She walked towards Mia, scooping her up in her arms, and immediately Mia fell silent. ‘See, that’s all she needed, a bit of TLC. I sometimes wonder about you and where your head’s at. You can be so selfish. Don’t leave her like that, you hear me? And why are her hands cold again? Have you had this window open?’
Bree nodded. She didn’t care what Franny thought as long as she didn’t think she’d been out. ‘Yes … er … it was a bit hot.’
‘Well that’s stupid to have it open by her, she’ll get ill. She’ll get a chest infection. It’s common sense, Bree.’
Bree gave a tight smile. ‘I’m sorry.’
Agitated, partly from the guilt she felt from what she was doing not only to Alfie but also to Bree, Franny walked over to pour herself a glass of water as Mia nuzzled happily in her neck. She shrugged. ‘Well it ain’t me you need to say sorry to …’ She trailed off before begrudgingly adding, ‘Anyway, how are you?’
Not seeming so much on edge, Bree sat on the chair by the window. ‘I’m okay – the usual.’
The tension in the air between the two women was palpable as the room fell silent. Eventually Franny said, ‘Look, I can’t stay long, I just brought some shopping for you and there’s a few bits for Mia as well. I better go. Alfie will be wondering where I am and I’ve got to speak to Vaughn today, which I’m not looking forward to. Anyway, I’ll call you.’ Kissing Mia, Franny handed her back to Bree, walking out of the room and down the stairs without looking back.
Letting out a long sigh of relief, Bree turned and put Mia back in her cot. She smiled at her daughter, who was attempting to chew on her own hand.
Although going outside hadn’t gone as smoothly as it could’ve done, thinking about it she felt better than she had done in a long while. She’d needed to get out and so had Mia. Maybe next time she’d go to the park. She had to be careful of course but that …
‘Bree?’ Franny’s voice behind her made her jump, cutting into her thoughts. She swivelled around to come face-to-face with Franny who stared at her coldly, her eyes dark and emotionless, her face drawn and taut.
‘Bree?’
Pushing herself back against the cot, Bree began to shake, unsure quite what was going on as Franny repeated her name with a tone that forced a chill through her body.
‘Bree …’
Bree’s voice was only just audible. ‘Yes?’
Stepping in closer, Franny towered above Bree. ‘What have you done?’
Still shaking, Bree shrugged. ‘Nothing, I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘Don’t lie to me, Bree.’
‘I’m not. What’s this about, Franny? You’re acting really strange.’
Franny’s voice held an ominous tone. ‘Don’t pretend, Bree, you know exactly what you’ve done.’
Giggling nervously, Bree tried to lighten the mood. ‘This is silly – just tell me.’
‘You’ve been out, haven’t you?’
Feigning shock, Bree shook her head furiously. ‘Of course not! No way! That’s absurd. It’s crazy, I don’t know where you got that idea from.’
‘You dropped the receipt, Bree. You should’ve been more careful if you wanted to fool me.’ From behind her back, Franny produced the McDonald’s receipt and waved it in the air. ‘I told you not to go out, didn’t I?’
‘That’s not mine, it’s …’
Franny shouted, giving Mia a start, causing her to begin to scream again. ‘Enough, Bree! I’m not stupid! That’s why you looked so flustered, isn’t it? That’s why you looked so guilty when I came in.’
Bree pushed Franny out of the way, stepping around her. ‘Yes, yes, it is, and I shouldn’t have to feel guilty.’
Franny’s face flushed red. ‘That’s right, you shouldn’t, and if this was a normal situation you wouldn’t, but it ain’t normal. I have put my life on the line for you. You hear that? My life. And all you’ve done is gone out and risk it. It’s a joke – you talk about not having to feel guilty, well that’s exactly what I do. I feel guilty. You try lying to Alfie and then have to see him every day. Even keeping you here, well the truth is, I felt bad. I knew it was for the best, but you know something, Bree, I ain’t going to feel bad anymore. Why should I? Especially if you don’t care, and let’s face it, I shouldn’t even be helping you because when it boils down to it, all you are is some woman who fucked my man.’
Bree looked hurt. ‘Franny, please, you know that’s not how it went. I didn’t know about you, and I’ll always be sorry, but I thought we got through that.’
Franny’s face screwed up. ‘You got through it, I just have to learn to live with the hurt.’
‘But …’
‘I don’t want to talk about it anymore, you hear me? The only thing that I want to talk about is you becoming a liability to me.’
‘But …’
Hating the fact she’d shown her emotions by opening up about Alfie, something she’d been taught by her father never to do, Franny cut Bree off in anger. ‘What did I say? No fucking buts, Bree! If someone sees you, I’m at risk. Me. Not you. Me. I’m the one who’ll have a bullet in their head. You obviously don’t care what happens to me.’
‘I do, of course I do.’
‘Well let me tell you, you have a funny way of showing it. And what about Mia? What would happen to Mia if I was dead?’
Bree looked shocked. ‘I … I …’
Pacing around the room, Franny’s eyes narrowed. ‘You haven’t thought of that, have you? Mia needs me, Bree. You’re fine as someone to change her and hold her but what real use are you to her?’
‘What are you talking about, Franny? I’m her mum.’
Another flash of anger crossed Franny’s face. ‘That’s just a title, Bree. I’ve seen the way you’ve been these past few months. Weak. Needy. Mia doesn’t need someone like that around her.’
‘Franny, this is crazy, she needs me.’
‘Keep on telling yourself that, Bree, if it makes you feel better. But I don’t think she’d appreciate you risking everything so you could have a fucking Big Mac.’
‘That’s not why I took her out.’
‘You’re a selfish bitch. You keep forgetting that you agreed to this. I didn’t force you.’
Trying her best not to cry, Bree chewed on her lip. ‘I didn’t know it was going to be this long. You’ve got to see it from my point of view, Franny. Think how you’d feel.’
‘I know I’d do whatever it was that was needed, no matter how long that
