About 40 minutes later, we pulled up outside my house, and I sighed with relief because there were no lights on - my dad wasn't home.
It was Friday night, too, which meant I was in work in the morning, and hopefully I'd be out of the house before my dad had even woken up.
I didn't really know what to do about work, I knew that I shouldn't be lugging things around because I needed to take care of my back, but it was part of my job. I worked in a garden centre, I was always pulling and pushing giant plants around, re-stocking.
"Are you sure you don't want to stay at ours tonight?" Toby interrupted my thoughts.
"I'll be fine, really. He's not even home and I'm in work tomorrow, so I probably won't even see him until tomorrow evening, it'll give me a chance to clean the whole house or something, butter him up" I said uncertainly.
"You know, you really shouldn't be working, Tamsin. You've just got out of hospital AND you pregnant" Sadie told me.
"Some women work until their due date" I pointed out, "and I really need the money"
"Yes, they do, but SOME women aren't doing heavy lifting or pushing like you" Sadie argued back. "You could really hurt your baby"
"Fine" I pouted. "I'll go in a bit earlier and speak to my boss, Marc"
"I thought your bosses name was Terry?" Toby looked confused.
"Yeah" ... "What did I say?"
"You said Marc"
"Ohh God!" I complained.
"It's ok, Tam, your allowed to feel upset about him, you lost your first love. This is perfectly natural behaviour" Sadie said softly.
I could feel myself welling up, so I made my excuses, said goodbye, and left the car.
As I walked through the front kitchen, a disgusting stench hit me - old alcohol.
I walked through to the kitchen, the bin had only bottles and cans in it, and it was overflowing, so bottles had been scattered all over the counter, some of them still dripping beer.
I put my bag down and set to work.
I took the bag from the bin and tied it up, then took it outside for the bin men. I got another bag from the cupboard took all the bottles from the counter and chucked those in the bag, then took that outside, too. There were even enough bottles in the living room to fill yet another bag, which I took out to the front.
When I got back inside, I put my rubber gloves on and cleaned the kitchen, I scrubbed the cooker, cleaned the counter, wiped the sink down, and mopped the floor.
I moved on to the living room, I dusted everything, fluffed the pillows & sofa cushions, and hovered the carpet.
The house began to smell nicer, lemon fresh.
After I was done cleaning, I made myself some pasta and caught up on some t.v while I ate. Afterwards, I felt exhausted, so I unpacked my bag and lay on my bed. I fell asleep in seconds.
..................................................................
My alarm clock rang at 7:30am the next morning, and I instantly heard my dad snoring in the next room. I had no idea what time he got in last night, but as I passed his room on my way to the bathroom, I could smell more alcohol coming from his room. I got myself washed up in the bathroom, then put a little makeup on in my room and put my uniform on. My top was getting tighter now, I could a stretch across the stomach. I used my school maternity trousers instead of my usual black trousers because they were just so much more comfortable. I ran a brush through my hair and set off for the bus. I got the bus 20 minutes earlier than usual, and upon arriving to the garden centre, I went straight to Terry's office.
