“They were.” She shook her head. “They are.”
“But you broke up?” her mum asked.
“No. We’re doing long distance for a while.”
“So he’s planning on coming back at some point, is he?” Her dad looked utterly confused.
“I don’t know what we’re going to do.” She blinked back tears, wishing she knew what their future held. “The sausages are good,” she said, hoping to steer her mum onto a tangent about where she did the food shopping.
“When will you see him?” Sue asked, not taking the bait.
“He’ll fly over next weekend, I think.”
Her mum gave her a sympathetic look. “That must be hard.”
“I can’t imagine that arrangement lasting very long,” her dad grumbled. “Why did he suddenly have to move back there?”
Keira calmly set her cutlery down and took a sip of water. Most of the time she ignored her dad’s negativity, but it wasn’t so easy when he was voicing her own fears. The long-distance setup probablywasn’tgoing to work out. All the time she spent missing him might be better spent trying to get over him.
“He was only living in Bristol temporarily,” she said, nipping the bridge of her nose. “Can we talk about something else please?”
An awkward silence ensued before her mum filled her in on her trip to the podiatrist. Probably not most people’s idea of good dinner table conversation, but compared to talking about Noah living hundreds of miles away it was entirely bearable.
After dinner, they moved to the living room for birthday cake. Keira struggled to make conversation and was conscious of how often she checked her watch, waiting for an appropriate amount of time to pass before she could go home. When her dad switched the TV on it seemed like her cue.
“I should get off,” she said. “It’s been a long week.”
Her dad muted the TV. “Could I ask you a favour, love?”
“Yes,” she said through gritted teeth.
“You couldn’t lend us a few quid, could you?”
“I gave you a gift voucher.”
“I know but we’re a bit strapped for cash until payday.”
As she reached for her purse, the argument she’d had with Noah about her dad being a gambling addict flashed in her mind.
“You don’t use the money I give you to gamble, do you?” she asked slowly.
“Of course not.”
Keira fingered the notes in her wallet. Why on earth did she bring cash with her when she was visiting her parents? If she didn’t want to give them money, she shouldn’t have any with her.
“But the reason you’re always borrowing money from me is because you gamble too much … or spend it on lottery tickets?”
“You won’t be complaining when I hit the jackpot,” he said cheerfully.
“You’re never going to win the lottery.” Taking a deep breath, she closed her purse and put it away. “I can’t lend you money. Sorry.”
“We’ll pay you back on payday.” Her dad leaned forward in his seat.
Keira’s pulse quickened. “You always say that, but you’ve never paid me back any of the money I’ve lent you.”
“It’s okay,” her mum said, patting her knee. “We’ll manage. It’s not as though we’re about to starve.”
“I want to visit Noah sometime,” Keira said, feeling she needed an excuse not to lend them money. “I need the money for the flight.”