[UNEDITED]

        I pulled up outside Chloe’s house and I hadn’t even stepped out of the car when I saw Matthew flying out the front door, Chloe was slamming her fists against his chest with tears rolling down her cheeks.

        I got out the car and walked over to the two of them. They had definitely forgotten about the five year old child they had in the house and were only interested in each other.

        Chloe was shouting how much she hated Matthew and that she never wanted to see him ever again. As far as she was concerned, she was a single woman and he was a single man. Matthew, on the other hand, was defending himself with everything he had, insisting that he had done nothing wrong; he was told her that I had the wrong end of the stick.

        “Did you two forget about the daughter you have?” I shouted, getting the attention of both of them in a quick second.

        “I thought I told you I never wanted to see you again,” Chloe muttered. She barely even looked at me before her intense gaze was set back on Matthew.

        “Well, funnily enough, when my niece phones me in tears I’m not going to ignore her,” I spat.

        “Shit. Amanda,” Matthew said like he was only remembering his daughter. It was too late for all that now though, the damage had already been done and Amanda was scared shitless, hiding in my bedroom in tears.

        “Where is she?” Chloe asked in a panic.

        “She’s in my bedroom, but she won’t unlock the door for either of you,” I said though it was useless saying anything to either of them as they ran back inside the house. I quickly followed after them to see they were hammering on and shouting through my bedroom door, begging Amanda to come out so they could talk to her.

        Too late to give a damn about her now. The damage has already been done.

        I scolded myself for thinking such thoughts. There was no denying that Chloe and Matthew were fucking amazing parents.

        They had been there for Amanda since the day she was born and they had never let anything happen to her. They constantly told her that they loved her and reminded her of how special she was to the both of them. She was treated like the princess she was in their eyes.

        “Amanda, sweetie, it’s Uncle Jason. Open the door for me,” I spoke softly. Chloe and Matthew managed to stop banging long enough to notice that I had made my way into the middle of them and was now knocking softly on the door, speaking to Amanda like she hadn’t done anything wrong rather than shouting at her like she was in trouble.

        Within a couple of minutes I heard the sound of the key turning and then the door opening. Amanda quickly wrapped her arms around my leg and began to wipe her tears on my trouser, which also meant that the snot she was putting everywhere ended up on my leg too.

        I bent down, picking her up and allowing her to rest her head on my shoulder as she continued to cry softly to herself. She didn’t even look at Chloe and Matthew, instead turning her head away from the both of them so they were unable to see her face.

        “Please don’t leave Uncle Jason. I want you to stay,” Amanda muttered.

        “I’ll be back before you know it. I’m just staying with a friend for a few days,” I said reassuringly. She was too perceptive for her own good and she could see through people better than some adults could see through people. It was rather frightening actually and it worried me at times, she could spot things other people couldn’t see.

        She was the one who picked up on the fact John wasn’t well. She told Vivienne that Grandpa wasn’t well and he needed to see someone, she started crying when no one listened to her and then cried with joy when John agreed to see someone.

        Turns out all he had done was torn a muscle and fractured a bone when he took a topple up the stairs. It was nothing serious but, if Amanda hadn’t said anything, then he probably would have spent his time complaining about the copious amount of pain he was in and listing all the reasons why he hated people.

        Sure, it was funny when John moaned about everything, but it was also exceptionally boring since there wasn’t much left for him to moan about. Though he did only take up moaning as a full-time occupation when he took the decision to retire last year because he wanted to spend more time with his wife.

        “Take me with you,” Amanda practically begged.

        “No. You need to stay with mummy,” I sighed. I walked over to where Chloe was standing, seeing her glaring at me like I had done something wrong, and tried to hand her Amanda back. She, however, wasn’t willing to let go all that easily and was determined to remain in my grip.

        “Please? Just one night?” she cried again. I don’t know what she heard, or what she saw for that matter, but she really didn’t want to stay in the house and I knew she wasn’t going to leave me alone if she didn’t get what she wanted.

