Page 147 of The Sound Between Us
“You sound like her. And you. All at once.”
My throat tightens. “I’ll never be as good as Mum.”
Dad’s smile is wistful. Tired. “You’ve idolised her for so long.”
“Because she deserves it.”
He sighs. My stomach clenches.
“What?”
He hesitates.
“Dad...”
He still doesn’t look at me. “I won’t ruin what we have. Or your memories.”
My heart picks up speed. “But if you’re keeping secrets, that’s as bad as lying. And you know how I feel about both of those things.”
Beside us, Mark clears his throat awkwardly and grabs his coat. “I’ll... give you two a minute.”
He slips out quietly, and the door clicks shut behind him.
I cross my arms, waiting.
Dad leans against the mixing desk.
“Things with your mum... They were wild.”
“You’ve got the wrinkles to show for it.”
That earns a half-smile. Then it fades.
“It was just when the press were starting to change, into what they are now. Wild pack animals. Before the nineties, no one really cared where you ate dinner, or what club you went to. I mean, no one ever bloody printed a picture of McCartney eating a burger and chips in the sixties.”
My chest tightens. Harrison. Head down, always aware of who was looking, where the cameras might be.
“Suddenly private lives are fair game. Band arguments are headlines. Hotel locations. Family drama. All of it. There’s no room to be human anymore.”
“I know all this. It’s what Mum hid me from.”
He looks away. And then he says it. Quiet. But with that same brutal honesty I inherited from him.
“It was your mum who cheated, Seren. Not me.”
I blink. Cold breaks out across my arms like a rash.
“What?”
“She didn’t want you finding out. So she walked away.”
“From you?” My voice wobbles. “From everything?”
“From everything that we were.” He says simply.
“But who...?” I can’t finish the question. I don’t want to know. My pulse is hammering behind my eyes.
“No. Don’t tell me.” But what I’m thinking is, please don’t let it be Uncle Fucking Vinny.
