The woman stood before me is pure evil. She is no mother, at least not when she's fueled with alcohol. She needs help and I wish that she could see it. It pains me like hell to see her like this, but I can't cope with the abuse she hurls at me. I swear to god, I'm going to kill Josh when I get my fucking hands on him for giving out Jens address.
“Alright, now you've had your say. Why don't you do what Jess says and come back once you've sobered up some?"
My mother changes instantly at Jens words. No longer is she the sour faced woman that I have come to know, instead, she now begins to slide down Jens doorframe with her head in her hands. As she pulls them away slightly, I see that she's actually crying.
“Why don't you love me Jess?" She shouts. "Why don't you care? Why don't you need me like you're supposed to?" I have no words, no words to say how I feel as I watch my mum, the one person who was supposed to protect me from harm and protect me no matter what; crumble and breakdown before my own eyes. Instead, all I can do is watch as Jen takes over. Bending down, she slowly removes my mother’s worn and battered hands away from her face.
"Diana, I need you to listen to me. You need to get some help. As much as you’re suffering and hurting, you can't keep taking it out on Jess, because in turn you're hurting her just as much, if not more. You lashing out at her every time you've had a drink isn't doing either of you any good."
“I've... Got... Nowhere... To... Go." She splutters between each breath. "I've lost everything Jess. The house, the car, it's all gone."
Everything around me feels as though it's collapsing and my lungs struggle to take in air as I take in her words.
“You can't leave her with nothing Jess." Jen looks at me pleadingly to say something. I'm tempted to turn around and go back inside. Maybe then she'll see how reckless she's been when she actually realises what she's done.
“Come on Di, how about we try and sober you up first? One line out of turn mind and you're out, understand?" Jen asks but by the time my mums head has hit the pillow she's out like a light.
"Bloody hell Jess. I knew she was bad, but not that bad. She needs help.
“You're telling me." I say as I look over at my mum and can't help but notice how much she's aged since I saw her last. She's barely recognizable as she sleeps. "What am I going to do? I've got to sort all this shit out at Stanton's. Yesterday, I thought you were going to be pushing out a mini diva and now my mums bloody homeless. I never thought I'd say this Jen, but I'm beginning to regret coming back home already.”
Dealing with the queen bitch is actually more bearable than this.
“Well, she can stay here tonight. I know you're not comfortable with her staying at yours. You know I won't tolerate her bullshit, either and I'll even feed her too for you. I'm good at looking after people."
“Don't be daft. She can't stay here, plus she's my responsibility, so I'll just deal with the situation one way or another. I'll stick around until she wakes up. Thanks though."
After three long hours my mum finally resurfaces from her slumber."Nice of you to finally join us." I say, my tone still icy.
“I'll fix us a coffee." Jen chimes in and I smile at her in thanks. I look over to my mum and wonder where it all went wrong so fast.
“What's happened mum? How did you manage to lose the house?" She rubs her hands down her face. Whether it's from shame or her banging head I can't be sure. Either way, it's bloody self-inflicted. One thing is certain; she isn't leaving here until I find out exactly what's happened and why.
“I lost my job."
“What do you mean you lost your job?" It's going from bad to bloody worse every time she talks. My mum may be many things, but work shy isn't one of them. She has always prided herself on working and she’s always loved a challenge. She bloody loved her job. I think that's the only thing that she passed on to me.
"When?" I demand.
“About six months ago, everything got on top of me. Well more than usual anyway and I thought what's the point? You weren't around anymore and no one else bothered with me, I can't tell you how long I would go without someone picking up the phone to call me, only for it to be those bloody telesales pestering about this and that. I've been alone for a long time Jess, especially here." She holds her hand to her chest and I can't stop mine from tightening in response. "I just couldn't handle it anymore. One day I called in sick and that day rolled into a week, which then turned into a month and so on. Before I knew it, everything around me was hazed with a big dark cloud and I couldn't face going out of the house for more than fifteen or so minutes at a time. If people didn't want to bother with me, why should I bother with them?"
