15. Sophie

When I got home Jess was hovering at the front door. She was usually in her bedroom with the door closed, on her phone, so I was surprised to see her.

‘Mum, Pippa’s here with Robert. I think … I think she’s drunk.’ Jess looked upset.

‘What?’

Jess flapped her arms around nervously. ‘She arrived ten minutes ago to drop him off and she looked kind of weird. She’s been locked in the bathroom since. She won’t answer me.’

First, it was not our day to have Robert, and second, what the hell was Pippa doing turning up drunk to the house? Had she driven him over? Had she put him at risk? My head was spinning.

I took charge. I needed to keep Jess calm.

‘Okay. You take Robert up to his bedroom. I need to speak to Pippa. I’ve had enough of her bullshit.’

Jess went to get Robert from the TV room and brought him upstairs.

I marched to the bathroom and knocked loudly on the door. ‘Pippa, it’s Sophie. What’s going on?’

Silence.

‘Pippa! Open the door.’

The door unlocked.

‘What the hell?’ she slurred. ‘Can I not use the bathroom without you being on my case? God, you’re such a control freak. How does Jack stand it?’

She tried to push past me, but I blocked her.

‘Have you been drinking, Pippa?’

‘That’s none of your business.’

‘Did you drive over here with your son in the car?’

She laughed. ‘No, Sergeant Major Sophie. I got a taxi.’

‘Why is Robert here? It’s your week.’

‘Because I have to go to London.’

‘Right now?’

‘Yeah. I’m heading to the airport.’

‘What’s in London?’

‘What is this interrogation? Who the hell do you think you are? I don’t have to answer to you.’

‘Who I am is your son’s stepmother and, frankly, the person who’s looked after him eighty per cent of the time lately. This has got to stop, Pippa. You can’t keep dropping him off unannounced. It’s not fair on him or us.’

Her unfocused eyes narrowed. ‘Jack’s his father and he’s always banging on about how he wants to spend more time with him. He wanted full custody, remember.’

‘Jack’s not here. He’s in Germany for work.’

She shrugged. ‘You took him back. You knew he had a kid, so suck it up.’

The bitch. ‘You need to take Robert home.’

She laughed. ‘Not happening. I’m going now.’

Her pupils were dilated, and I suspected she’d taken more than drink. It looked like Quentin’s gossip about her was spot-on. I tried to keep my voice calm, but my blood was at boiling point. ‘Regardless of the fact that you don’t give a toss about me or Jack or our work and demands, at least think about Robert. He needs a stable environment and a proper routine. All of this chopping and changing of plans is very unsettling for him.’

Her face darkened. ‘Don’t you dare tell me how to raise my son. What the hell would you know about parenting anyway? I saw a boy sneaking out of your house as I was coming in. Tall, handsome guy in rugby gear. Gorgeous blue eyes. A confident swagger. Jess is clearly a lot more fun than you are.’

What? What boy? Did Jess have Sebastian over while I was at work? I couldn’t process the thoughts fast enough.

Pippa grinned at me. ‘Surprised, are you? Didn’t know your precious Jessica was entertaining boys,’ she sneered. ‘You’re not exactly great mother material yourself, are you, Sophie?’

I was so tempted to punch her in the middle of her smug face. Using every single bit of self-control I had, I said, ‘This isn’t about Jess, this is about Robert, and it’s about you not sticking to the joint custody arrangement.’

Pippa shoved me out of the way. ‘I’m late. Move.’

‘Pippa, come on, be reasonable. Robert needs you.’

She stopped and spun around. ‘I need a life, Sophie. I deserve to have fun. I’m not old and miserable like you.’

‘Oh, I can see you’re having fun, Pippa. Lots of it. But you seem to be forgetting that you have a son who needs his mother. Any idea when you’ll be back to pick Robert up?’

‘A couple of days. I’ll text Jack. I don’t have to deal with you.’ She swept out of the house, slamming the front door and leaving the smell of perfume and booze in her wake.

Using buckets of willpower, I managed somehow to wait until Robert was in bed to talk to Jess. I willed myself not to scream, What the hell do you think you’re doing? You are grounded for life. You will never leave this house again.

I took three deep breaths and knocked on her bedroom door. She was lying on her bed in leggings and a crop top, on the phone as usual.

‘What?’

‘I need to talk to you.’

‘Can it wait?’

‘Absolutely not. Not even for one second.’

She frowned. ‘Is this about Pippa? What happened? Is she coming back for Robert?’

‘Hang up the phone, Jess.’

She held it up and waved into it. ‘Gotta go, family drama.’

‘Okay, later,’ a boy’s voice said.

She put her phone down and sat up. ‘What’s going on?’

I leaned against her chest of drawers.

‘You tell me, Jess. What’s going on in your life?’ I stared at her.

I could tell by her face that she was wary of my tone and body language. ‘Nothing.’

‘We both know that’s a lie. How long have you been dating Sebastian?’

