Sure, but I didn’t expect you to be so distant and preoccupied. Downright ratty, actually. And don’t even get me started on our sex life.” I glared at him, for once unwilling to back down and appease him, which felt surprisingly good.

Liam threw his arms into the air. “Where the hell did that come from? Actually, no. It doesn’t matter. I’m not having this conversation again. I’ve got work to do.”

“Of course you do,” I said icily as he turned and left.

Zac came back into the kitchen and plonked the full bin-bag on the floor. “There. And so you know, Mum, the walls in this house are really thin. So if you and Dad are going to argue about your, uh, sex life, can you do it when I’m not around? Gross.”

And just like that I stood alone in a half-cleaned kitchen with a full rubbish bag at my feet. This wasn’t exactly how I’d imagined starting our Easter weekend. There was no way I’d go out for dinner with Liam now. It would serve him right for being so rude. I picked up the bag and took it outside, grateful for the moment of fresh air. I briefly considered getting my jacket and going for a walk without saying anything, but it was cold, and I doubted Liam would notice I’d left.

“Bugger it!” I said out loud.

“Hey, Nancy.” Nate’s head popped up from the other side of his car and as I dropped the bag into the container and walked over, he wiped his hand on a rag. “Everything okay? Haven’t seen you in ages.”