I kept my word.
For the most part.
The urge to trip William in the hall whenever he sauntered past me with Chantelle was overwhelming, but I pushed said urge deep down into my stomach and forced smiles in their company. I didn't think Chantelle was happy either, but so long as she got to hang off William's arm, she suffered through it.
I didn't have much hope for her as a person, but I had to give credit where it was due. It appeared as if she genuinely liked Jenny being with her brother. Money was likely the deciding factor, but I wasn't about to voice that opinion. Charlie didn't seem the kind of boy to care about that. If Jenny had been the poorest person in the world, he'd probably have still smiled at her like she was an angel.
As was typical, the peace only lasted a few weeks.
'Beth, your phone's flashing,' Chrissy informed me one evening.
I pushed my headphones off. The music was so loud that they continued to blare out a heavy beat when they hit the pillow. Carefully, I took my phone from the floor where I'd left it, like I was worried that I might accidentally answer it if I just snatched it up. It was a blocked number. Usually, I ignored those, but whoever it was had been calling me increasingly frequently.
Against my better judgment, I answered. 'Hello?'
'Elisabeth?'
'Mum?' I sat up a little straighter. The noise in the room died down. Everyone knew that my mother and I weren't on the best terms and that any communication from her usually meant there was some kind of emergency. Like she was getting divorced again, or she wanted me to convince my Dad to do something for her, but he wouldn't take her calls either.
'Darling, you shouldn't ignore your phone!'
'Yeah, well, I'm on it now. What do you want?' I asked curtly. With everything that had happened lately, my patience had worn paper-thin.
'How's school? Do you need money for anything?'
'Fine, and no. What do you want?' I asked again.
'Can't I just call to see how you are?'
'No.'
She sighed on the other end of the line. 'Your brother is going to be joining you at school.'
'Are you drunk?' I asked. 'I'm an only child, Mum.'
'Wyatt! You remember Wyatt, don't you?'
Unfortunately, yes.
'Isn't he a little old to be coming here?'
'It's a student placement. Part of his degree. He's bringing a friend of his along or something.'
'Wait,' I said, 'why would he tell you that?'
'I'm his mother!'
'You were his stepmother. That's a different thing. I don't even talk to Wyatt.'
'Well, he needed some money, and –'
'Right. I get it. Anyway, it's none of my business if he comes here.'
'Of course it is! He's looking forward to seeing you, and I want you to help him settle.'
'So, I'm babysitting him? I would rather die.'
I could see that the others were listening with renewed interest. More boys arriving at our school. What a thrill! Sadly, Wyatt was nothing to be excited about. From what I remembered of him, he was an absolute drip.
'Elisabeth, I'm not asking you. I'm telling you to be attentive to your brother.'
'You have no right to tell me anything. Oh, and one more thing,' I said before I immediately hung up and cut her off. Just in case she tried to call back, I turned my phone off.
In a sickeningly sweet voice, Lisa asked, 'Who's Wyatt?'
'No one.'
'He's someone,' she pressed. 'Is he an ex-boyfriend?'
'Ex-brother. Not even that. Mum married his father before she had me with my Dad. We're not even blood relatives, but he used to come to our house all the time when I was little. We don't talk at all. I didn't even know he and Mum did, to be honest.'
'Is he cute?' Chrissy asked.
'I have no idea. I haven't seen him in – God – I don't even know. I don't care if he's coming to school. It's nothing to do with me.'
At least, that's what I thought.
I mean, the guy was a total stranger. It just so happened that both our fathers had been deluded in marrying my mother. It was the only thing we had in common, and it wasn't something to boast about. I might have had more brothers and sisters that I'd never met because my mother didn't tend to keep decent track of her partners or offspring. You'd think a woman would remember any child she'd temporarily cared for, adopted, or given birth to, but not mine.
At any rate, I fully intended to ignore Wyatt during his time at the school.
From what little I remembered of him; he was full of himself. Not in the way that William and Chantelle were. They were completely aware of how they felt above anyone else in their company. With Wyatt, it was more like he imagined he was able to blend in with the people around him while maintaining a distinguished presence.
In short, the guy was a prat.