Chapter 3
THREE
IVY
I’m so tired.
My life is going nowhere, and my family is next to useless.
No. Scratch that.
My family is useless.
While Dad and Tyler sit around doing nothing all day, I’m the one keeping house. I’m the one cleaning up after them.
I’m the one doing all the cooking.
Despite my pleading, nothing’s changed.
Going to work is my only real respite, and while I’m tired, I still enjoy working at the pub. Mitchell’s a great boss, and I like the human interaction.
“Ivy. Where are my pyjamas?” Dad yells.
I roll my eyes. “On the end of the bed. Where I usually put them.”
“Why aren’t they in the drawer?”
I finish wiping the cup I’m drying, and put it and the tea towel down on the bench.
“Because last time I put them in the drawer, you couldn’t find them so asked me to put them on the end of the bed.”
He turns and grumbles all the way back to his bedroom. I sigh. I’m so done with my family, but I don’t have the income to leave.
I should have left before Mum died, but then Dad laid on a massive guilt trip and now I really am stuck.
And then there’s my other problem …
“Ivy. Are there any leftovers from dinner?” My brother, Tyler calls from the living room.
“There’s more beef in the fridge. Potatoes are all gone.”
“Can you make me a sandwich?”
I sigh.
“I’ve got to get to work. Do it yourself.”
“But—”
“I’m going. See you later.”
I grab my handbag and head out the back door and straight to my car. There’s no way I’ll be late to the only job I could get around here. Maybe I could work on one of the farms, but the farmers know my dad and how useless he is. It’s always been guilt by association.
Except for Mitchell.
He knows I’m nothing like Dad. And he knows about what happened when my mother died.
I’m too soft for my own good.
I’m also never going to get out of here—not at the rate I’m going. But I have to be positive and push through it.
There’s nothing else for me here.