‘I’m parked over here,’ said Owen, leading the way.
Sam carefully lifted a balled-up Eden into his arms, making her whimper.
Vicky hovered at his elbow. ‘Eden,’ she said in a reassuring voice that masked her obvious distress. ‘It’s going to be okay.’ The glance she gave Blythe told her she had little confidence in her statement.
They all rushed through the crowds towards the exit. The lights on the road outside the school gates guided them as they strode purposefully in silence. Out of the gates Owen stopped near a small white Kia, opened the door and pushed the passenger seat forward. ‘If you put her on the back seat I think that would be best,’ he said, shoving a large box already in the back to one side. He dashed around to the driver’s side. Sam did as instructed and fitted the seat belt as best he could. Vicky tried to put the passenger seat back in place. Initially it didn’t budge. She grabbed it and shook it with frustration. ‘Bloody thing!’ Sam leaned past her and flicked a switch, making the seat spring back into place. Vicky got inside, her features pale.
‘Call me when you can,’ said Blythe feeling helpless.
Vicky looked shocked. ‘Aren’t you coming?’ Owen started the car.
Blythe glanced at Eden curled up in the back next to a large box. ‘There’s no room.’ The distress on her friend’s face pained her.
‘We’ll meet you there,’ said Sam pulling his car keys from his pocket. In that moment Blythe was so grateful. Vicky nodded, shut the door and the car pulled away.
*
Vicky’s heart hammered in her chest. She’d never been so scared. Something happening to Eden was her worst nightmare. And now she was living it. And to make that situation even worse she was sharing the ordeal with Owen. The man she had loved and the relationship she had monumentally stuffed up. She was twisted in her seat so that she kept her focus on Eden. The car was small enough for her to be able to reach her daughter’s knee, the contact just as much reassurance for her as it was for Eden.
Despite what was going on it was hard to stop the memories from across the years invading her mind. Pictures of her first kiss with Owen aged seventeen outside the cinema after seeing aCaptain Americamovie. Her twenty-first party at her mum and dad’s where all their mates slept in the living room and Owen made bacon sandwiches for breakfast. Their last Christmas together when he’d bought her the hair straighteners she wanted. Closely followed by the sight of him kissing a Barbie-figured blonde in the town’s only night club. And finally the sight of him storming off after catching her with Dim Wick – the latter blurred by hot tears.
‘You okay?’ asked Owen, flicking a look in her direction.
She realised tears were dripping off her chin and she roughly wiped them away, feeling slightly guilty that they weren’t caused entirely by Eden’s current condition.
‘Fine.’ Her tone was abrupt. She knew she needed to fight down the complicated emotions she felt for Owen. She’d been shocked to see him breeze into the Bonfire Night celebrations but the sight of him had made her heart skip. Exactly how it always had. The hurt and the years hadn’t changed that involuntary reaction. And now here he was being a hero.
She turned back to Eden. The sight of her baby scrunched up in pain, sobbing gently, crumbled her heart. Eden had had some of the usual childhood illnesses – croup, chicken pox and a variety of cold and sickness bugs – but this was completely different. This was frightening. Vicky knew there was something very wrong and the thought made her feel sick.
‘When I spotted the fireworks on Blythe’s Facebook feed I didn’t think tonight would end up like this,’ said Owen jovially. A quick look in his direction revealed a broad grin, which made her blood boil. Did he not realise how serious this was?
‘What did you expect, Owen? A big school reunion? Jolly waltz down memory lane?’ He might be helping her now but he was also the cause of the fear, worry and uncertainty dashing around her system, which was an added burden she didn’t need.
‘Maybe. I thought it would be good to reconnect.’
‘Reconnect? Our connection was broken a long time ago.’
‘I didn’t mean specifically with you, Vicky.’ Owen’s easy tone had gone.
Vicky decided not to ask what or who else he had hopes of connecting with because she really didn’t want to know the answer. Her mind was whirring. She reassured herself that if evenshedidn’t know if Eden was his daughter then there was no way he could. He probably meant Blythe.
‘Can’t you go any faster?’ She wanted to get Eden to hospital as quickly as possible but was also driven by the desire to exit the car and get far away from Owen Hockley.
‘I’m maxing out the speed limit as well as trying not to throw the kid around.’
Vicky huffily conceded that she would have to sit it out. She focused her attention on Eden who had gone very quiet. ‘Eden, Mummy’s here. Not much further. Eden?’ There was no response.
21
6thNovember
Blythe and Sam were left standing on the pavement wondering what to do. ‘Poor Eden and poor Vicky. I hope it’s nothing serious,’ said Blythe.
‘She’s going to get the best help at hospital. Try not to worry.’ Sam reached out and squeezed Blythe’s shoulder. The gesture was comforting. ‘Are you okay?’ he asked.
‘I feel like I should be doing something.’ A whistle behind her reminded her of the fireworks. They both turned to see a shower of silver light up the night sky. ‘I’ll get a taxi to the hospital.’ Blythe pulled her phone from her pocket.
‘Let me drive you. It’ll be quicker to walk back to mine than it will be to call a cab.’
