“Find one,” the doctor said. “Or I’ll have to keep you here until you do.”
He was joking, I was sure of it, so I didn’t bother relaying the message when I texted Sal to tell her I was being discharged. And it didn’t occur to me that anyone other than Harry would drive to set me free either, so I struggled to contain my disappointment when Emma rocked up later that afternoon.
She met my scowl with one of her own and then rushed to me for a hug. I evaded, knowing that even her slender frame was still too much for me, and settled for slipping an arm around her shoulders. “What are you doing here?”
“Idiot. I’ve come to drive you home.”
“Seriously? On your own.”
“Yep.” Emma hid her face in my T-shirt. “Harry’s been helping me loads this week. And I’m smashing it, Joe. I even went to the gym in town with him.”
“The what?”
“The gym. There’s a yoga group there I want to join. He came with me for my first session. He’ssoflexible. You wouldn’t think it for someone that muscly—”
I silenced her nervous chatter with my hand over her mouth. Thinking about how flexible Harry might be was bad for my blood pressure—even if it had been dragging on the floor for the best part of a week. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Emma ducked away from me. “Liar. You probably wanted Mum to take you to KFC on the way home, and I’m not doing that, no matter how brave I’m feeling.”
If that was what she honestly thought, I let her have it. Sal seemed to know that something was cooking between Harry and me, but she was my mum—not much got by her. “Can we go now? I need to get home.”
“What for? We’ve managed just fine without you.”
“Yeah?”
Emma held my gaze fiercely for a few seconds, then caved and shook her head. “Harry’s been amazing, Dex too, but no one knows the farm like you do. We’ve missed you so much.”
It was nice to hear. Sometimes it seemed like the years rolled by and no one noticed that I was still drowning. That we all were.
I started to get down from the bed. Emma giggled. I glared at her. “What?”
“You’ve got no shoes. The paramedics lost your boots.”
“So?”
“Oh right... you’re going to walk to the van in the rain in your socks, are you?”
The thought of walking anywhere was almost enough to make me faint, but I didn’t care if I crawled home on my knees, I was getting out of this shithole.
Thankfully, Emma had thought of everything. She retrieved a pair of gym bunny trainers from her bag and slipped them onto my feet. “They’re Harry’s,” she supplied like I didn’t already know. “You’re the same size. He left you some joggers and stuff on the bed too.”
“The bed?”
“Yes. He’s going to take the couch while you recover.”
“Em, we can’t let him do that. He’s paid for that room.” I didn’t add that there was no way on earth I was sleeping in Grandpa’s bed, because I didn’t have to... right?
Wrong. Emma shook her head and took my weight as I eased myself onto my feet. “It was Harry’s idea. We went shopping and got new sheets and stuff, and he got cross when me and Mum offered him our beds.”
“You didn’t think of getting cross right back and telling him no?”
“Of course I did, but it wouldn’t have worked. Joe, he wants to be in the house with you, and it’s probably for the best. Do you really want Mum helping you up and down the stairs.”
I growled under my breath. Being the weak link wasn’t my style, and she knew it.
We said goodbye to the nurses, picked up a giant bag of medication, and made a shuffling getaway. I felt like shit, but the wind and rain in my face when we got outside was magic.
“Wait here,” Emma said. “I’ll bring the van around.”
