Amanda Brooke - The Bad Mother - The addictive, gripping thriller that will make you question everything

‘Look, forget about Scott. What about you and your mum?’ Lucy asked as they pulled up at a set of traffic lights. ‘Please, Adam. Family feuds seem like such a wasted effort. It happened with my dad and his brother. One minute they were running a business together and the next, whatever went on between them couldn’t be undone. Uncle Phil didn’t even show up to the funeral and maybe he doesn’t give Dad a passing thought, but what if he has to live with that bitterness and regret for the rest of his life? I’m thinking of you as much as I am your mum.’

The lights changed and they were on the move.

Quickly losing patience, Lucy said, ‘You can’t treat your mum like this!’

Snapping his head towards her, Adam said, ‘So you’re taking her side?’

‘No, I simply think—’

‘That I’m in the wrong,’ Adam finished for her. ‘Not all of us have to agree with what our mums tell us, Luce. Some of us quite like having an opinion of our own.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

Adam sniffed and returned his attention to the road, his jaw clenched. Lucy didn’t like this side of Adam. He reminded her of a gerbil she once had. Most of the time he had been the most gentle of creatures, but if he didn’t want to go back into his cage and she had to corner him, he wasn’t averse to the odd nip.

‘Are you suggesting I don’t have a mind of my own?’ she asked.

‘Have you ever gone against your mum?’

‘It’s not about going against her. We talk things through and we reach a decision together.’

Adam continued to stare straight ahead but after a minute of tense silence, his shoulders sagged and he released his anger with a sigh. ‘Is it too much for you to recognize how controlling she can be sometimes? She even picks your friends for you.’

‘She didn’t pick you,’ Lucy said, attempting to make light of the comment now that their argument was on the wane. ‘If this is about Hannah, it was only a suggestion.’

‘Yeah, for you to get parental advice from someone who’s had more kids than she can cope with. You do remember saying that, don’t you?’

Lucy pressed her hands to her burning cheeks. She could hear someone saying the words as they drove home after their last trip, but since she couldn’t even remember who had been driving, why did she think she could remember who said what? ‘I suppose,’ she said, ready to accept that Adam’s memory of that particular event was more reliable than her own.

‘And you can’t deny you told your mum how chaotic Hannah is.’

‘Because I thought that was how you felt. She didn’t mean to laugh when you spilt your drink, that’s just Hannah. I’m used to how she is. She’s one of my oldest friends.’

‘Are you saying it’s because of me that you stopped seeing her?’ Adam asked with more hurt than annoyance.

‘I don’t know, I suppose,’ Lucy admitted, falling short of suggesting how he had used the spilt drink as an excuse to leave. ‘You never exactly enjoyed her company.’

Adam slumped back in his seat. ‘I honestly don’t know where this idea came from that I don’t like her. I’ll admit I’m worried that you might not be able to cope with all that extra stimulus when you’re around her, but if you want to see her, go right ahead. I’d hate people to think that I’m the one keeping you from your friends.’

‘I choose who I see. No one’s blaming you.’

‘Give them time,’ he muttered. ‘I’ll tell you what I think’s going on. You’re feeling guilty because it’s you who’s been distancing yourself from Hannah, and you’re using me as the excuse to make you feel better. Am I right?’

‘Can we stop talking about Hannah?’ Lucy asked, not liking the way she was losing her train of thought as she tried to unravel the reasons why she had lost touch with her friend. ‘I’ll go and see her if it makes you feel better, but right now I’m more concerned about you and your mum. I don’t want to see you falling out with her, Adam, and I don’t think you want that either.’

‘I know how this must look but you have to trust me on this,’ he said softly.

‘I do.’

‘Even though you said I was the one in the wrong?’

‘If I said that, I’m sorry.’

‘If?’

The question hung in the air and when Adam stopped at another set of lights, he dug out a tissue from the glove compartment and handed it to Lucy as if he expected her to burst into tears at any moment.

‘You don’t know what Scott’s like,’ Adam told her gently. ‘He couldn’t have planned this better, and if there’s one thing I know about my brother, it’s that he did plan this. He wants to drive a wedge between me and Mum.’

‘So prove him wrong.’

‘Mum knows I won’t stay mad at her for long.’

Sensing that she was winning him over, the pressure against Lucy’s chest began to ease. ‘That might be true, but does she have to work it out for herself? Please, let’s sort this.’

‘Fine,’ he said, releasing a sigh. ‘If it makes you happy.’

As they drove along a country lane some five minutes from home, Lucy looked for somewhere to turn the car around, but when she spotted a lay-by, Adam drove past. ‘Aren’t you going back?’ she asked.

‘I will,’ he said, ‘but it would be better if I went on my own. You’ve been upset enough for one day. It’s not good for you.’

‘I’m stronger than you think.’

Adam glanced down at the crumpled tissue in Lucy’s hand. ‘It’s not what I think that worries me.’

It had been a while since Lucy had been left to her own devices on a Saturday afternoon. She and Adam spent their weekends as a couple and rarely deviated from their routine of pleasing themselves on Saturday and their mothers on Sunday. Living life to a timetable was something Lucy was still getting used to but she had to admit it provided a sense of stability that she needed more than ever, hence her reasons for pushing Adam out the door after lunch. It had been a week since the argument with his mum and Adam had avoided her for long enough.

Lucy was happy to sacrifice a Saturday with her husband for the sake of family unity, but once Adam had gone, she was left to ponder what she should do with herself. The subject of her friendship with Hannah had been put on hold, but it seemed the perfect opportunity to resolve the matter once and for all. When Lucy had picked up the phone, she had told herself that if Hannah were too busy to meet up, at least she could say she had tried. There had been the sound a child’s tantrum playing out in the background and Hannah had jumped at the chance to escape.

Lucy left the house wrapped in extra layers that made her look twice as big as she felt. She hoped the concealed hood in her padded jacket wouldn’t be needed but as the wind tugged a loose curl from her hairband, she regretted not wearing a beanie hat. There wasn’t time to go back but she retraced her steps anyway. Yes, she had locked the front door.

‘Sorry, I’m late,’ Lucy said as she rushed along the promenade to give Hannah a hug. No sooner had they embraced than her friend’s chocolate-brown Labrador yanked them apart. He had sniffed out the scent of another dog a hundred yards away and was eager for introductions.

‘That’s all right,’ Hannah said as she was dragged off in what was thankfully the direction they intended.

In front of them was Marine Lake, a manmade coastal lake edged by the River Dee on three sides. Around its perimeter was a walkway wide enough for two friends and a dog.

‘I’m just glad you rang,’ Hannah continued. ‘It’s been too long, Lucy. You used to be our social secretary and I miss our nights out.’