        “Fine. Just for tonight and then I am bringing you back tomorrow,” I smiled as I placed a quick kiss on the top of her head and then put her on the ground, watching as she ran off towards her bedroom to pack her back for the night. I wasn’t surprised to look up and see a look which could kill on both Chloe and Matthew’s faces, but even they should have realised they were never going to make her stay if she didn’t want to stay. “What?”

        “It’s not enough that you’ve taken my husband off me--“

        “Don’t blame me. He was the one who was in bed with Charl. I didn’t do anything,” I pointed out.

        “And, as I keep fucking telling you, I wasn’t the one who did anything. Charlotte wouldn’t leave me alone. She had been after me for weeks before any of that even happened,” Matthew interrupted sharply. I knew that he was pissed off, but I wasn’t about to make myself out to be a liar when I know what the hell I saw the day I walked into that bedroom.

        “Amanda isn’t going anywhere with you, especially if you’re going to stay at that whore’s house. I don’t want my daughter anywhere near her or her house,” Chloe seethed.

        “Firstly, I’m staying at Erin’s place, so it’s not like she’s going to catch some deadly disease. Secondly, Amanda doesn’t want to stay here and you’re not going to make her stay either. What’s the point in even fighting with her?” I snapped. I know Amanda was her daughter and she had every single right to tell that I wasn’t taking her with her, but Amanda wasn’t going to stay here with them and they weren’t going to make her either.

        “Oh. So you’re staying with your fuck buddy? How lovely,” Chloe stated sarcastically.

        “You know, it never ceases to amaze me just how fucking judgemental you can be,” I laughed coldly. I really wasn’t in the mood for her shit right now and, if she was going to make comments about Erin without even bothering to meet her, then I was going to fight back. I wasn’t going to simply stand there and allow her to make comments about someone she knew absolutely fuck all about. “If you actually bothered to meet her, then you would see just how lovely she is for yourself.”

        “I haven’t got the time to be meeting people I don’t give a damn about. We both know she’s just a fling who is never really going to last,” Chloe laughed.

        “Guess we’ll just have to wait and see about that one then. Won’t we?” I asked and, as Chloe was about to open her mouth, I walked away from her and headed in the direction of Amanda’s room to make sure that she was ready.

        I don’t know what Erin was going to say when I turned up with Amanda, but I hoped that she liked her and wouldn’t mind her spending the night with us. I know I should have asked, but I didn’t want to upset Amanda by telling her Erin had refused to let her stay the night.

        I knew that she was good with kids since she had a nephew of her own. Her sister and her boyfriend had a son a couple of months ago, he’s just the sweetest little thing and he reminds me of Amanda when she was first born; not a care in the world and dying for the love of someone. Erin was amazing with him and even told me that she wanted kids of her own one day.

        “Is Erin your girlfriend?” Amanda asked the moment she saw me in her doorway.

        “No. We’re just friends,” I smiled at her.

        “Why doesn’t mummy like her?” Amanda replied. Like I said, she has to know everything and she can never accept when she’s been told something. It’s like she needs to know otherwise she feels like she’s missing out on something.

        I can’t imagine the guy who is going to be brave enough to put up with her when she reaches that age. They are never going to be able to do anything without her questioning them about what they’re doing, where they’re doing it and why they’re doing it.

        Whoever was willing to put up with her was definitely worthy of her love and she should never let them go. She should always make sure she keeps them close and, if they happen to fuck her over, I won’t be too far away and I certainly won’t be too old to beat the crap out of anyone who dared to hurt my niece.

        “Mummy doesn’t like many people,” I chuckled.

        Another thing which was true of my sister. She had few friends because she never gave people a chance. She based her opinion of them on what she first saw and she had ended up pissing a lot of people off by being like that.

        “But she hates Erin. Why?”

        “Why does anyone hate a person?” I shrugged.

        “Do you hate anyone Uncle Jason?”

