‘Yes. She needs one,’ Ben says authoritatively.
‘Did you ring them?’ I ask Ollie.
Ollie blinks at me.
‘Ollie!’ I shout.
‘Yeah, no … I …’ Ollie replies.
I stand up, grab his phone from him and dial 999.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Ollie, Ben and I sit in the waiting room in the Accident and Emergency department. My hair is straggly and wet down my back, soaking through my quickly pulled-on sweater and jeans. We all dressed in a hurry when the ambulance arrived, while keeping an eye on Liv, who could barely speak. She cried and cried and cried, and the paramedics insisted that she go to hospital. She went willingly, baffled as to what had happened to her. Not comprehending any of it.
Ben’s expression is fixed on the floor while he chews the inside of his cheek. ‘What happened? How did she get down there?’ he asks, not for the first time.
‘I don’t know,’ I say, not for the first time.
‘I didn’t see it – didn’t see her go down. Did she dive? Hit her head? Did she just …? What did she do? How did she drown?’
‘I don’t know,’ I reply again in a small voice and then I cry. I can’t help it. ‘Liv was tired and she’d had three Mimosas. I don’t think she’d eaten much.’
‘Someone should ring her parents,’ Ben says, too dazed to notice I’m crying. ‘Do you have their number?’
I shake my head and look at Ollie, but he’s not moving. His head is in his hands.
‘Ollie?’ I ask.
He lifts his head, drags his gaze towards me, a haunted look in his eyes. I’m in the middle of them both and I put my hand on his leg to comfort him, as he’s jiggling it up and down. His leg stills, but the frightened look never leaves him. What a mess.
‘Do you have her parents’ number?’ I ask.
‘No,’ he whispers in a breath so quiet I can barely hear him. It’s the only thing he’s said since we got here.
‘OK,’ I reply, trying to stop myself from crying any more. It’s doing no good. Liv’s phone must still be by her sun-lounger and no one’s home to go and fetch it, try to ring her emergency contact. Ben’s parents have gone to the pantomime in London and he can’t get hold of them.
‘It’s OK,’ Ben says. ‘It’ll be OK. Liv’s awake. She’s all right.’
I think he’s telling himself this. ‘I know,’ I say stupidly. ‘We can ring her parents when we get home. Or your parents can, if they get back before we do.’
‘I’m going back to yours,’ Ollie says, suddenly alert. ‘I’ll get her phone, I’ll ring her parents. It’s my fault she’s here anyway.’
‘What?’ I ask in confusion, wiping tears from my face.
‘OK,’ Ben says, ignoring Ollie’s outburst, handing him his own set of door keys. ‘We’ll let you know what the doctors say … if we ever see them again, that is. Where the fuck has everyone gone? Why is no one keeping us updated?’
‘You should stay,’ I tell Ollie. ‘You’re her boyfriend. You stay.’
‘Actually, Aurora’s right,’ Ben says. ‘I’llgo back to mine.I’llget her phone. I’ll make the call. I’ll talk to her parents. It happened at my house, for fuck’s sake. I can’t believe it, I still can’t believe it. This is a fucking nightmare.’
I can only give Ben a sad smile. Itisa fucking nightmare. Our friend nearly died. Ben kisses the top of my head and then tells me he’ll call me for an update when he gets back to his house. He wants to be able to give Liv’s parents the most recent info about their daughter, who has only been away from home for a few months and has just survived drowning.
Before he goes, he crouches down and looks into Ollie’s eyes. ‘Mate … she’ll be OK. SheisOK. Being here – this is only a precaution.’
Ollie nods, his expression still one of shock and disbelief.
Ben gives me a concerned look and mouths, ‘Keep an eye on him’ before he leaves A&E in the direction of the taxi rank.
