Life's not easy when your mum's nuts, your uncle is becoming your aunt, and one of your crushes could -- and probably would -- break your face if he found out how you felt about him. That's Tab's life, though, malevolent gods and all. His text-flirting with Demi, the brother of his best friend, is going nowhere: Demi already has a boyfriend and anyway, who dates their best friend's twin? But then, the pining after Nick is going nowhere either, because Nick probably likes gay-bashing on Friday nights for fun. He's gorgeous, but he's dangerous, and Tab knows better than that. So what's a bit of harmless flirting, when one is taken and the other is straight? It's just a bit of fun. That is until Demi is suddenly single, and Nick is not looking as straight and scary as he was before.

The Suicidal Peanut

Tab didn’t know—nobody really knew—if Mum had been a bit crazy before the drugs or not, but she was definitely crazy by the time he was four .He remembered being four and a half, and going next door to ask Mrs. Pemberton if she knew where PC Thorpe was, ‘cause Mum had locked herself in her room and was breaking things. Mrs. Pemberton had been horrified. PC Thorpe had just looked sad, and taken Tab round to Uncle Eddie’s, and…


She had good days. On her good days, Mum was fun, when Tab was little. They’d gone to the seaside or out into the country. She knew everything about nature. Tab could still name a ridiculous amount of random flowers you’d find in hedgerows and copses. On her good days, she was pretty and young again and loved the world and everyone in it. She’d been a good mum on her good days.


Chapter 20