Dark Heart Surrender (13 page)

‘I don’t want anything to spoil this,’ he whispered in my ear. ‘Us.’

I turned, my breath coming quickly. ‘Nothing will.’ I gently pushed his head up to look into his green eyes. ‘How could it?’

Luca pushed back my hair; his lips parted, so full and soft, I wanted to kiss him for ever. But he didn’t pull me towards him, instead a sadness came over him.

‘There are so many bad things out there,’ he said. ‘I thought once we got here that I would stop feeling it – drop my guard. On Mortal Earth the danger is more tangible. That’s what I thought. But now … now I know there is something here.’

‘But you have no proof of that,’ I said. ‘Maybe it’s just habit.’

‘I do have proof.’ He shut his eyes wearily. ‘I have the necklace.’

And now sitting in the kitchen, trying to make sense of it all, I felt fuggy headed. I yawned, catching my mother’s eye.

‘I think we’d all better get some sleep now,’ she said sensibly. ‘Dot was up way too late. She’s going to be a nightmare tomorrow.’

Luca and I exchanged a genuine smile for the first time that night. Then I caught Mum’s eye.

‘You miss your sister?’ she asked Luca. ‘You must miss her.’

‘I do.’ Luca nodded, then smiled down at the table. ‘A lot.’

‘You grow up so quickly.’ Mum’s eyes ran over us. ‘One minute you’re running around, hiding in trees, the next you’re …’ She trailed off, exhaustion taking over. Dad put his hand on her arm.

‘Jane and Dot are still here,’ he said, smiling. ‘And Luca.’

‘I know.’ She shook her head. ‘I just – well, I keep thinking of Pete. I think he dotes on his grandchildren. After his other daughter disappeared …’

‘His other daughter!’ I leaned forward. ‘I didn’t know he had a daughter who disappeared?’

Mum looked warily at my father. ‘Well, it’s late, I don’t want to go into it.’

‘What happened to her?’ Luca’s voice was sharp like glass. ‘And when was this?’

‘Oh, not that long ago. A year maybe?’ Mum smoothed her hair with her palms. ‘She’d be around thirty-two now. A lovely girl. The apple of his eye.’

‘But I never knew any of this,’ I said. ‘Why didn’t I know?’

‘Oh, darling, it was a while back when you were … while you and Luca were apart. She was living with Lydia and Johnny, Ade’s adoptive parents. Then one day she just upped and went to live in London and went quiet on them.’

‘I wonder why?’ I glanced at Luca. He’d gone very pale.

‘Nobody’s seen her?’ he said, not sounding tired at all.

‘Last I had spoken to Pete about it, no.’

Dad yawned and patted Mum’s hand. ‘I’m beat.’ He smiled wearily at us. ‘And I think we should all go to bed now. Luca can go and visit Pete in the morning.’

‘Yeah.’ I yawned. ‘Sounds like a good idea.’

Mum rose from the table, hesitated, and then looked at the two of us. ‘Maybe Luca should sleep in your room tonight. He doesn’t look right. You can keep an eye on him.’

I felt my entire body go crimson. I hardly dared look at my father. But when I did, he looked completely unaffected by what my mother had just suggested.

Luca on the other hand, looked like he could hug her.

‘Are you sure?’ he asked, his fingers brushing mine.

‘Totally,’ she said firmly. ‘You’re a good boy. I know I can trust you with my daughter.’

The night was pretty chaste, so my mother was right. Though in fairness this was down to exhaustion on both our parts. Still it felt good to feel the warmth of his body next to me in my queen-sized bed. I lay awake, keeping my eyes open, just watching him sleep. His dark lashes on his cheeks, his lips parted, he looked peaceful at last.

In the morning it would all seem more reasonable. We would go and see Pete and he would tell us he tripped and fell, and now was better. Everything would go back to normal. Ade and Polly were just a slightly odd brother and sister. Yes, Polly was a little malevolent and Ade – well, Ade was an unknown quantity, but after Luca had told me that they were adopted, I began to understand why they might not be so well adjusted.

Not everyone had good families.

