Page 75 of How We Began

He laughed. “Well, you made it to university, didn’t you? You’re far stronger than you give yourself credit for. And you were brave enough to piss Mum and Dad off about the whole John thing.”

“Yeah, look that where that got me.”

“It got you free, Lil.” His smirking dropped for a second. “You know that you could tell Ben today how you feel and he would change everything for you. You are all he really wants.”

“Yeah, but he deserves more. Anyway, we’re not here to talk about me, we’re here to discuss living arrangements.”

He raised an eyebrow and waited for me to say it.

“I don’t want to give in to Dad.” There.

Tristan gave a slow sarcastic clap of his hands. “At last! She realises the error of her ways!”

I’d nothing left to flick at him, so I just stuck my tongue out instead.

“So what we going to do?” I asked, wanting to hurry it along now we’d done all the nice stuff.

“I know Dad’s cut you off for now, how much have you got saved from working at the bank?”

I grimaced, and said, “Hundred and fifty grand,” before closing my eyes to his reaction.

He whistled low. “I thought Ben said you guys were planning on being broke and in love?”

“Yeah, well there’s broke and then there’s just being silly. Anyway what do you think I did while Dad paid for the flat? I just saved—a lot.” I slurped my drink as a little shiver ran across my skin. Maybe I should have told Ben that broke wasn’t that broke. “Would have been more but our little depressed Christmas shopping spree created a bit of a hole, as did Ben’s present. Turns out guitars are bloody expensive,” I added as the thought popped into my brain.

He raised his annoying eyebrow again, as if to say, yes, you divvy mare, they are expensive when you are attempting to say three relatively little words with it.

I ignored the brow. It was still bloody annoying, no matter how well we were getting on.

“How about we use your cash for a deposit, and for a new sofa? Don’t think I didn’t find your ink blob, Delilah.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me before adding. “And I’ll pay the mortgage. That way, we should get somewhere big enough for all of us?”

“All of us?”

“Well, yeah, you’ll be with us, won’t you? If you turn down Dad’s olive branch, I doubt he’ll have you home any time soon.”

He smirked a little and I knew secretly he was enjoying being Dad’s golden child now. Although it won’t last, not when Tristan announces in a couple of weeks that he’s knocked up an eighteen-year-old… with a nose ring.

“Yeah, I will be with you. You, Meredith, and the baby.” My stomach gave a little flip. “Tristan?”

“Yep?”

“You know I love you, right?”

There, I said it.

“Yeah, I love you, too, Sis.”

He opened his mouth to add something else, but both of our phones rang at once.

I glance at mine. Jayne, that’s weird.

Tristan looked at his. “Ben.”

We both stared at each other for a second.

“Meredith!” We both exclaimed. My heart leapt into my throat if such a thing were possible.

Tristan and I both answered our phones at the same time for Ben and Jayne to tell us that Mer wasn’t well and that we should come home. So we went, neither of us wanting to show our panic but still pushing the damn shitty car to the max.