Hayden (A Next Generation Carter Brother #4) - Lisa Helen Gray Page 0,94

lips part, eyes widening. “How? Who are you?”

“Hayden,” I tell her. “So, what did he do?”

The guy snorts, rolling his eyes. “I went to my mother’s because she’s been ill.”

“James, your mother needs to let you go. She was unbearable before when it came to her precious boy. Now that we’re living together, it’s infuriating and just plain creepy. She acts like your girlfriend, not your mum.”

“Louise,” he breathes out sharply. “She was sick. She needed me.”

“I cannot believe you started this,” Clayton whispers.

I shrug, smirking. “Are you bored now, though?”

He loses his chuckle when our teacher, Claire, slowly steps over to us, frowning. “This programme will only work if you relax; feel the clay through your fingers, hear the music in your veins. Now, take a deep breath, let the music flow through you.”

What a load of bullshit.

“I’d rather hear what she has to say,” I tell her, arching my eyebrow.

Another couple in the room wince yet nod when Claire turns in their direction. “We kind of do too.”

“This isn’t that kind of class.”

I smile wide at her frustration. “Take a seat, Karen, it’s about to get interesting.”

“Oh God,” Clayton mumbles.

“It’s Claire,” she huffs.

“You know, she’s right. It is getting interesting. Tell them about your mum, how she calls every night, how she told us we couldn’t get married or have kids until she was ready and healthy. That woman has more wrong with her than a hypochondriac, and her main symptom is smothering,” Louise confesses.

I point at Louise. “Maybe I was wrong about you.” I cluck my tongue at James. “You really should cut the cord.”

Louise slams her hand down on the pile of clay. “Exactly. He missed our anniversary because she happened to be sick. She knew we had plans to go away. And when I told him she was fine, that she was manipulating him, he wouldn’t listen and went running to help her.”

“She’s my mum, Louise. I’m not going to stop seeing her because you think she’s lying. I’m all she has,” he crows. “And you aren’t perfect either. I read those messages from Dean, the guy you work with.”

I grin, bouncing in my seat as I turn to Clayton. “This is so good.”

Chuckling, he shakes his head. “You are terrible.”

Pride fills my chest. “Thanks.”

“If you saw them, then you’d know I told him no, that I wasn’t interested. But it’s not too late to reconsider. I want a man, not a boy who still needs his mummy to give him permission.”

“Guys, I really think we should relax now,” Claire soothes, holding her hands up.

“No,” Louise and James yell.

“Tell her how you feel, James,” I goad. “Get it out.”

He nods, his face flushed. “I’ve changed my entire life for you: swapped jobs, homes. How can you be this selfish?”

“You picked up rubbish because your mum told you to get a job close by, that if you got a job using your degree, it would take you away from her. You make more as a computer technician.”

“You moan about everything. There hasn’t been a time when we’ve gone out that you haven’t complained about something or another. Look at us now. It was your idea to come here today, and all you’ve done is complain about the smell, the music, and the fact we paid a fortune for it to be a load of crap.”

“I have had a lot of positive feedback. If you would just listen and take a breath…” Claire argues, rocking back on her feet.

“This isn’t a competition on who is the worst, James. This is about you and your mum.”

“Technically, it started with your attitude,” I remind her, being helpful.

“Not helping,” Clayton grumbles, pretending to actually work on his clay.

I snort. “I think I’ve helped a lot, thank you.”

“Yes. Yes, you have,” James confirms. “Now I know how she really feels.”

“Are you kidding me?” Louise yells in his face. “Don’t you dare make out that you’re innocent in all of this.”

Throwing his hands up, he then slaps them down on his thighs. “You’re making me choose between you and my mum.”

“No, I’m not. I’m asking you to leave the nest, James. I love you, I do, but I’m sick of her being a third person in our relationship. Visit her, take her soup when she’s actually sick, but my God, stop her from dictating every aspect of your life. She’s holding you back, and one day, when she’s dead and buried, you’ll take a look around and realise you have no one