Regan got out of the car because she feared if she didn’t she’d hit him. She slammed the door shut and ran towards Brian’s. Alex chased after her, catching her on the threshold. ‘Regan. Think about it. Why should I lose everything because some homeless guy stumbles in front of my car?’
‘He was on the crossing!’ Her voice was spiralling out of control.
‘I didn’t see the red light until it was too late. I tried to brake but everything locked up. God knows what speed I was doing … I was looking for you, Regan. One minute you were there, the next you’d gone.’
‘It’s my fault. Is that it?’
‘No. But it’s not mine either. You said it earlier. It was just an accident.’
Regan was incredulous. ‘You didn’t stop!’ She thumped his chest with her fists and he lurched back. Tears of anger streamed across her cheeks.
Someone behind the open door cleared their throatand Regan and Alex spun around. A tall police officer pulled out his warrant card.
‘Mr Alexander Lowe?’
‘Yes,’ said Alex, his voice barely a croak.
‘I’m arresting you on suspicion of failing to stop at the scene of an accident. You have the right to remain—’
‘Hang on! You can’t take an overheard conversation as fact. I was joking anyway.’ Alex spluttered a laugh. ‘We do this all the time. Her and me, we wind each other up. It’s what we do. Isn’t that right, Regan? Regan? Tell him.’
The police officer lifted his jaw in a questioning manner. ‘I’ve spent the last hour collecting samples from the front of your car, sir. The front of yourdamagedcar.’
‘There can’t be anything on it,’ said Alex, his voice adamant.
‘Not on the new bumper, no, sir, but around the grille there’s something that looks very much like dog fur. But we’ll need the lab to confirm that.’
‘That could have been from any animal.’ Alex tried to snort a derisory laugh, but there was a sheen of sweat forming on his brow and he looked agitated.
‘We’ll be doing a thorough match to determine that, and to check any other microscopic traces that may remain. We’ve seized the vehicle for further tests.’ Alex hung his head and the officer went through his rights. A police car appeared from around the corner and Alex’s head snapped back up again, his mouth almost a smile.
‘You set me up.’ Alex was glaring at Regan, but his voice was even.
‘No. If you had nothing to hide it would all have been a big waste of time.’
‘Bloody hell, you got me this time, Regan. You win.’ He shook his head as he was led away.
Tears were brimming in her eyes. ‘No, Alex. This time nobody wins. Least of all Kevin.’
It took a while before Regan felt calm enough to drive home. Home. Charlie’s place felt like home, but then she guessed wherever Charlie was would feel the same. She had a renewed sense of determination. Life could change on a coin toss – the Alex and Kevin situation had taught her that. Two lives had been changed in a few seconds.
The time had come to tell Charlie how she felt. She had nothing to lose. He could still stick to his guns and say they weren’t to enter into a relationship, but perhaps if he knew how much she loved him … perhaps it would be enough to make him rethink. Because she didn’t care about the pain that was coming. It was coming anyway – she may as well face it knowing they had enjoyed every moment to the maximum. She just hoped he felt the same.
The lights were on when she unlocked the door. This was good – he was home.
‘Charlie!’ she called, excitement bouncing around inside her like Elvis on a trampoline.
She saw the shadow fill the living room door and spun in that direction. This was it – this was the moment she wanted to remember. Her broad grin was almost making her face hurt.
She looked up and baulked. ‘Oh, Beanstalk. Hi.’ She self-consciously tucked her hair behind her ear. ‘We weren’t expecting you back until Friday.’ She tried to look behind him, but he was a sweatpants-wearing barricade. ‘Where’s Charlie?’
Beanstalk’s face twitched. ‘You need to come and sit down.’
If Regan’s stomach had been a gymnast, it would have just done an elaborate somersault and faceplanted the floor. Beanstalk stood back and she went and sat on the sofa. He joined her. There was an awkward moment where he sat down and his weight made her slide towards him and she had to shuffle away from the middle.
Beanstalk blew out his cheeks. ‘Bloody hell, this is hard,’ he said, and without warning, tears trickled down Regan’s cheeks. ‘Oh, no. No,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘Charlie’s not dead. It’s not that.’
She angrily brushed the tears away. ‘Shitting hell, Beanstalk. Then what is it?’