        Charlotte Simpson. Matthew Jenkinson. My father. That teacher who gave me detention in Year Eight for correcting her. Nick Clegg. Katie Price.

        “No. I love everyone,” I smiled back at her, taking her bag from her as we walked out of her room, her small hand reaching out for my bigger one. I happily took hold of it as she walked down the stairs behind me, walking in on Chloe and Matthew arguing again.

        “Just admit that you fucked the girl. How fucking hard is it?” I heard Chloe shout and I sighed at her choice of words, especially since she was the one who had forbidden any form of swearing in the house while Amanda was around.

        “Admit something I didn’t do? Forgive me for not liking that idea all too much,” Matthew said bluntly.

        “I want a divorce,” Chloe replied quickly.

        “Fine. Sounds fucking amazing,” Matthew retorted as he stormed out of the room and headed straight up the stairs, completely ignoring both Amanda and myself. The next thing would could be heard from upstairs was the banging of drawers and cupboard doors.

        “Mummy? Where’s daddy going?” Amanda asked the second Chloe appeared in the doorway, her eyes filled with tears as she looked at her mother. Chloe couldn’t look at her without anything other than guilt in her eyes though and I will never understand how she could hide it so well from her daughter when I could see that it was written all over her face.

        “He’s just leaving for a little while. Don’t worry, you’ll still see him,” Chloe just about managed to smile.

        “Leaving where?” Amanda replied.

        “Sorry Amanda but I’m not in the mood for all you damn questions right now. Daddy is leaving because daddy is a lying, cheating, good for nothing, useless scumbag,” Chloe said, looking her five year old daughter in the eyes as she slagged her cheating husband off in one of the worst ways possible. “Oh. Manipulative. I forgot to mention manipulative.”

        I looked at her in disbelief, unsure of how to react to what had just happened. I knew that Chloe was pissed, but I never thought she would do something like that. I never thought she would lower herself to making her own child, who could barely understand why Matthew was leaving, feel something which was supposed to be hatred towards her own father.

        “Chloe!”

        “Oh. You can shut up as well. You’re no better than that cheating fucker upstairs,” Chloe shouted as she stepped closer to me and looked me directly in the eyes. I had never seen the side of Chloe before and I was pretty damn sure I never wanted to see it again, not if it meant all her morals went out the window as soon as her daughter was around.

        “Why don’t you go and wait for me in the car? I’ll be there in a minute,” I said to Amanda and she just nodded at me, walking out of the house with her favourite teddy clutched to her chest. It was a brown bear which Matthew had gotten her for her second birthday and they had been inseparable ever since. She even has to take it to school with her and, no matter how hard Chloe tires to take it from her, it is no use because she bloody loves that thing. “You were saying?”

        “You jump from one bed to the next. It amazes me that you haven’t contracted something and it also doesn’t surprise me that Charlotte wanted to fuck someone else. I would be ashamed to call you my boyfriend as well,” Chloe said, her fists clenching at her sides and her eyes never leaving mine as she glared at me.

        You know what they say? If looks could kill.

        I would be dead right now. The police would be here and Chloe would be charged with murder.

        “Good job you’re my sister then and not some girl I’m lining up to fuck then, isn’t it?” I laughed.

        “Well, I am ashamed to call you my brother.”

        I looked at her and there was nothing to be said. I was totally speechless and those words cut deeply. Chloe had never told me that before, I had always been her best friend and the one she went to when she needed a shoulder to cry on, now she’s telling me that she’s ashamed to call me her brother.

        I guess I know where I stand now though and she didn’t even have to tell me that she didn’t want me in her life anymore. Those words were all it took to make her view of me more than clear and I wasn’t going to forget it in a hurry.

        “I’ll see you around Clo,” I muttered and, without bothering to take a second look back at my sister, I walked out of the house and wordlessly closed the door behind me.

        I guess this is what it feel like to lose your entire family and be hated by the people you did everything for when they had no one else.