Abby was half lying on Alex, their plans of going climbing abandoned. Alex had fallen asleep, which didn’t surprise her; he’d had a late night and been up in the morning too.
She felt a familiar pain in her stomach, a twinge that told her she’d forgotten what time of the month it was. Her period pains started a couple of days before it actual came on, a gentle warning that mother nature was doing her thing, but then they’d be followed by the migraine to end all migraines. This she could prevent. There was quick fix, a tablet that would make her drowsy for a few hours, but would kill off the later onslaught of pain and other symptoms. She just needed to head to Alex’s and pick up the medication, bring it back with her and enjoy a snooze with the live music drifting over to them.
Sliding off Alex, she mentioned to Keren that she was heading to get the migraine tablets, and kept a steady pace across the field, looking to see if she could spot Kenny or even Drew O’Malley.
Alex had given her a rundown of what had happened with Kenny. She’d been half-cross that he hadn’t told her earlier, or mentioned it when he came in, but got why he hadn’t.
The Kenny she’d met hadn’t been her sister’s boyfriend. The man she’d seen in Edale probably was. He had money. Looks. Totally what Tilly would’ve gone for. And she’d seen him in photos that her sister had shared.
She had so many things she wanted to ask him. While she walked she thought about what she’d say, what she needed to know first.Was Tilly alive? Was she happy? Was she in any pain? Did she ask about Abby, did she know where Abby was living? Why hadn’t she gotten in touch or done something so Abby knew she was okay?
Abby was lost in the pain of not knowing, her thoughts eaten by unanswered questions. She didn’t hear the footsteps as she took the shortcut through the wooded area at the edge of the farmland. She didn’t sense that someone was following, sticking to the shadows, keeping to the softer ground where the crunch of the leaves would be minimal.
She didn’t realise that someone was there until they had their hands on her shoulders, forcing her to the ground as they kicked her knees in from behind.
Abby felt the rough bark of the ground on her knees and the tightness of the grip. Through the trees she could see the road, not too far from where people would be passing – if she could make enough noise she would be heard.
She went limp, a dead weight, as whoever had her tried to turn her.
“Tell me where she fucking is! Where’s the bitch? You know where she is!”
The man’s voice was new to her. When she saw him for the first time, there was nothing recognisable.
The fear she’d expected didn’t paralyse her. She didn’t feel the brain fog she expected sink in. For the last twenty-four months she’d worried about this moment, someone finding her and demanding to know what information she had.
But her reaction was more like when she was climbing and the hold she’d planned had failed. Make a choice, a good choice, or fall.
She didn’t say anything. The man’s head came closer, trying to intimidate her. She tipped her head away, feeling hands pin her down, a sudden shooting pain in her ankle.
He was halfway through a sentence when she launched her head forward, landing her forehead hard onto his nose. There was a crunch and she felt the warm stickiness of blood on her chest.
“Fucking bitch!” His words were a scream but he’d let her go, moved away, holding his face in agony.
She ignored the pain in her ankle and got to her feet, running at him and kicking him between the legs, making sure her aim was dead on.
He collapsed to the ground, one hand clutching his face, the other his balls. There was the opportunity for another kick, one to his stomach like she’d seen in films, but instinct told her to get the hell out of there and run, so she did.
The pain became excruciating as she made it to the road, knowing that there had to be someone she knew driving by that would see her. Her phone was back at the festival with Alex, being used as a hotspot for the kids’ tablets, but that didn’t seem like a problem right now, just the growing agony in her ankle and the need to get to where there were more people. Away from the man who’d attacked her.
And then she needed to wash the blood off her.
There hadn’t beena point in Abby’s life where she’d hurt that much she’d lost conscious. Climbing came with its own risks: falls and scrapes and fractures were inevitable. Broken bones were a hazard, but if you were good – and Abby was – you could avoid them.
She felt sick as she hobbled up the path to Alex’s front door, barely able to put any weight on that foot. Stars danced in front of her eyes and the pressure on an oncoming migraine tightened around her scalp. Abby felt in her pockets for keys but they weren’t there, must’ve come out while she was scuffling on the ground.
She sank down, her back against the door and her stomach turned. Her ankle throbbed and she knew without looking that it was already swollen. Closing her eyes, she heard her own heartbeat, smelled the metallic scent of blood and then there was darkness and the painlessness of having blacked out.
It wasCharlie Graham’s face that she saw when she forced open her eyes. Then next thing she was aware of was the throbbing in her ankle.
“Abby.” Charlie’s hand went on her ankle. “Are you okay?”
She blinked and the boy came into focus.
“Where’s Alex?”
“Looking for you. I just got here first. I thought you might’ve fallen asleep at home if your migraine was really bad. Everyone else thought something had happened at the festival. I’ll phone Alex.” He backed away.
Abby could tell she looked a mess. Charlie wasn’t asking questions verbally, but his eyes were.
