Page 33 of Broken Beyond Repair

“I’m not sure either of us should be placing bets over how long I can tolerate your mum.”

“I won’t tell if you don’t.”

She shook his hand if only to satisfy him — which it did. What he hadn’t accounted for was her love for a giant heap of metal. Or, in his mum’s view, scrap metal.

Alex grappled with his belt as Sydney drove off.

“Why the name change then? Do you not like Xander?”

Alex slumped in his seat, his previous confidence melting away.

Sydney hesitated a guess. “Or do the other kids not like it?”

His silence spoke volumes.

“I was bullied at school, you know,” Sydney recalled.

“Really?” He turned to face her. “Why?”

“Not sure. I wasn’t different; I just wasn’t like them.”

Alex scrunched his face. “That is different.”

“Well, yes. I wasn’tactuallyany different. We were all kids finding our way in the world, dealing with insecurities; some of us were just dressed differently with different hairstyles. All kids are the same at the end of the day. It’s natural for some to believe they are better than others. It doesn’t stop when you grow up either; by then, though, you’ll find you can get away from them more easily. Bullies are the most insecure of the lot and are often bullied themselves by someone at home or school.”

“Really?” Alex ruminated on it and then changed the subject. “Is my dad still coming to get me on Saturday?”

“I believe so. I’ve not heard any different.”

“I was supposed to be with him for the whole summer. Now Mum’s home, I’m going to be stuck at Highwood.” He exhaled a huff. “She ruins everything.”

If Sydney was going to be stuck anywhere in the world, she could think of worse places to be. The thought occurred to her that it was being stuck with his mum that was more the issue.

Alex disappeared into his headphones until Sydney pulled the Mercedes up outside the front door of Highwood House. Beatrice was hobbling into the entrance hall to greet them as they entered.

“Xander, darling!” Beatrice said, her warm, kind voice back in place. “Come and give me a hug. I can’t believe how much you’ve grown.”

He put down his bag and approached Beatrice, then gave her the swiftest hug possible. With her hands on her crutches, Beatrice was unable to reciprocate. Her expression fell flat at the briefness and coldness of the hug.

“It’s Alex now, Mum. Yeah. Even the dinner lady can remember.”

“Sorry, darling. Habit. What’s going on with your hair? Shall I get my hairdresser to cut it?”

“No,” he said, self-consciously running a hand over the shaggy style. “I like it like this.”

“Really, it looks like you picked a fight with a cat and lost. Are you hungry? Sydney can fix you something.”

“I’m fine.”

Beatrice shook her head and clicked her fingers. “Sydney—”

“Mum, I’m not hungry,” Alex said, voice raised. “Stop fussing!”

The entrance hall fell into silence.

Beatrice’s face twitched a little with what Sydney could only assume was embarrassment.

“Settle in, darling. We’ll catch up over dinner.” Beatrice turned her eyes to Sydney and deepened her voice. “Sydney, I believe we have much work to do.”