Could I drive? Am I allowed to?He wasn’t sure. Probably not.
When Newt plugged in his phone and the music began, River froze.Chasing Carsby Snow Patrol.That’s what he’d been listening to in the media room when he’d first seen Newt. Ah. The sneak. Newt had checked his playlist. Still, that was a kind thing to do. Nothing worse than being subjected to music he didn’t like, though he could always switch it off.
Newt drove far more cautiously than River had expected. They’d never get anywhere at this rate. ThenOpen Your Eyesstarted,and Newt put his foot down during the opening guitar sequence.
“I love this song,” Newt said and began to sing.
River stopped breathing.Fucking hell, his voice.And the words… Why did the lyrics sound so personal? River put his head against the window, closed his eyes, listened, and felt his heart calm. Things had started to change. Maybe Newt was the catalyst he needed.
River hadn’t meant to fall asleep, and only realised he had when Newt nudged him awake.
“We’re here,” Newt said.
River looked around. Where was here? They were parked at the end of a road of nondescript houses close to a footpath winding up a grassy bank.
“Can you manage to walk up there?”
River nodded. He pulled on his hat and wrapped the scarf around his lower face.
“I think you’ll need your gloves,” Newt said.
River put on his right first, then his left. He should have told Newt to help himself to gloves and a hat. He hadn’t thought. Well, he’d just assumed Newt would have them. As he stepped from the car, he sucked in a breath.Fuck!It was freezing. Newt locked up, then came round to his side.
“I’m not going to take your arm or anything, but if you need to rest or want my help, just reach out. We’ll go slow.”
The cawing of seagulls told River where they were before he saw the sea. Now he was excited. It was a long slow walk up the not-very-steep slope, but at the top, the view lifted his spirits. Beyond a line of pastel-colour beach huts laya stretch of empty beach and a rough sea.
“Wow,” Newt said. “Look at those waves. They’re huge.”
River glanced at him. Newt was staring intently, as if he’d never seen the sea before.
“Want to sit up here or go down?”
“D… D…Dip.” His attempt to saydownfailed and frustration sank its fangs deeper in his heart.
“Look at me,” Newt said and despite himself, River looked.Oh fuck, you are so cute.
“Down.” Newt exaggerated the sound and the movement of his mouth and teeth. “Down. Try.”
River pressed his lips together. He did his practising alone in his room. He felt stupid. He’d get it wrong again.
Newt just shrugged. “Come on, then. I don’t want to spoil this.”
He carried on walking down the slope, then waited for River to catch up. For some unaccountable reason, he was annoyed that Newt hadn’t tried harder to persuade him to speak, but as they neared the sand, his irritation faded. He was tired but he wasn’t going to stop until he reached the water.
It was a struggle over the loose sand with a leg that didn’t work properly but once they’d crossed that and reached the area swept smooth by the sea, it was much easier. River was still limping but he tried to step with a full-foot strike and keep his weight even, as his fucking horrible army sergeant of a physio, Jorge, drilled into him. It was much better doing it here than on the treadmill. Here he had a goal.
That was clever of Newt.
Except it was really cold. The wind was whipping across the beach and finding a way through his coat to chill his back. Newt had to be freezing, but he still had that look of wonderon his face. When Newt suddenly ran at a seagull and it took off, cawing into the sky, River smiled behind his scarf.
“I used to do that when I was little,” Newt said. “I wanted them to fly away before my brother threw stones at them. No excuse today. Sorry, gull!”
Even under the protection of his scarf, River could taste salt on his lips. He tugged the scarf down and took a deep breath of sea air. It still looked a long way to the water.
“You can do it,” Newt told him. “We should make it back to the huts before the tide comes in. Well, I will, anyway.”
That Newt would tease him was astonishing. Everyone walked on eggshells around him. Apart from Max and now Newt. River kept going. The sea was there, beckoning, and he was determined to reach it.