I stroked Luca’s dark hair, careful not to wake him, and let my eyes wander over to the window. The moon was nearly full – not quite – but nearly full. I glanced back at Luca fearfully. It was not the time for him to contend with a full moon. He had managed so far, disappearing to turn. He had mastered the art of creeping quietly back into the house when it was over, appearing in the mornings, shadowy and weak. My mother tactfully and cleverly diverted Dad’s and Dot’s attention with small talk, but we both had our hearts in our mouths, wondering at something so violent, so beastly, that was happening to Luca alone. He was so far from home, yet drawn back to his roots, the animal within him would never leave.

Could we sustain this life, he and I?

I shut my eyes, pushing out the future, which seemed so riddled with Luca’s past. It wasn’t his fault, and I would take him, all of him, because I had no choice. And life, people, weren’t perfect.

But sometimes … sometimes I just wanted a normal boyfriend.

T
he waiting room was packed with mothers and children, pensioners sniffing into their handkerchiefs and hospital staff rushing through, clipboards in hand.

Luca approached the receptionist, who was simultaneously tapping at her computer keyboard and talking on the phone.

‘I hope he’s OK,’ I whispered. Like most people, I hated hospitals. It’s that anxious claustrophobia, the smell of overcooked food, and sick people, of course. But on top of that I had this queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I don’t know why I felt such doom, but I couldn’t shake it.

Luca squeezed my hand, just as the receptionist got off the phone.

‘We’ve come to see Pete Henshaw,’ said Luca. ‘He was admitted last night.’

The receptionist rolled the gum in her mouth.

‘Pete Henshaw.’ She commenced tapping on the keyboard again and we watched as her eyes narrowed, then a faint frown appeared on her face.

‘Oh…I…’ She looked up at us. ‘Hold on for one minute, please.’

Taking the gum out of her mouth and flicking it in the bin, she gave us a worried look before moving to speak to an officious-looking senior nurse. Luca and I watched them talk, and then the nurse looked over at us, a perturbed look on her face.

‘What’s going on?’ I murmured. ‘What are they talking about?’

‘I don’t know.’ Luca looked tense too. The nurse was approaching us.

‘You’re relatives of Mr Henshaw?’ She eyed us, her face softening slightly.

‘No. He’s my boss …’ Luca started.

‘And a family friend,’ I added quickly, knowing how the bureaucracy worked in these places. ‘We’re very close to Mr Henshaw.’

‘OK.’ The nurse removed her glasses. ‘I’m sure that’s true, but …’ She looked briefly around her at the hustle and bustle. ‘Come with me a minute. We can talk more privately.’ She moved around the reception booth, smiling more kindly now, then gestured for us to follow her to an empty room off the waiting area.

I concentrated on her sensible black shoes. The feeling of doom was increasing by the second.

Once we were inside, the nurse closed the door and touched her hair nervously. ‘You want to sit down?’ she asked in an almost pleading tone.

‘No thanks.’ Luca sounded curt. ‘Is Pete all right? He should be coming home today, isn’t that right?’

‘Mr Henshaw is not doing well.’ She tilted her head to the side in a sympathetic pose. ‘He is not recovering as he should be. Overnight he slipped into a state of unconsciousness.’

‘A coma, you mean?’ The doomed feeling grew until it felt like it was taking up the whole of my insides. ‘But how? He just fell over, right? I mean, there were no serious injuries …’

‘No. But with men of his age – often the most simple of injuries can result in complications. Sometimes there are underlying illnesses that impede recovery.’ She trailed off, seeing the incomprehension on our faces.

‘I believe his daughter is on her way in to see him.’ The nurse’s tone became more efficient. ‘And his grandchildren.’

Luca shut his eyes. ‘Thanks for letting us know. We’ll leave his family to it.’

‘I’m sure, since he’s a family friend that they won’t object if you wait for them to arrive.’ The nurse reached out for the door handle.

‘No,’ Luca said abruptly. ‘That’s OK. This is a private time. We’ll come back later.’

The nurse hesitated, biting her lip before speaking again. ‘Don’t leave it too long,’ she said. ‘He’s very weak.’ With an attempt at a warm smile, she opened the door, leaving us rooted to the spot.

As soon as the door had closed behind her, I let out a deep breath.