“Why didn't you tell me this instead of hurling a shit load of abuse at me?" I ask.
“What do you care?" She snarls at me. "You had your own perfect fucking life to lead and god forbid your waste of a space mother would come and tarnish it. Why am I even telling you this anyway?"
That comment right there, instantly gets my back up and I have to bite back the retort that I want throw at her.
“Of course I care. No matter what happens you're still my mum. It's unfortunate that things have turned out the way they have between us, but I would never, never see you go without. Like anything, we'll get you through it;but first you need help mum. The first step is admitting you have a problem and then maybe we might just be able to get your life back on track. One thing I will say mum, is that if you continue being nasty to me, or blame me for dad leaving from this point on, then you’re doing this on your own. This time I will walk out of your life for good and I'm being deadly serious. It isn't fair how you treat or speak to people.”
“Here we are. Biscuits anyone?" Jen smiles and I raise my eyebrows at her. Only Jen could act like we're due to have royalty around while she's entertaining my pissed up mother.
Max
I've been fucking sat here waiting for Heath to call me back all afternoon and I'm starting to get pretty pissed, and fast. I've not slept for almost two days and I need this shit sorting ASAP. I've been in England for six hours and I've only managed to see Jess for half an hour. What the fucks that about?
I'm just about to call Heath, when my phone starts dancing to life in front of me.
“Hey." I hope he has some answers for me. If anyone's good for the job, then it’s Heath.
“Hey mate. I got back to you as soon as I could. This shits been a hell of a lot trickier than we initially expected."
“What do you mean?" I ask, unsure if I actually want to know the answer from the tone in his voice.
“Well, we've located the file at least, and found which server hacked into it. You ain't gonna like what I'm about to tell you, Max. It's likely going to take a whole lot of digging to find out exactly who's responsible for it, but you should be good for that. The one thing that's worrying me is that the location where the file was removed from was in your office, not Stanton's."
“You sure?" There's no fucking way my own security details could have been hacked in my own office. No one has access to those drives but me and Jess and she sure as hell doesn't have the password to crack it.
“I'm telling you clear as day, mate. The host and IP address is exactly the same to the one in Jess' office. I checked it out myself to be sure. If you give me the go ahead, I'll get the whole computer checked to see what's on there."
“Sure, do whatever you have to do and come back to me ASAP."
This shits getting fucked up? Why would that data be on Jess' computer? There's no way that she'd need to access it, let alone take it. Nothing seems to be adding up and who the hell is this so called client threatening legal action? The only client of Limitless is Mal and I, and neither of us are demanding or threatening anything. I need to try and find out where that call came from and who's been throwing out these demands.
I try to call Jess again before I set off, but her phones still switched off. That woman needs to learn that a phone is to be used. I doubt that she's eaten and I'm fucking starving so I stop
off at the local Chinese and grab us a bite to eat. I've been looking forward to winding down with her all pissing day and if we're lucky we'll get no interruptions for a long while.
The lights are on low as I pull up outside Jess' house, so it's a pretty good sign that she's still awake. I get out and knock on, unsure if she's actually expecting me. When the door opens, a woman who I have never seen before stands in front of me.
“Is Jess around?" I ask, not sure if I like the way this woman's looking at me.
“Who's asking?" The look she gives me is one of utter dislike. "What do you want with her?"
What the fuck? “Can you tell her it’s Max?"
“Mum, who is it? Oh hey Max, I meant to call you earlier."
“No worries. I wasn't sure if you'd eaten so I thought I'd grab you something on my way back." I lean in to hand over to bag much to this woman's utter distaste. "I'll come back tomorrow."
“No, no. Don't be silly, that's not what I meant." The smile that lights up her eyes instantly tells me that she's glad to see me. Her posture however is telling me that she's holding something back. The woman begrudgingly steps to the side to let me pass. Jess looks at me apologetically as I walk by her.
