Twenty minutes to midnight?Already?
She hadn’t even had time to talk privately to Rory. It was too late now.
‘I’m just going upstairs to freshen up,’ she murmured to her mum. ‘Do you mind starting up the coffee machine?’
She put her arms around Mel, not wanting to let go, thanking her again for the incredible present. Searched out Dad and spotted him in the lounge still, teaching Diego how to moonwalk. A lump formed in her throat as she waved at him. That’s exactly how she would want to remember her dad – if the worst happened in the next fifteen minutes. She wanted to go around the room and hug everyone tight. But she didn’t want to drawattention to herself. She began climbing the staircase; however, there was no chance of slinking off quietly with Gary around.
‘Elena Swan. Don’t disappear. We haven’t got long left to sing you Happy Birthday yet.’
‘No time like the present then,’ said her mum, and everyone stared up. Guests in the lounge piled into the hallway. Mike and Tahoor sang loudly, as if they were chanting at a football match. Gary swivelled his hips, giving the tune his best karaoke moves. Rory stared up at her, hardly mouthing the words. She stared back for a fleeting second.
I love you, Rory Bunker.
Raucous applause followed the last words of the song, and Derek insisted they give her three cheers. Elena gave a little bow and then headed into her bedroom, her heart full of gratitude for her kind, fun, wonderful family, friends and colleagues. She sat on the edge of her bed and stared out of the window, at the moon and stars, at the chunky snowflakes spinning down to the ground, counting off the minutes. Shouts drew her attention and she stood up. Below, to the left, where the cul-de-sac stretched, two teenage boys appeared, having bombarded the sentry boxes with snowballs. One skidded and fell over. They both doubled up with laughter. A tear trickled down Elena’s cheek and ended at her smiling mouth.Don’t ever lose that carefree spirit, lads. Don’t ever lose the ability to see humour in adversity.And if that voice in your head tells you you’re a bad person, a failure, ignore it. It’s not your friend. She sniffed, wiped her eyes and then, orderly as ever, in her head she went through the paperwork… She’d checked over her will a couple of weeks ago and paid all her bills in advance and…
It was ten to twelve. Elena shivered. She dropped to the bed and lay down. If anything was going to happen, it couldn’t be in front of her guests.
Be brave, Elena. Like you were twenty years ago. You’ve had a great life. Enjoyed more than so many people. Sure, you’ve had your challenges, but no one’s life is flawless.
Now that the deciding moment had come, Elena’s breathing slowed, her brow relaxed, satisfaction and thanks for the life she’d led running through her veins. Whatever would be, would be. She closed her eyes as the sound of ‘Last Christmas’ drifted upstairs.
43
RORY
Why had Elena gone upstairs? Rory stood at the bottom of the hallway. Everyone else had gone back into the lounge to drink coffee and polish off Diego’s desserts.
Nothing was going to happen.Crystal balls, fortune tellers, black cats… Thanks to Julian, a logical explanation for Elena’s promise had emerged.
Still, Elena should be warned that a minute longer and there wouldn’t be so much as a cinnamon cookie crumb left downstairs. Taking the steps two at a time, he headed towards her bedroom. Rory consulted his watch.
It was a minute past midnight!
It wasn’t Elena’s thirtieth birthday any more! Any apparent, possible danger was definitely, inarguably, over! He could have swung from the light fitting above, or sat on the balcony and helter-skeltered down. Instead, he knocked on her door. No reply. Excitedly, he pushed it open.
Rory stopped.
Blinked.
The colour drained from his face.
His mouth felt as if he’d eaten nothing but dry crisps for four hours straight.
Elena lay in the foetal position, at a strange angle on the duvet, mouth open, arms hanging over the side of the bed, an open book by her body.
No. No, this hadn’t happened. Yet… he narrowed his eyes.
She wasn’t breathing.
Rory stood rigid. Elena had lost her life with so much of it ahead to enjoy – more travel, career promotions, chats with Brandy and Snap… And he’d lost Elena before even declaring his love for her. Numb, unable to release the tears building up, he stumbled over to the bed. ‘I love you,’ he whispered. ‘I love you, Elena Swan, with every tick tock of every second, with every thump, thump of every heartbeat.’ Only because he’d seen it in movies, a procedure he felt he had to follow, Rory pressed his trembling palm against her eyes to make sure they were fully closed before putting his finger on the side of her neck.
44
ELENA?
Elena let out an ear-piercing scream and grabbed Rory’s arm. She sat bolt upright, almost falling off the bed in the process. ‘What the hell?’ she yelled.
‘Whoa!’ yelled Rory back, both of them with eyes wild, her heart pumping.
