“Because that means going against the grain. Rowing your own boat. It's always harder.” She patted my arm. “You have my every faith. You’re an intelligent, creative woman, I don’t see why you can’t do anything that you put your mind to.”
Thirty-Five
Iwatched Harrington disappear as we headed off to Ryan’s school. Thomas led us out in a black Sedan with Maia and I following and Joe bringing up the rear in a matching Sedan. The truck with the sculptures safely secured followed behind.
I wasn’t sure how much longer Alfie was going to keep me under lock and key but honestly, aside from worrying about why I was being kept here, I didn’t mind it. Harrington had been my home for the last month. Despite how huge it was, it felt cosy somehow. I didn’t want to leave.
We soon arrived at Ryan’s primary school. He would be going up to secondary this year, it was hard to believe how fast he was growing up.
The school was closed for the summer but I’d been able to get in touch with Mrs Reed who had gratefully accepted my offer and arranged for the caretaker to be there to let me in. School would be reopening in a week or two and the children would be in for an awesome surprise when they saw these waiting in their garden.
It took over an hour but with a lot of care and a few not-so-subtle panic attacks from me, the sculptures were situated, overlooking the garden and the playground.
I took a moment to look around. There were a few weeds but otherwise I was pleased to see the work had been kept up on this place. Memories of my time building this with Bradley came back to me. It felt like a lifetime ago now. The cameras Alfie had donated were still there and I knew from Natalie that the children used them all the time.
“Lola?” Maia’s voice interrupted me. “I don’t want to pull you away but Thomas and Joe are getting restless. Mr Tell didn’t want you out of Harrington for longer than you had to be.”
I sighed. It all felt a little melodramatic to me but Alfie didn’t play about my safety. I couldn’t complain about that. The delivery guys had already disappeared with their truck and the caretaker hastily locked up the second I was out of the gates.
I settled into the backseat, preparing for another long weekend without Alfie. I wondered if I could ask Natalie, Riley and Ryan to come and keep me company. Ryan would love to explore Harrington, under strict supervision of course.
I closed my eyes, thinking about everything that had happened over the last month. What Sid and I had achieved was incredible. For the first time, I really let myself dream about what could be. I pictured myself in front of a camera, teaching about different propagation methods, the best time to plant such and such, or the best method for garden planning. I had so many ideas and all of them had Harrington as the backdrop. The things I could create in those grounds and show off to the world. I decided there and then to take Sid’s advice. I was going to buy a camera and try. I was going to plan something short, stand in front of a camera and try it out. If I was terrible, I could delete it and throw the whole damn camera away and no one would ever know that I’d made a fool of myself.
We drove out of the village and into the countryside. It was quiet, the usual end-of-day traffic had passed, leaving nothing but near-empty roads and the rolling fields surrounding us.
“What’s this guy doing?” Maia muttered. I looked up and found her eyeing her wing mirror. A silver Subaru Outback was coming up fast behind us. She slowed a little, Joe and Thomas did the same, obviously with the same mind to let this idiot get past us. The car overtook us and I shook my head.
My stomach grumbled, reminding me I’d missed dinner. “Hey Maia, do you want to stop and grab McDonalds? I fancy a milkshake.”
“Sure, but if you spill on the seats I’m not taking the?—”
I let out a yell as she slammed on the brakes. We came to a screeching halt that had me lurching in my seat. The Outback had stopped, forcing Thomas to stop and us too. We were in the middle of the junction. I looked behind to see Joe stopped too. My heart sank when I saw a car coming up behind him. It slammed into him and I screamed as he hit the steering wheel and the airbag went off.
“Hang on,” Maia said but it was too late for her to get us out of there. Another car was hurtling towards us from the left, it was going to hit us head on. I had enough time to curl myself into a ball before it hit, driving us out of the road, through the fence and into a field. Adrenaline surged. Air rushed out of me in a whoosh. I struggled to breathe.
Water rushed in my ears. I tried to tell myself it wasn’t real. There was no water.
‘Go, baby. It’s alright…I love you. Go.’
It wasn’t real. Her voice wasn’t real. I shook my head. I couldn’t get lost in memories now.
I could hear popping sounds. Gunfire. An alien sound yet I knew immediately what it was. I reached for my door to escape.
“Don’t,” Maia shouted. “Keep that door shut.” I couldn’t see her, only hear her voice through the divide. “Can you move? Are you hurt?”
“No. I don’t think so. What’s going on?” The window burst open, glass shattering everywhere. I screamed, burying my head between my hands.
“Take off your seatbelt. Get down.”
I did as she said, my heart hammering in my chest. “They’re shooting us!”
“It’s alright, stay calm. The glass isn’t bulletproof but the rest of the car is, just stay low. It’s going to be alright.”
I could hear the car that hit us reversing and then it hit us again. Maia moved to the left side of the car as the right side got crushed. I heard her cry out as she moved. “Maia?”
“Staydown.”
I huddled on the floor, staying as hidden as possible. I spotted my phone. “The police, Maia. Should I call them?”