“Excuse my mother. She can be a little standoffish to people that she doesn't know."
“A little?" Jeez if she could get away with harming me I'm sure she would have done it on first sight.
“Well Jessica. Are you going to tell me who this delightful looking man is that's turned up out of the blue to feed you?"
“Give over mum. What did I say about being nasty to people? This is Max. He's umm, a work colleague. Max meet my mum."
Well this definitely isn't how I expected meet the parents to go down. I feel better knowing that I didn't actually lie to Mal when I told him Jess had to see her mum. I just hope after an hour or so, she's warmed more towards me.
“Did you manage to get everything sorted at the office?"
“Kind off. A few issues have come from the investigations that Heath carried out, but nothing we need to worry about." I hate twisting the truth when it comes to Jess, but I'm not sure what to say until Heath has looked into it further, plus her mums watching me like a hawk. She fucking looks at me like I've got too heads.
“You seem pretty happy to be back." The glow in her face is evident and it looks so fucking good on her.
“I had a really good catch up with Jen and I think I needed it. We don't function that well when we're separated."
“Yeah? I never would have guessed. So Mrs Townsend, can I call you Mrs Townsend?"
“Diana will do." She snaps at me and Jess shoots her a warning glance.
“Well it's a pleasure to meet you Diana. Do you live locally?" I try to start a conversation to let her know I'm not the bad guy, but Jess jumps in and stops me.
“Hey mum. I'm going to call it a night. I'm still shattered from the flight back and I bet you could do with some sleep too?"
“Now that you mention it, I'm pretty beat." I say as I stand, ready to grab my keys.
“Max, wait a minute." She turns back to her mum and says, "I've laid out some stuff for you in the spare room. If you need anything help yourself okay? And I expect you to still be here when I get up in the morning."
Jess
I leave my mum in the front room once I'm sure she knows where everything is and make my way over to the man that I have been desperate to see for days. The stolen moments that I've managed to spend with him today have been few and far between and as much as I'd never admit it to him, I've missed him like mad.
“You're not going are you?" I ask, suddenly panicking on the inside that I'm going to have to go another night without him by my side.
“Yeah. I was going to head to Luke's and crash there for a bit. I'll come by first thing in the morning and take you for breakfast without a certain someone eyeing me like a hawk."
“Yeah, I'm so sorry about my mum. Seriously she's a nightmare at the best of times, but she's in a bad place at the minute. Still it doesn't excuse her attitude towards you in the slightest."
“Don't worry about it, angel. I've experienced much worse." He says and his hand automatically reaches out, grabbing my hip and pulling me in close to him.
"I've missed you so fucking much angel."
“Don't go then. Stay here with me.It's pointless going back out, plus you don't even know if he'll be home."
“You sure?"
“Hmm mm. Of course I'm sure. Thanks for dinner too. Food completely skipped my mind after the day I've had today."
“That bad huh? How about I try and make it end a little better for you?"
“Now that sounds promising, but I'd hate to dent your ego and fall asleep mid action. That's how tired I am."
“Angel, it's not possible for you to fall asleep while I'm buried deep inside of you, believe me." As he leans into kiss me, I'm scooped up into his big strong arms as he carries me up the stairs.
As I'm brushing my teeth, I watch Max's reflection through the mirror and I openly perv on him as he removes his clothing. The muscles in his back tense and flex as he lifts and stretches and he looks like an absolute Adonis. I still can't believe that he's here with me. Shit, I still can't get over the fact that he actually followed me all this way. He's pretty fucking special. My eyes stay trained on him as he makes his way over to me. His arms snake around my hips as he presses himself against me and his touch sends trails of fire dancing across my body.
“I'm still pissed that you flew out when I told you not too." His face is serious in the reflection, but his tone is playful.
