Chapter 1
ZOE
He’d always been there. Always there in the big moments.
At four, he was my first husband. Our wedding in the sandpit of our preschool came complete with daisy chain necklaces and his twin brother standing beside him as his best man.
At eight he gave me my first kiss. Behind the athletic shed one day after school, playing a wild game of spin the bottle. Chapped lips and nervous as hell, he’d kissed me so gently…almost like I was a doll that might break if he pressed too hard.
At eleven he became my fiercest competitor and biggest rival. Three nights a week we would push ourselves almost to the point of exhaustion as we each tried to outdo the other as we raced up and down the pool. Lap after lap we tested each other, taking it in turns to come out victors. Bragging rights on the line.
At seventeen he was the boy who took my virginity. Down by the river one balmy afternoon, on a picnic rug with sticks and stones digging into my back while mozzies bombed us. We hadn’t planned it?at least I hadn’t?but after an afternoon of swimming and one too many shots of stolen butterscotch schnapps, one thing led to another.
At twenty-two, the night after the man I thought would be the father of my future children left me broken hearted and my so-called best friends dragged me to the local pub to “get over the douchebag”?there he was. Taller than I remembered and more muscled than I could have dreamt. Without words, he’d simply wrapped his arms around me and together we danced the night away. That night he helped me to forget.
He’d always been there. Through the good and the bad, I knew he was there. No matter how great the distance was between us, or how long it had been since we’d last spoken, he was always there when I needed him. Right now, when I needed him more than ever, there he was. Towering over my hospital bed, watching over me. My protector. My saviour. My knight in shining armour.
“Zoe. Zoe, come back to me, sweetheart,” a deep, rich voice cooed in my ear.
I could feel the warmth of his breath on my neck as his fingers intertwined with mine. With all the strength I could muster I willed my eyes to open. They cracked open, just a fraction. I needed a glimpse. I just needed to see him with my own two eyes. I needed confirmation that the man holding my hand was the one I knew I could always rely on. They just felt so damn heavy. I tried to open my mouth to say something but nothing came out. I knew my lips were dry and chapped. I could still taste the metallic tinge in my mouth. Everything was just too hard.
“Come on, Zoe, I know you can do it. Just squeeze my fingers. Please, Zoe, I need to know you’re still in there,” he pleaded. Although his voice was soft and steady I could feel the heartbreak behind his words. In that moment I knew I didn’t need to see his face. I already knew the answer. Spencer was here with me. My body knew it too. As soon as I managed to put all the pieces of the puzzle together despite my drug-induced stupor, the aches eased. The throbbing in my head dulled. I exhaled heavily. Spencer was here and that meant everything would be okay. It took barely seconds for me to slip back into the dreamland where I was safe and nothing hurt.
