9. What Was Up With You Being In Jake’s Bedroom Last Week?
brIANNA
9
After the first week of living with my parents again, I know I need to move out of here as soon as possible.
“Bloody hell. I think that’s the worst family dinner I’ve ever been to,” Morgan says, following me into my bedroom once we’ve escaped the cold war occurring at the kitchen table, filled with passive-aggressive comments from Mum and silence from Dad.
“They’ve been like this all week. Have you noticed anything like this when you’ve been around?” I flop down on the single bed.
Morgan shoves me over so that she can take up the tiny space beside me. I really miss my king-size bed. Well, Richard’s king-size bed. I have to keep reminding myself that nothing there was actually mine.
“I’ll be honest, I don’t come around much. Mum usually visits us, or Chris and I might go fishing with Dad, but this is the most time I’ve spent with them together outside Christmas in years.” Morgan sighs, and we both stare up at the ceiling, still decorated with the stars I’d plastered all over it when I was a kid.
“Do you think they’re okay?” she asks after a while.
“Not from what I’ve seen. Every minute I’ve been home, Mum has been in my ear, complaining that Dad is around too much since he retired, and I swear Dad’s become even more mute than he was when we were kids. What do you even talk to him about when you guys go fishing?”
I can’t even remember the last time I was in my father’s little boat. We used to go out all the time as kids, but once I hit the teen years, it lost its appeal. Once I moved to Sydney, when I did come home, it was usually with Richard, and there was no way he was getting in a “rickety little death trap” - his words, not mine. I doubt he’s ever caught a fish in his life.
“Well, he and Chris bond over the cricket. Dad is actually quite chatty when you get him away from Mum, believe it or not,” Morgan says.
I turn to look at her with raised eyebrows.
She shrugs. “I’m serious. You should try to spend more time with him now that you’re back. You’re more like him than you realise.”
“Sure. Just as soon as Mum lets me out of her sight.” I roll my eyes, turning back to the ceiling.
It’s been a week, and my mother has been smothering me with attention. All I wanted to do was read a book or watch some TV, but instead, Mum was at my door, laying on the guilt that she hadn’t seen me in over a year.
“We need to get you out of here, or you’re going to end up either killing her or moving back to Sydney or somewhere even further away.” Although she attempts to make it sound like a joke, I know she’s worried I’ll leave again.
“I’ve started looking on all the housemate websites, but I don’t want to leave here just to go somewhere worse. I’ve seen so many ads from creepy old guys advertising their spare rooms or people who are so obviously controlling that it would be ten times worse than dealing with Mum and her control over the washing machine.” I shudder when I think about the last ad I’d looked at. “The one I saw today was some lady who had laid out all the house rules, and it was clear that she basically just expects to have the whole house to herself and have her housemate take a vow of silence and become invisible. Not to mention, most of them immediately said ‘no pets’.”
“What about Tara and Kylie?” Morgan asks.
“They don’t have the room and just signed a new lease. I’ll work something out. Don’t worry, I’m not going back to Sydney. Things would have to get pretty desperate for me to even consider that,” I say, and Maddie chooses this moment to join us, jumping up and landing squarely on Morgan’s chest with a thump, causing my sister to squeal, laughing when my fur-child pins her down and licks her all over the face.
“Oh, yuck! I love you, my little furry niece, but not the face!” She holds Maddie over her head so she can’t reach her face, and Maddie squirms to be put down.
“Give her to me. I could use some cuddle time with her. I’ve missed being able to work from home and have her nearby. Another reason to be selective about where I live.” Morgan hands Maddie to me, and after a sneaky lick on the cheek, she curls up on my stomach, looking up at me with a cute little doggy smile.
Who needs a boyfriend when you have the love of a dog?
“Could you afford to live on your own and then advertise for a housemate for yourself?”
“Sadly, that is not an option given how expensive rent is. Seriously, when did Brisbane become so expensive? It’s almost like Sydney prices!”
“Since all you Southerners kept moving up here ’cause it’s so awesome.” Morgan jabs me in the side, laughing when I frown at her. “I’m serious. That is actually the reason. All those years of everyone giving Brisbane shit, and now they’ve woken up to how great it is. Chris and I have been watching the market for buying, and I think we need to get our asses into gear. Otherwise, it’s never going to happen.”
“When did we become grown-ups, complaining about the property market? I don’t like this.”
“Sorry, I’ll take my boomer hat off now. Instead, I’m going to ask you about boys.”
“Cause that’s not like a boomer at all.” I shoot her a pointed look.
“What was up with you being in Jake’s bedroom last week?”
I freeze. “What do you mean?” I ask, attempting to sound casual.
Morgan rolls onto her side to stare at the side of my head while I keep my eyes trained on the ceiling. “Don’t. I know you slept in there on Saturday night.”
I turn my head to meet her gaze.
“Yeah, slept. As in, I slept on my side, and when he came to bed hours later, he slept on his side,” I state.
Morgan continues to stare at me.
“Seriously. My options were to risk being thrown up on by Kylie or sleep on the couch, where I would have to wait for you all to go to bed before I could fall asleep. I was done by eleven.” I wasn’t sure why I was getting so defensive.
