Read The Accidental Life of Jessie Jefferson for Free Online Page B

words: ‘I guess I’d better get home.’ He nods brusquely and starts to walk on, and I could kick myself because I want to hear what he was going to say.
    I’ll add it to the list of other things I’ll probably never know.
    ‘I live just up here,’ I say as we take a right off the main road. I stop at the entrance to my close. ‘You don’t have to walk me to my door.’ I’m half thinking that I might go in the back way: on to the shed and into my bedroom window, a route I take when I want to avoid Stu.
    ‘OK,’ he says, looking past me. He probably wasn’t going to walk me to my door, anyway. ‘Which one’s yours?’ he asks.
    I glance backwards and feel embarrassed as I point at the little house that I call home, with its dark-brown wooden cladding and untidy front garden. The grass hasn’t been cut for months. Almost six months, to be precise. A memory comes back to me of mum frantically dragging the tiny lawnmower out of the garden shed on the afternoon of my birthday party.
    ‘Don’t bother,’ I’d berated her.
    ‘It looks a mess!’ she exclaimed, her long dark hair tied up into an untidy ponytail and mud smeared across her jeans and her left cheek. ‘I don’t want all of your friends’ parents dropping their kids off and thinking we live in a dump.’
    ‘Why not, when it’s true?’ I said sarcastically, then went and listened to my music in my bedroom, turning the sound right up to drown out the noise of her manically mowing the lawn. She was in even more of a rush to go and get my cake after that.
    Why didn’t I offer to help? Why was I always such a spoilt brat? And why didn’t Stu ever mow the frigging lawn? But he was visiting his parents that day in Bristol, so I can’t even blame him. No, I can only blame myself.
    ‘See you later.’ I turn away from Tom before he can see that I’m upset again. He must think I’m enough of an emotional wreck as it is.

Chapter 5
    All the lights in the house look like they’re off as I approach, so I decide to risk going in the front door. The house is silent when I walk in. It’s almost midnight and Stu must have gone to bed already. At least I didn’t have to risk getting a splinter from climbing over the back fence again. I feel a small flurry of relief, but it’s swiftly replaced with trepidation. We’re still going to have a row – it’ll just be a delayed one, that’s all.
    I tiptoe up to my room and collapse into bed. Natalie has texted me for an update about Tom, so we spend ten minutes pinging messages back and forth while I fill her in on all of the details. Afterwards I try to fall asleep thinking about the hottest boy in school, who may or may not fancy me, rather than my disappointed stepdad.
    The next morning, I take my time getting up. I can hear Stu pottering away downstairs and I’m slightly surprised that he hasn’t come to bash my door down – he never normally lets me sleep in. Eventually I decide I’m going to have to go face the music. I tentatively open the door and step out on to the faded-green carpet on the landing. I can hear the radio in the kitchen as I slowly make my way downstairs. It’s ten-thirty so Stu’s probably having his mid-morning cup of coffee by now. I poke my head around the kitchen door and see him at our small, round, wooden kitchen table reading the Sunday newspapers, his hair still damp from the shower. A mug of coffee is steaming beside him. So predictable.
    I jut my chin out defiantly and walk into the room, steadying myself for the onslaught.
    ‘Hi,’ I say.
    He doesn’t answer.
    ‘ Hello ?’ I say more loudly.
    He takes a sip of his drink. The silence feels ominous.
    ‘What, so now you’re ignoring me?’ I know I shouldn’t push him, I know I should go and sit down and give him a proper apology, but I can’t seem to keep myself from making things worse.
    He sighs. ‘I don’t have anything to say to you.’
    ‘Well, I’m sorry , alright? I wanted to go out.’ I sound