She rolled her eyes. ‘I’m not dating him, we’re just chatting. It’s no big deal.’

‘Just chatting.’

‘Yeah.’ She crossed her arms over her chest.

‘So, he wasn’t here this afternoon before I got home from work? He didn’t sneak out of the house before I came through the front door?’

Her face dropped as she realized Pippa had told me. ‘He just called in for ten minutes.’

‘Really?’

‘Yeah. We’re, like, friends. It’s no big deal.’

‘Well, then, why did you fail to mention it?’

‘Because I knew you’d overreact, like you always do.’

‘So you think it’s okay to have boys here when you’re home alone?’

‘OMG, it was one time and it was one boy.’

I counted to five.

‘Jess, you knew perfectly well that your dad and I would be furious if we found out you had a boy here when we were at work.’

‘Nothing happened. We just hung out.’

‘Swear on your grandmother’s grave that you didn’t do anything more than kiss.’

Jess’s eyes flashed. ‘I swear on Granny’s grave, but that’s a horrible thing to ask me to do.’

She was right, but I was desperate. Desperate that she didn’t do something stupid with bloody Sebastian of all people.

‘So nothing else happened? You didn’t go upstairs and take any of your clothes off? Teenage boys will always push for sex, Jess.’

‘OMG, Mum!’ She put her hands over her face. ‘Nothing happened. I’m not stupid. Sebastian’s not like that.’

God, she was clueless. ‘Sebastian’s mother, as you well know, is a very nasty person. I’m not saying he’s the same, but he certainly grew up around toxic people. I would prefer you to stay away from him.’

Jess threw her hands into the air. ‘You’re the one who always says not to judge people until you get to know them. And that’s exactly what you’re doing. I know Sebastian’s mother was a bitch to you and, yes, she seems like a total idiot, but he is a nice guy.’

‘The triplets don’t think so.’ I played my trump card. Jess loved her cousins and would value their opinion far higher than mine.

‘Well, Sebastian told me that now he’s got to know the triplets properly through rugby he really likes them and that the whole team are bonding this year.’

‘He was horrible to them when they first arrived in Castle Academy.’

‘He was only nine or ten then. He’s grown up.’

Wow, Sebastian had clearly got under her skin. Damnit. If she was defending him against her cousins, she must really like him.

‘I just want you to be careful, Jess. You are a beautiful, amazing girl and you deserve to be with a really great guy. I’m not sure Sebastian is that person.’

‘OMG, Mum, we’re not getting married, just hanging out. Chill.’

I knew, from all the podcasts I’d listened to on ‘how to connect with your teen’, that it was vital Jess didn’t shut me out. I had to keep the communication lines open. If I grounded her, she’d possibly never speak to me again, but I couldn’t let the incident go unpunished.

‘Jess, I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt because I think you’re being honest and I have to trust you, but if you ever sneak any boy into this house behind our backs again, I will ground you for a very, very long time. Are we clear?’

She nodded.

‘I know you don’t believe me, but teenage boys only have one thing on their minds – at all times.’

She blushed. ‘Please stop talking.’

‘Sex. Remember that. If Sebastian wants to call in, he will only do so when a parent is present. Is that clear?’

‘Yes.’

‘I want to be able to trust you, Jess. I’ve a lot going on with Pippa and Robert and work, so please behave and don’t make stupid decisions.’

‘I won’t.’

‘Okay. I’m going to bed now. I’m taking your phone. You can read a book.’

‘ Muuuum , it’s only ten.’

‘Jess, you’re on very thin ice here. You’re extremely lucky I’m not grounding you.’

‘Okay, fine.’

I kissed her head. ‘I love you and I know you think I’m hard on you, but it’s my job to protect you.’

‘I know, but you’re way stricter than most parents.’

‘Well, you’re stuck with me and I’m not that awful. Would you prefer Pippa as your mother?’

‘Obviously not. I feel sorry for Robert. He’s lucky he has Dad and you.’

I folded Jess’s school jumper and placed it on her desk. ‘I keep hoping Pippa will turn a corner and become more maternal, but she seems to be getting worse.’

‘Even when she was with Dad, he did everything for Robert. She’s just not a mother type,’ Jess said.

‘I’ve never met anyone like her. She just doesn’t seem to care about Robert. Louise wasn’t maternal at first either, but pretty soon she fell head over heels for Clara and she’s turned out to be an incredible mother. Pippa seems to be less interested in Robert than ever. It’s really sad.’

‘We’ll just have to love him extra hard.’

I smiled at her. ‘Yes, we will. Goodnight, love.’

‘Night, Mum.’ She turned her back to me.

I tapped her on the shoulder. ‘Jess, hand it over.’

‘Okay.’ She reluctantly gave me her phone.

I left her room and made my way to bed. It might only be ten o’clock but I was shattered. It had been a long day and I was now freaking out about Pippa and Sebastian. I doubted I’d get much sleep. I’d have to try to tackle Jack again about Pippa, and I’d have to watch Jess like a hawk.