‘No. He went into the back of someone at an amber light and pushedthemthrough a red light,’ she says.
‘Christ, how fast was he going?’ I cry. ‘They could all have died. Imagine if someone had crashed into both cars from another direction. It could have been a pile-up.’
‘Lucky it wasn’t,’ Sasha replies. ‘Everyone’s alive. But very bruised, I’d imagine.’
‘Only because of the time of night,’ Aury says. ‘Imagine if he’d done that at a busier time of day. How many people might have been involved? How many people would have been hurt?’
I think of the crossing Ben drove through, on the way to a nearby school. It could have been so much worse than it was.
‘Ollie,’ Aury’s voice softens, ‘was he drinking?’
God, this hadn’t even occurred to me.‘I … I don’t think so? I don’t know? What happens if he was?’
‘He’ll go to prison, won’t he?’ Aury laments.
We both look at Sasha as if she’ll have the answer, simply because she was born in an earlier decade.
‘I don’t think we should speculate,’ Sasha says. ‘Let’s go and find someone who can give us the facts. Aurora has rung Ben’s parents and they’re on the way, so keep an eye out,’ she continues, before heading to the nurses’ station to enquire about our friends.
‘His parents will crucify him,’ I say.
‘I know,’ Aury replies as we sit in plastic chairs against the wall. History’s repeating itself, us being in a hospital like this while one of our number is in a terrible state. Although this time one became two. ‘But his mum and dad need to know. Ben’s lucky to be alive. They both are.’
My leg jiggles up and down and Aury places her hand on it to still me.
‘Sorry,’ I say.
‘You don’t need to apologise,’ she tells me. We sit in silence for a few moments.
‘Don’t get back together with him,’ I tell her quietly.
She turns, looks at me, stunned. ‘I wasn’t going to.’
‘Ben’s my best friend. He’s a prick. But I love him—’
‘I love him too,’ Aury cuts me off.
‘But whatever he says in there, however you feel about him will be heightened because he’s going to look a mess. You’re going to feel sorry for him. Don’t …’ I feel so disloyal to Ben if I say any more. But Aury did it: she ended something toxic with Ben. She shouldn’t go back.
She squeezes my leg and gives me a silent, small nod. ‘I know.’
Sasha returns. ‘They’re both conscious. But Liv is in a worse condition than Ben.’
‘How much worse? I ask desperately.
‘A bump to the head. They’re sending her in for a scan, in case of something nasty. A subdermal …’
‘A subdural haematoma,’ I say.
‘Yes,’ Sasha replies. ‘The bump was quite fierce. Ben told the paramedics he thought Liv had blacked out for a minute or two, so they’re being very careful with her. Ben is bruised, but otherwise fine.’
‘OK, that’s good news. Sort of,’ Aury says.
‘If you want to see either of them, the doctor told us to sit tight. They’ve …’ Sasha pauses and then restarts, ‘they’ve taken a blood sample from Ben.’
‘What for?’ Aury asks.
‘To see if he’s over the limit,’ I say and then close my eyes, put my head in my hands and the three of us can do nothing but wait.
