1447299094 by Lucy Diamond

Author:Lucy Diamond [Diamond, Lucy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781447299103
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Nine

It was Wednesday morning and the phone was ringing, but Rachel didn’t move from her chair. Her friend Jo had left a few messages by now – friendly, are-you-okay sorts of messages – but she had ignored them all, just as she had ignored another friend, Diane, who had knocked unexpectedly on the door the day before. Rachel had stayed silent and hidden in the kitchen while the other woman called through the letterbox (‘Rach? Are you in there? It’s Di’), only emerging when she was quite sure her friend had gone. Since the accident, she had left all phone calls and knocks on the door for Becca or the children to deal with – it was easier that way. Unfortunately for today’s caller, Becca had just gone to put a bin bag in the dustbin, so they were out of luck.

The answerphone message started up. Please leave your name and number after the beep. Then came a voice.

‘Rachel? It’s Wendy here.’ Her stepmother sounded unusually timid. ‘Becky told me what happened, and I just wanted to say how sorry I was to hear you’d been hurt. Let me know if you want me to come and help at any time, won’t you? Or if you want to . . . Well, chat. About anything. Just let me know. Lots of love to you all. Okay, bye, then.’

Rachel hobbled over and deleted the message. If she wanted to chat about anything – what did Wendy mean by that?

Becca came in, wiping her hands on her jeans. She had a turquoise scarf in her hair and was wearing a bright pink top with a parrot print; quite an eye-popping combination against her flame-red curls. ‘All done. Shall we head off to the fracture clinic? Might take a while to find a parking space at the hospital, if it’s anything like the one in Birmingham.’

‘Sure,’ Rachel said. ‘Thanks.’

‘By the way,’ Becca said, grabbing her car keys, ‘was that the phone I heard ringing?’

‘Yeah,’ Rachel replied, turning her face away as she put on her shoes, ‘but it was nothing, just some sales thing. No-one important.’

The fracture clinic was heaving with broken people, limbs in plaster, some patients swinging in carefully on crutches or in wheelchairs, children in school uniform with arms in slings, leaning against their mums, looking fed up. It was the first time Rachel had actually left the house since returning from Manchester two days ago, and as soon as she had stepped outside her front door she’d experienced the horrible panicky sensation again, her heartbeat speeding up, her breath short. Oh no, oh no, oh no. People would see her. People might hurt her again. There would be questions and stares and double-takes. Could she do it? Could she actually do this?

Before dread could completely overwhelm her, though, Becca took a firm hold of her left arm and steered her into the car, and then somehow or other they were off and driving down the street. Her sister the rescuer, Rachel thought, dizzy with relief.

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