“I see.” Her dad raised his eyebrows. “This new fella comes along and suddenly you can’t help us out any more? I hope you’re not giving him money. I bet he thinks he’s onto a good thing with you.”
“If he’s with me for money he’ll be sorely disappointed.” She choked on a humourless laugh. “He’d never ask me for money. He was shocked that you took money from me. You should never have asked me in front of him. I was so embarrassed.”
“He has a problem with you helping your parents out?” He dad looked incredulous.
“He was concerned about me, that’s all.”
“I reckon he’s whispering in your ear and causing issues between you and your family.”
“No. He’s not.” Keira’s voice rose dramatically. “This is nothing to do with him. I just can’t afford to give you money. I want to save and I can’t. I never have anything left at the end of the month.”
“Withyourwage?” her dad said with disbelief.
“I don’t know how much you think I earn, but it’s not enough to supplement your income. Why should I even have to?” She shot off the couch and gripped her handbag tightly. “If you need more money all you have to do is stop throwing it away on the horses and the lottery.”
“I don’t need you telling me how to manage my finances,” her dad spat. “I suppose it’s this new boyfriend who’s turned you into Little Miss High and Mighty?”
Tears filled her eyes as she glared at her dad. “I don’t know why it’s okay with you to constantly take from me. It’s not normal. You should be ashamed, but you don’t even see that what you’re doing is wrong.”
The silence that fell made Keira wish her dad would argue with her. A shouting match would be far preferable to the quiet in the room.
“We’ll pay you back,” her mum said, standing and rubbing Keira’s arm. “All the money we’ve borrowed, we’ll get it back for you. We just need a bit of time.”
“Until Dad wins the lottery?” she asked bitterly.
Her dad kept his head bowed. “I’ll find you the money if it’s so important to you.”
“It’s not. I don’t care about the money I’ve lent you, but I can’t keep doing it.” Her chin wobbled as she looked at her mum. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine,” her mum said. “You’re right – we shouldn’t take your money.”
Keira’s vision was blurred with tears as she looked at her dad sitting hunched over in the armchair. “I’m sorry,” she said again. “But I struggle for money too. I hate that you’re wasting so much money gambling.”
“I think you’ve made that clear,” he replied quietly.
“Do you need help?” she asked, sniffing. “There must be groups or something for gambling addicts. We could look into it.”
“I’m not an addict,” he said loudly. “I like a flutter now and again, that’s all. It’s not a problem.”
“It is though,” she cried. “Because I’ve spent years giving you money when I should have been saving. And now I feel like the worst person in the world for saying I can’t do it any more. So you can’t say it’s not a problem. If it’s not a problem for you, it’s a problem for me.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way,” her dad said. “I won’t ever ask you for anything again.”
She waited for him to look at her, but he clearly wasn’t going to. Tearfully, she said goodbye to her mum and hurried out of the house.
She regretted her outburst immediately. It was tempting to go back in and give them the money, but the damage was already done. She couldn’t take back what she’d said, and nothing could change the way she’d shouted at her dad. On his birthday as well. What the hell was wrong with her?
As she walked slowly to the bus stop, her sorrow turned to anger. Noah should never have put ideas in her head about her dad being a gambling addict. It wasn’t true. She’d made a big deal out of nothing and probably done permanent damage to her relationship with her parents.
The bus seemed to take forever. When she was finally standing in the lift up to the flat she peered at the mirrored wall. Her bloodshot eyes were a dead giveaway that she’d been crying, so she hoped Mel was out for the night. The last thing she wanted was to talk to Mel about it. No doubt she’d insist that Keira putting her foot down had been a good thing.
Voices drifted from the living room as soon as she opened the front door. Mel must have friends over, which wasn’t ideal, but at least she could slip into her room and avoid questions about her evening.
She’d just taken her shoes off when she stopped short. Her heart rate increased and her whole body tensed as she registered Noah’s voice.
Considering how much time she’d spent missing him over the last two weeks she should have been over the moon, but all she wanted to do was creep into her bedroom and curl up under her covers. If it weren’t for Noah she’d never have fallen out with her dad. More tears threatened and she knew there was no way she could feign being happy to see him.
“Keira!” Mel shouted happily. “You’ve got a visitor.”