Nothing Else Matters - Perrie Edwards

Chapter Twenty Six

It's true that everything looked better in the morning. I didn't think I'd be able to so easily, but I managed to get up and go to work and get through the whole shift without thinking about my mother. Lauren was right, Alfie was right; I didn't need her, and she wasn't worth worrying about.

I concentrated on my date with Perrie the next day and found I was looking forward to it so much, I could barely contain myself.

That is, until my mother turned up in the store.

I was laughing with Mike as we tried to lift some heavy equipment onto a stand in the middle of the shop, both of us struggling because we were laughing so much.

"Shut up, you're making this much harder than it is." I said.

"Stop laughing then!"

"You stop laughing!"

"Put it down before we drop it." Mike said, lowering his end and wiping his eyes. "Oh god..."

"Jakob?"

I straightened up and my face fell.

"Can I talk to you?"

"What are you doing here?" I said. Mike looked from me to her and then back to me again, looking confused.

"I want to talk to you, if you'll let me."

"I'm working." I said bluntly. "I've got an hour left."

"I'll wait." She said immediately. "I'll wait outside, I don't mind. I just want ten minutes... please."

I just shrugged. "Like I said, I've got over an hour left of my shift. Do what you like."

I turned my back on her and grabbed my end again. "Come on Mike, on three yeah?"

"Y-yeah, okay."

Mike watched her leave and said. "What was all that about?"

"You don't wanna know." I sighed. "On three. One..."

**

I was hoping she couldn't be bothered waiting and would be gone but when I left work, she was stood there outside, waiting. She smiled when she saw me, but I just rolled my eyes.

"Do you have a few minutes darling?"

"I'm not your darling. What do you want?"

"Ten minutes."

"Why?"

"I thought you wanted answers, I'm here to give you what you want."

I couldn't seem to move after that. I wanted to turn my back on her like she had done. Instead, I jerked my head to the coffee shop on the opposite side of the street.

"Come on then."

**

She offered me a drink when we went inside but I declined, and she sat facing me without getting one herself.

"I can't believe how grown up you look, Jakob."

The only answers I could think of to that weren't nice ones, so I stayed quiet.

"How- how old are you now?"

I laughed without humour. "Oh my god, you are a one off, aren't you? Cut the bullshit, mother. If you came to give me answers, let's hear them."

"Wh- Well – What do you want to know?"

"I want to know why you left." I said, very aware of how desperate I sounded and how desperate I looked.