‘If you say so.’
‘I do say so,’ she said confidently, prickles of anxiety coursing across her skin. ‘I’ll call him as soon as I get in.’
‘It must suck; he’ll have no family now,’ Freya said quietly.
‘Yes, he will,’ Eleanor protested. ‘He’s got his dad. And I think some cousins and an aunt somewhere up north. He has family, Freya.’
‘Right.’ Freya scowled. ‘Because his dad was such a gent, wasn’t he?’
Eleanor gave an exasperated sigh. ‘I get what you’re saying, but he’ll be OK.’ She reached her hand out and gave her sister’s arm a gentle squeeze. ‘He’s got us, remember? We’ll always be his family.’
‘I suppose so.’ Freya leant her head back and closed her eyes. ‘Just make sure you call him, OK?’
Eleanor looked at her sister, her face etched with worry.Sometimes she forgot that it wasn’t only her life that Fin had disappeared from. Her sister had loved Fin nearly as fiercely and deeply as Eleanor had. His absence had left marks on her heart too.
‘I promise. The moment I get in, I’ll call.’
*
Eleanor had called three times and texted twice. At what point did concern blur the line with harassment? Freya’s troubled little face loomed in the back of her mind.
Fine.
I’ll call him one more time.
She picked up her phone and tried again. No answer.
‘Can’t say I didn’t try, little sis.’ She was about to throw her phone on to the sofa when she felt it buzz in her hand.
Incoming Call: Finley Taylor.
‘Hey,’ she answered immediately.
‘Eleanor, what’s going on, is everything OK?’ He sounded panicked. ‘I’ve got four missed calls from you.’
‘Sorry. I was trying to get hold of you to see how you were doing and you weren’t picking up.’
‘Because I was in the shower!’ he replied, still sounding a little flustered. ‘Jesus, I thought there was an emergency or something.’
‘No. Just me being impatient.’ She tried to laugh it off. Maybe four missed calls was abitmuch.
‘Anyway,’ she carried on casually. ‘How are you?’
‘I’m fine,’ he replied suspiciously.
‘That’s good.’
God, this is painful.
‘Nurse Clara been on at you for any more photoshoots?’She asked, a false brightness in her voice, ‘I still need to see Heidi’s finished pictures.’
‘Eleanor,’ he replied sternly, ‘can you please stop the awkward small talk and tell me why you’re ringing me …’
She cringed at her poor attempt at navigating the conversation and dropped the facade. ‘I was at my mum’s today for lunch. The care home called her this morning to tell her about your mum. She was in a pretty bad way and I wanted to check to see how you were doing.’
He laughed, a faint sad laugh. ‘I see.’
‘So …’ She began to pace up and down her living room. ‘How are you?’