“Is there something going on that I should know about?”
“What could possibly be going on? I’ve been home for a week and, until last Saturday, haven’t seen or spoken to Jake in years.” I can’t believe my sister is being so weird about this.
“I just…” She hesitates before continuing. “I worry that you aren’t really dealing with all the shit with Dick, and I would hate to see Jake become your rebound.”
“Seriously, Morgan. Nothing is going on with Jake. He was just being a nice guy and could see that my options for somewhere to sleep were limited. Next time, I’ll just Uber home if you’re going to make me go out and then leave me with nowhere to sleep.” I’m annoyed now.
It was literally her fault I had been in that situation, so she has no right to be protective of Jake as if I am going to corrupt him in my downward spiral post-breakup.
“Sorry, that was out of line.”
“Yeah, it was. I’m not going to jump into bed with Jake, for fuck’s sake Morgan.” I cross my arms over my chest and glare at the ceiling.
Morgan is quiet for a moment. “So, nothing happened then?”
“No!”
“Okay then, sorry.” She sounds defensive.
I have to bite my tongue in case I say something I’ll regret. I take a breath, and I can tell Morgan is fighting her own internal battle now when I turn my glare on her.
“But just in case I’m supposed to run every interaction between Jake and me past you, he has invited me to hang out with everyone tomorrow night, and I said yes.”
“So you guys have been in contact?” She finally blurts out.
“Morgan, I love you, but you’re being really fucking annoying right now. Yes, Jake and I have been in contact. I don’t know if you remember, but Jake was as much my friend as he was yours in school. Nothing is going on, so stop being a pain in the ass and just be happy we get to hang out more now, okay?”
Her face softens, and she reaches over to hug me. “I’m sorry, Bri. I don’t know why I’m being so weird about that. I guess I’m just protective over Jake. And you. You’re right – I did forget you guys were friends back then.” She hugs me tighter, burying her face in the pillow beside my head.
“You weirdo, get off me. Just leave me alone about Jake, and we’ll be fine, alright?” I laugh, shoving her off me, and she looks back up with a grin.
“Done. Come on, let’s get some ice cream and get you out of the house.” She jumps to her feet and marches out of the room.
I take a little longer to follow her, relieved that she doesn’t know about the spooning. It's best to leave that between Jake and myself.
Not that there is anything between Jake and I…
The next morning, my mother enters my bedroom without knocking, a basket of clothes in her arms, which she places on the floor.
“Still asleep? Come on, lazy bones. Up you get.” She stands at the end of my bed with her hands on her hips, shaking her head at me while I peek out from under my blanket.
“It’s not even 8 am on a Saturday, Mum,” I groan after looking at the clock.
“Prime time for getting stuff done.” She starts busying herself by putting my folded clothes away and banging drawers and cupboard doors.
“Oh my god, Mum! Stop putting my stuff away. I can do that… When I get up… Which isn’t now,” I say, sitting up and pushing my hair out of my face.
“Oh darling, I’m just so happy to have you home. Besides, you know how I am about the washing machine. I’ll do all your laundry while you’re here.” She continues putting clothes away, and I grit my teeth and flop back down, fighting the urge to explode.
Once she’s finished, she doesn’t leave like I’d hoped; instead, she sits on my bed and smiles at me.
“What?” I ask, wishing she’d leave so I could go back to sleep.
“How are you doing?”
“Seriously? Mum, I was asleep. I’ve been working all week, this is my first chance to sleep in since everything happened. Can we have this conversation another time?” I have lost all patience now, but she doesn’t move.
“Well, I’m just worried about you, darling. You’ve refused to talk to me about what happened and what your plans are.”
I can tell she isn’t going to leave without me giving her something, so I begrudgingly sit up again.
“Mum, I’m fine. You know me, I’ve never been too big on talking about my feelings. And as for my plans, I’m looking for somewhere to live. It’s just going to take a little while,” I say, rubbing my face to try and wake up properly.
“I don’t think you are fine, though, Bri. You’ve just been humiliated by that man, and you’re walking around like nothing even happened,” she replies, and I stare at her for a moment.
“Thanks, Mum, way to kick me while I’m down.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Well, I don’t know what you want me to say. Yes, Richard humiliated me. But what good is it going to do me crying about it? He chose to end our relationship without a second thought or discussing it with me, so I’m not going to give it a second thought either.” I cross my arms, and Mum pats my leg.
“That doesn’t seem very healthy.”
“Leave the poor girl alone, Clara. If she doesn’t want to discuss it, that’s her choice.” Dad appears at the door, and I’ve never been so relieved to see him in my life.
“Just because that’s how you deal with problems does not mean I want that for our daughter,” Mum snaps at him, and he shakes his head.
“She is twenty-four years old. She is an adult, so it is up to her to manage her problems. Stop hovering.”
He stomps off, and I stare after him, thrown by the fact that he’s stood up to her for a change. Mum is clearly thinking the same thing, blinking a few times before shaking her head.
“You two are so similar.” She sighs and gets to her feet, collecting the laundry basket on her way out and closing the door behind her.
I have no idea how to process that whole exchange, and all I can think about is how badly I need to find a new place to live. And fast.