The Own Goal ✔️

Part 41

Monday

"Not kicking you out or anything, but you going to try to get the keys for the house today?" Jasmin asks, I arrived at her house with Mia late Saturday night, exhausted from traveling from London to Birmingham by train, then driving to Manchester.
I was also understandably an emotional wreck.

But she didn't judge, she didn't moan that I hadn't called her, she just let us in, sorted somewhere for Mia to sleep and called Sian who arrived Sunday morning baring wine and chocolate. Lots of chocolate.

"I can't, the key is still in the site office and it's all in Jacks name"

"Surely your name is somewhere?" Pipes up Sian, it was bought with the intention of you living there"

"No, it's all in Jacks name, all the bills everything. Honestly he was just going to have the bills come out of his account, he had intended to send me money monthly for Mia but Well I never left did I and he just gave me a credit card"

The girls look at each other. The look they exchange is one of mortified despair.

"What?" I ask, genuinely confused, and it dawns on me that this is how Jack must feel most of the time. "What? It's because I do the shopping and stuff and obviously buy for Mia, and I don't actually have an income at the moment.......I think it's just paid by his accountant every month"

"Chelsea, you do have money though don't you? Like actual money?" Jasmin enquires.

"No, my account is literally empty and what little savings I had I spent when I was proving a point that I could pay for the cot and things myself"

"What if he blocks the card Chels?" Asks Sian.

"He wouldn't do that!"

"What if you need cash, can you withdraw on that card?" Sian presses.

"Well I don't know, I've never tried?"

"Once I'm in the house I thought I could work from home, contact some of my old regulars, the utility room is massive I thought I could set up a home salon"

"Babe, he's literally left you with nothing.....he's pulled and he's reeled you in and you've become proper dependent on him" Jasmin says gently.

"No, it's not like that!" Is it.....

"A normal person would have given you money, actual money, then you could have had access to cash, anything left over. Chelsea, withholding money from a partner is a form of abuse" Sian is holding Mia as she's talking. This is madness........isn't it?

"I wish you'd been honest with us Chelsea!" Jasmin sounds annoyed. "He's fucking played you Chelsea! The man's a fucking walking red flag!"

"Nooooo, honest I think you've got him wrong! He's a fucker for fucking around, but the money thing? Honestly he's not that deep to think like that. He uses a credit card himself for everything.......it all goes to his accountant. Like he has a day to day bank account but there's not much money in it, his accountant deals with his actual wages and where his money goes....."

"Oh Chelsea! No one has that little idea about there own money babe!" Sian sounds like she's losing patience with me, but I still don't see it.

Jasmin suddenly stifles a strange sound and shows me her phone "I'm sorry babe, but he's fine, he knew what he was doing!"

She's still following some of the private accounts of the lads from the holiday on Instagram.
She shows me photo after photo of Jack out celebrating.

Jack drinking.

Jack with friends.

Jack with girls.