Estrangement

By Craig Britton

Your spouse disappears without a word for four years. When they return, they demand money. If you don't give them what they want, they'll expose your crimes and take away your children. What do you do?

 

Afraid for herself and her children, Jenny finds herself blackmailed by her estranged husband, Freddy, who owes money to more menacing individuals.

Caught between it all are the couple's two boys, Dylan and Sam, afraid and unsure who to trust.

 

No matter how well you plan for the future, there are some things you cannot plan for. Some of us are inevitably doomed.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Craig Britton
• Release date: Feb 19, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224047970

Book preview

Prologue: The Boy

Father’s Day always stirred up trouble. His Mum never knew when it would come around, but it would almost always be a thing at school. He had Ryan and he was like a father figure, but he wasn’t his real Dad. Ryan already had two kids from before and the boy didn’t like them much.

For a time, he felt that Ryan would replace his Dad, and though Ryan showed some effort, he was never as happy to see the boy as he was when he saw his girls. For his little brother, Sam—a real brother—Father’s Day wasn’t such a big deal, and the boy thought that it was because his wee brother had fewer memories of their Dad.

Alone in his room, the boy would feel low whenever he thought about not having a Dad. It was so unfair. Like a piece of himself was missing. He could see parts of his Mum in himself, like her eyes, but the colour of his hair was not like anything from her family. His hair was darker while everyone in his Mum’s family was blond-y or brown-y.

The boy hadn’t seen his Dad in years. He had no idea where he went, if he was alive, or why he left in the first place. After he disappeared, it was just the three of them—the boy, his brother, and his Mum. Two years later, Ryan came along.

The clearest memories the boy had of his father were the ones where he was arguing with his Mum. Nevertheless, he missed his presence.

From his bedroom window, the boy could see his schoolmates with their dads on the way to school. They seemed like people he could look up to. Who you could do Dad things with. Why don’t I get that? he whispered as he shed a tear and pushed his face across the windowsill.

The boy would ask his Mum what happened to his Dad. Where was he? Was he alive? Why did they split up? Was he a good man? Over time, the boy began to suspect that he was a bad man—why else would she never speak of him? If he was dead, surely she would tell him at some point. Bad man or not, it didn’t stop the boy from wanting to know about him. Of course, if the boy’s friends asked, he’d always say that his Dad was dead. It sounded cool and made them feel sorry for him. Even the teachers fell for it.

Sometimes she would mention a man’s name and the boy pieced together that he could be his Dad but there were also several other male names that she would mention.

The boy had to be careful not to ask his Mum too many questions. She could get angry. Often, she would deflect and change the conversation—her anger would always be about something else, but the boy was smart enough to know it was his constant questions. As someone normally quite calm, it was out of character for her to suddenly become so enraged.

The rest of the family was also cautious when talking to the kids about their Dad for fear of angering their Mum. Everybody but his great-grandmother. She was not afraid to talk about his missing father when they were alone. She confirmed to the boy that his father’s name was Freddy and that the last time his parents were together was at a friend’s wedding, but that’s all she knew. After his Mum found out that his great-grandmother had told him about Freddy, they saw her less. She’s not feeling well, she would say.

The boy slid on his jacket and thought over everything he knew so far. He wasn’t sure if he was trying to uncover something he missed or just remember everything he had already learned. Maybe he would figure out something new if he kept thinking about it all.

When he got to school he hid in a corner of the basketball court, out of sight from his teachers. He watched as other boys said Goodbye to their parents. Dean, a weak boy, was the last to arrive. Almost late, Dean’s father hugged him and quickly drove off. The boy charged at Dean, gave him two solid fists to the ribs and knocked him into a puddle before running off.

Chapter One: Unwelcome

11:43 AM, Tuesday, 13th of May 2014

So, you’re here because you ran out of money? Jenny interrupted, piecing together the pitiful tale Freddy had told her. Freddy froze, his mouth agape. He tried to laugh it off.

I can’t just give you money, even if I wanted to, Jenny stated firmly.

"Just a loan... I’m not just here for that, I want to patch stuff up," said Freddy desperately.

Out of the question! Jenny almost laughed at the absurdity of the statement, "I