“I really want my mum.”
Sophie’s hand slips into my good one. “I know, we’re going to call her.”
“Thank you.”
Luckily, the cow gate is open. Otherwise, I’d have had to climb over it. We walk onto Honeysuckle Lane and follow the curve of the road up into Valentine Nook until we reach the fountain.
“Why did we stop?”
“I’m thinking who we ask first.”
“First for what?”
“To borrow a phone.”
I don’t reply. I’m trying not to panic, and I don’t want to make Sophie feel bad by telling her I don’t feel so good. But I really don’t. And then she screeches, “Eddie.”
When I look up, he’s walking toward us. Eddie is the landlord of The One True Love. He has a big mustache and always looks grumpy, but we like him because he always sneaks us a glass of Coke and a packet of crisps.
“What are you two doing? Up to no good, again?” he grumbles, but he’s also smiling, and when he winks, we know he’s not being serious. But then he sees that I’m crying. “What’s happened? Hendricks, you don’t look so good.”
“Hendricks is hurt. We need to call his mum.”
“What did you do?”
“We were rolling down the hill.”
“What hill?”
Sophie turns around and points. “The one on Honeysuckle Lane.”
Eddie’s lips disappear into his thick mustache. “You were rolling down the hill? From thetop?”
Sophie nods. “And Hendricks’s arm got caught?—”
I sniff loudly. I know there are still tears running down my cheeks. I can feel them.
“Okay, get inside, you two. Hendricks, I’ll call yer mum.”
We follow him into the pub, past all the people sitting outside enjoying the sunshine, and over to the big squashy chairs by the fire. It’s not lit during the summer, and it’s super quiet inside, so no one’s staring at us.
“Stay put. I’ll be back in a minute,” he grumbles, though it sounds less grumbly than usual.
When he returns five minutes later, he’s holding two glasses of Coke and two packets of crisps. One plain for Sophie, and the salt-and-vinegar kind for me.
“Thank you.”
“Yer mum is on her way,” he says, pulling over a spare chair and sitting down. “Now you want to tell mewhat you think you were doing?”
Sophie shrugs and takes a big gulp of her drink. “We just thought it would be fun. And I’ve done it lots. We both did it once to the bottom before Hendricks hurt himself.”
Eddie shakes his head in the way grown-ups do when they’re disappointed. And I can tell Sophie feels bad because her eyes aren’t sparkling like they do when she’s happy.
“It wasn’t your fault.”
She doesn’t reply because that’s when my mum rushes in, followed by Miles. She’s moving so quickly she almost passes us by, but the second she sees me, I start crying again. Miles pushes between Sophie and me, until he’s hugging me too.
“I knew something was wrong.” He sniffs.