“Really? Max I'm an adult and I make my own decisions. Surely you should know this by now? If not, you're in a for a pretty big shock pal." I tease and wriggle my arse into him. I'm greeted with a satisfied groan.
As soon as I have finished cleaning myself up, I'm spun around into his arms and his mouth is on mine in seconds. Claiming exactly what he wants, when he wants. The taste and feel of his body pressed against mine works me up into a bloody frenzy.
“I've missed this." He's says as he pulls me in closer to him. "These past few weeks have been fucking torture, Jess. Do you know what you do to me?" Oh yes I do. I do indeed."You're lucky I'm not punishing you for disrespecting my wishes, lady."
I'm not sure how I fell about that. Threatened by the seriousness of his tone or turned on from the unknown.
“Maybe I'll have to disobey you more often Mr Wild, so that I can find out exactly what that entails." I lift up onto my tip toes and kiss him briefly on the nose. "But for now, I really, really need to go to sleep."
I wake up suddenly and the room is still dark. A faint moan escapes from Max's lips and I turn to lean in to him just to make sure he's really here. The moment my hands reach out to touch him he cries out in what I can only describe as agony.
“Get the fuck of me. Don't you dare fucking touch me."
“What?" I recoil against his harsh words and feel the tears begin to fill my eyes.
“No. Fucking stay away from me." He shouts and then the bed stats to rock. It's then that I realise he isn't really talking to me. He must be talking in his sleep.
“Max, shhh it's okay." I try to soothe him, but my voice just triggers him off even more.
“I said get your fucking hands off her. Jess, no please." I jump up and switch the light on to see that he's rigid in the bed and his hands are gripping the sheets so tight that his hands have gone white. Shit what do I do? Do I try to wake him up or will that just make him worse? I've never experienced anything like this before. Worried he might lash out in his sleep, I pick up one of the scatter cushions and toss it at his head. He doesn't wake, but he loosens his grip on the sheet a little. He still breathes out small little moans as he turns back on to his side. I remain seated on my chair until his ragged breathing seems to have calmed down.
“What you doing over there, angel?" I look up and see that his eyes are now open, concern etched all around them. "You having
trouble sleeping?"
“Are you okay?" I ask deciding to get back into bed.
“I am now that I know you're still here with me."
“You we're having some kind of nightmare, I think." Max sits up instantly at my words and rubs both of his hands through his hair. He looks so fucking beautiful no matter what time of day.
“Shit. Jess I'm sorry. I didn't hurt you did I? Please tell me I didn't hurt you." He looks at me intently searching my face for any sign that he did.
“No, no of course you didn't hurt me, but you seemed like you were in pain yourself."
“I didn't mean to scare you angel. Come here." I get up and lean into the comfort of his open arms and rest my head against his warm chest. At least his breathing seems to be back under control. "I'd never hurt you angel. I'd rather die than allow anyone to hurt you." He says those words with such a passion, that I don't think for a second that he's lying.
My mum is already up and dressed by the time we get downstairs. There’s a fresh pot of coffee on the counter top with two mugs waiting for us. I look over at her as if to say what the hell?
“My way of saying thanks for yesterday."
I smile at my mum and I'm thankful for the first time in god knows how many years that she has been more than civil towards me first thing in the morning.
“Diana." Max says as he follows behind me. I don't know what my mum’s problem is with him. Whenever I look at Max, all I see is my loveable rogue with his messy hair, piercing blue eyes and day old stubble and think he's the most perfect thing I have ever had the pleasure of laying my eyes on. My mother probably just sees the rogue side. I walk over to the counter to pour myself and Max a coffee, and instantly feel him behind me.
“You luck so fucking beautiful when you wake up, you know? It's a shame your mothers here otherwise we'd have other, more exciting things to take care of." He leans in closer to me and nibbles my ear and my body goes weak at the contact. That fucking man. Why is he doing this to me? It's fucking torture.
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