Free If You're Not the One by Jemma Forte

full-blown wailing. ‘Eadie, bash your sister again and I’ll bash you.’
    Of course she would never bash her kids in a million years so the threat was rather empty which Eadie could tell.
    Eadie eyeballed her mum through the wonky brown fringe Jennifer had gifted her with only the week before, as if weighing up how much trouble she’d be in if she ignored her. Then, obviously having concluded she could handle whatever was flung at her, proceeded to whack Polly again.
    â€˜Right,’ growled Jennifer, who had now officially had enough. ‘That’s it, up to your room.’
    As Eadie burst into noisy sobs, Jennifer sighed heavily, sick to the back teeth of all the squabbling but partly blaming herself for it. No doubt her children had picked upon her generally unenthusiastic mood? Perhaps if she’d been perkier today and more inventive in finding ways to entertain them, they’d be behaving fine but frankly she just wanted to be able to leave them to their own devices for more than five minutes. She was tired and would like nothing more than to get into her pyjamas and zone out to a bit of crappy afternoon telly.
    Max scampered into the kitchen.
    â€˜All all right in here?’ he said, charging to the fridge to get a couple more beers. ‘Did I hear wailing?’
    â€˜Yes you did,’ snapped Jennifer. ‘They’re behaving like a couple of deranged chimps. I’ve sent Eadie to her room for bashing Polly.’
    â€˜Yeah Daddy, she hit me really hard,’ said Polly, rubbing her arm to demonstrate how much it hurt.
    â€˜Er, it was the other arm, Pol,’ said Jennifer wryly.
    â€˜How could you miss that, you bloody idiot?’ Ted yelled from the front room at which point Max literally ran back out of the kitchen, bottles of lager in both hands and one under his arm, skidding on the wooden floor of the hall in his socks. As he disappeared he yelled over his shoulder, ‘Be good for your mother.’
    â€˜Come on you, let’s get some colouring stuff out,’ said Jennifer to her youngest, ‘but hurry up because I need to go and make sure Eadie’s OK. And don’t think I’m massively happy with you either, Madame,’ she added, noting Polly’s smug expression as she gloated over how much trouble her sister was in.
    Later, after thirty minutes spent with Eadie in her bedroom, who by now had worked herself up into such a state she’d needed soothing and stroking, despite the fact it had been her who had been in the wrong, Jennifer decided to join the boys in the lounge. That way if the children wanted anything their father might be forced to do something.
    â€˜Hello,’ Max said, looking distracted and surprised to see her standing in her own front room.
    Max was on one sofa and Ted was on the other. Both were sitting wide-legged on the edge, beers in hand.
    â€˜You all right? Second half’s just started. Why don’t you see if there’s a nice movie on upstairs? There might be a rom com or something.’
    â€˜Because Eadie’s watching
Tangled
on our bed and as much as I actually quite enjoyed it the first time round I can probably live without seeing it again,’ she replied, flopping onto the sofa that Ted was sitting on. He shuffled up, slightly reluctantly, to make a bit of room, his eyes never leaving the TV.
    â€˜All right, Ted?’ she asked.
    â€˜Yeah, great thanks,’ he said, reminding her of when Eadie’s friends came round to play and answered her questions about school politely, with enough clues in their tone to suggest they’d rather not be talking to her at all.
    â€˜How’s Annabelle? Is she well?’ she continued, not really caring if Ted didn’t want to talk. She did. She was bored.
    â€˜Not bad thanks. Bit stressed. Callum’s been off school with tonsillitis but other than that OK.’
    â€˜Good,’ she said, flicking