‘Say it!’ she insisted. ‘We were the best, weren’t we?’
‘Yes.’ He sighed, tucking her back inside the warm covers. ‘We really were.’ His heart strained with affection.
‘Will you stay with me until I fall asleep? Like old times?’ Her breathing was already growing deeper and her eyes were fully closed.
‘Of course.’ He lay down next to her and watched the slow rise and fall of her chest. ‘Just like old times.’
Then: Aged 18
Eleanor
Her heart was in her mouth. She could barely breathe. Every time she tried to inhale, her throat would close up and she’d choke on the tears that she was fighting back.
He’s fine.
He’ll be fine.
The words played over and over in her mind as she willed her feet to move just a little faster.
Why was it taking so long to get to him? The seconds were crawling past; time was like a long corridor that she couldn’t see the end of.
Eleanor had been at work when she’d got the text. Luckily, she’d been on her break, otherwise it didn’t bear thinking about when she would have seen it. The three indiscernible words on the screen took the air out of her lungs and made the world shift beneath her feet.
From: Finley Taylor.
Hel3lp. Nt goofd.
The phone almost dropped from her hands.
‘Roy? Roy!’ She ran into the cafe, wildly searching for her boss.
‘Eleanor, what’s wrong?’ Roy wiped his hands on his grubby apron and placed them on her shoulders. ‘You look like you’ve seen a ghost!’
‘I need to go. I’m sorry. I’ll work a double shift next weekend. I’ll do whatever you want, I just really need to leave. Like right now.’
She started pacing back and forth, her mind already planning the fastest route to his house.
Will there be traffic?
What if the bus is late?
Can I run?
Every second she wasn’t moving was a second she couldn’t afford to waste.
‘Of course! Is everything OK? Are you all right to go alone?’ Her boss looked around at the half-full cafe. ‘I’d offer to drive you home but I can’t leave the customers.’
Eleanor stopped and looked at him. Affection washed over her. His big, kind eyes seemed to know without words the significance of the crisis.
‘I’ll be fine. Thank you, Roy. I promise I’ll make it up to you.’
She managed to force her face into a tiny smile before throwing off her apron and running out of the back door.
‘Be safe, Eleanor,’ he called after her, but she was already sprinting down the street.
Hold on, Fin, I’m nearly there.
Her top was drenched with a mix of sweat and tears. But she wouldn’t stop. She couldn’t stop. The moment she saw his front door her heart skipped a beat. Then all at once she froze. Her body jarred into complete stillness.