‘I thought Pete was getting better,’ I murmured. ‘Dad said he was fine.’

Luca sat down on one of the two uncomfortable-looking chairs in the room, chairs designed to compound the anxiety of anyone who used them.

‘Luca?’ I frowned. ‘Don’t you think this is ridiculous?’

He shook his head slowly. ‘I knew something wasn’t right. Pete might not be a young man, but he’s fit and strong for his age. And he was just lying there – ’ he glanced up at me ‘ – as though he had been overwhelmed by something …’

‘It does seem really odd.’ I sank down in the chair next to him, wincing at the hard plastic. Maybe we should stick around?’

Luca nodded, then looked past at me through the window in the door. A woman in her early forties was anxiously tying and untying the belt on her coat, as she stood talking to a man in scrubs. Next to her, a man rubbed her back comfortingly. And behind him stood two familiar figures.

Ade and Polly.

‘Well.’ I puffed out my cheeks. ‘Looks like there’s no escape now. We have to face them. That must be Pete’s daughter.’

‘Poor Pete,’ whispered Luca. ‘He doesn’t deserve this.’ He looked down at the floor and I saw the ridges of stress indented in his forehead.

‘Come on,’ I said, getting up. ‘This could be our last chance.’

Polly’s face darkened as she saw me approach. Her hair was tangled and the make-up round her eyes was smudgy. She’d been crying. I could see that even at this distance. As we got closer, she lifted her hand to her face, rubbing at one eye. If I had been feeling in a less compassionate mood, I would have said it was a deliberate gesture, intended to convince everyone around her that she was deeply upset.

But I
was
feeling compassionate.
Give her the benefit of the doubt
, I told myself.

The doctor had finished talking to them and was moving away, so Luca stepped forward, ignoring the numb figure of Ade, and put his hand out to Pete’s daughter.

‘I’m Luca,’ he said, smiling reassuringly at her. ‘I worked – work – for Pete,’ he told her. ‘I’m so sorry.’

She stared at his hand. ‘What are you doing here?’ Her eyes flickered at me. ‘This is family business.’

‘I know,’ I intervened. ‘But Luca was there when it happened. He – we – wanted to see that Pete’s OK.’

‘Yes.’ She straightened up, and her arm slipped through her husband’s in a fortifying gesture. ‘I know you were there. And you’ve got some nerve coming here.’

I caught Ade’s eye, thought I saw a brief look of satisfaction in his face, and watched as he moved closer to his sister. The two of them observed us almost petulantly.

‘I don’t understand,’ Luca said. ‘I’m distressed for Pete. I wish there was something I could have done.’

‘Really?’ She sniffed. ‘More than you have already, you mean?’

‘But Luca had nothing to do with the accident,’ I said, trying to keep the anger out of my voice. ‘There was nothing anyone could have done.’

‘From what my son tells me, your boyfriend is not an ideal employee,’ she said coldly. ‘In fact, he’s got a bit of a temper on him from all accounts—’

‘From all accounts!’ I spluttered. ‘You mean from one account?’

Ade rolled his head just slightly trying to look self-effacing, genuine.

‘I never said Luca was capable of killing anybody,’ he said calmly. ‘It’s just … well, my first encounter with him was a little hostile. Don’t you think?’

‘Because you’re an asshole,’ I blurted, immediately closing my eyes. This was not the place to trade insults. Though it was certainly the time.

‘Jane,’ Luca calmed me softly. ‘Ade’s upset. We’re all upset.’

‘You.’ Pete’s daughter pointed rudely at him. ‘You have no right to be upset!’

‘Lydia.’ Her husband put his arm around her. ‘Just leave it. Don’t you want to see your father?’

She opened her mouth, not finished yet. But sense prevailed. ‘Yes.’ She drew back her shoulders, shaking her husband’s arm off her. ‘Yes. I want to see my father.’

‘Well then.’ He nodded at us curtly, and we stepped aside as they walked on, Ade and Polly following as though they were a couple of innocents.

‘That was unbelievable,’ I breathed as they moved further down the corridor, heading for Pete’s room. ‘That they could think you had anything to do with Pete’s accident.’ I stared at him. ‘And I can’t believe you just stood there and took it.’