Acquiesce

Chapter 24

I'd secretly planned on a tattoo for the twins. I went back to the shop, most of my tattoos had been done there. I didn't trust anywhere else, the only problem was they didn't trust me.

Bex glanced at me. "Get out."

"You're my best friends, don't be like this."

"I said get out, you're not welcome here. I thought I'd made it clear."

"I'm sorry, everything I did, I never ever thought I'd lose you."

"Well you have so please leave."

"I'm here as a customer then. I need to get inked."

"No! You are not allowed on the premises, you're not a friend or a customer here."

"I'll do it." Danielle spoke up.

"Danielle! I just said..." Bex tried to protest.

"I know but why turn away a job and I think we should forgive her, I mean, it was just sex." She waved me over to her chair.

"Fine, do what you want." Bex tutted.

I sat with Danielle and told her what we'd renamed the twins and my plan. A Poppy, obviously and two Man City shirts with the number nine and twenty seven for the respective players.

"This is my first ever football tattoo." she commented. "I wouldn't know this kit from any other."

I'd brought the match day book for reference. "Me neither but that's where my son got his name so they must be important to Liam."

She looked uncomfortable as I said his name for the first time. "Are you with him? I saw some article about you going somewhere with him."

"No, no, we're friends." I shook my head. "We went to his Mum's in Manchester."

We'd come back to London closer, we argued less like we didn't have to anymore so we didn't but it wasn't like we were together.

"Oh."

We continued to talk as she did the tattoo on my stomach, on the opposite side to the Jay..

"Where are you living now?"

"My Dad's." I sighed. "I wish I could move, get out from under his feet but I don't have a job to pay for it."

"You know we had to..."

I nodded. "I know."

"The baby daddy could pay for all our rents without noticing." Bex chipped in.

"I'm not making him pay for things like that. If I wanted to live with him I would but that wouldn't work. "

"Why?" she asked. "It's all his fault. You had a nice house, a nice husband, everything."

"It was all me, actually." I asserted. "He didn't force me to got to anything."

She didn't have a remark for that answer.

...

I went back to Dad's where I'd left Liam with the twins.

"Where've you been?" Liam asked, sounding like he'd been considering sending out search and rescue for me. "Just nipping out you said."

"Going shopping I said." I corrected.

"Where's the bags then?"

"Didn't need bags for what I bought."

He gave me a look like I wasn't talking a word of sense.

I lifted my shirt and his eyes widened at the sight of the bandage. "What the hell have y'done there? Are y'fucking alright?"