Acquiesce

Chapter 23

Liam was swearing at and threatening the car seat in broken mutterings as he tried to secure it in the car. "Fucking, just get in you stupid piece of..."

I'd already installed the other car seat in the other seat and got Poppy comfy while he was still struggling.

"Come here." I tried to push him out the way. "They don't listen to threats, believe me."

I was in a good mood, patient but I just wanted to get on the road while the twins were settled and there was no tension built between us.

"I'm doing it."

"Yeah but I want to go today."

"I can do it, I just need to..." He had another fight with the seat belt. "It's this car, I fucking did it in your car."

"Yeah, your spacious Land Rover thing is the problem." I got sarcastic but he didn't notice or just ignored it.

"Exactly, seats are bigger."

"Just get in the car." I ordered and he actually listened.

About as soon as I got driving I wished I'd let a driver drive us instead of us hiring the car because I had no idea where I was going. I'd never been anywhere up North.

"Stick radio on, or a CD.."

I ignored him because I was concentrating so he started pressing all the buttons, trying to find the right ones as if he'd never used a radio or a CD player before.

"It's doing fuck all."

"Says no CD, there's no CD, how are you in music when you can't work that?"

"Where's the CDs then?"

"I don't know, switch to radio."

I got on the motorway, followed signs for the North and hoped for the best. Manchester couldn't be that hard to find.

"So I told Mam some stuff about us." he spoke up after we'd covered some miles.

"Like what?"

"Don't get mardy or anything, just go along with it, for Mam."

This was going to be interesting. "Go on."

"She thinks we're a couple, we have been the whole time and we're happy together."

If I wasn't driving I'd have put my head in my the hands. "Don't you think we've lied enough already?"

"It's not lying."

"It's not telling the truth."

"Please, it's not fucking hurting anyone, I just want me Mam to be happy."

"You don't want her to know you got a married lying, cheating, whore pregnant."

"No. I don't want her to know I was shagging you and everything when you was pregnant."

"You're not her innocent little boy anymore, you don't need to protect her by lying especially not this much."

"She'll fucking hate me if she knew."

"My whole family and friends know, no one hates me."

"You got sacked, they're not talking to you."

"For lying."

"Just act like we're a couple for a few fucking hours."

"Just remember who's idea this was when it blows up in our faces."