A Way Back Home

by Alison Sherlock

  ‘Nice to see them working together,’ said Annie, with a sad smile.

  ‘I forgot to ask you the other day,’ said Megan, looking at Skye. ‘Anyone special in your life we should know about?’

  ‘Megan!’ said Annie. ‘You’re so rude. I’m sorry, just ignore her.’

  ‘No, that’s okay,’ said Skye, blushing. ‘I’m single. Have been well, forever, really, I guess.’

  ‘Hmm, so who can we pair you up with?’ Megan wondered aloud, glancing around the packed village green.

  ‘I think that cute doctor is interested,’ said Annie.

  ‘Ooooh,’ said the others in unison.

  Skye shook her head. ‘I’m only here for a week.’

  ‘A week’s all it took for me to fall in love with my Neal at school,’ Megan told her.

  ‘I heard it was one hour behind the bike sheds that did it,’ said Eleanor, with a grin.

  As they all walked around, Skye found herself immersed in the bright lights of the funfair, where Rose was proving herself worryingly proficient with the air rifle on the shooting gallery. Megan introduced her husband and children and they all had goes trying to win a toy. Then she watched as they crawled through the haunted mansion before going on the bumper cars. Afterwards, they watched the huge bonfire being lit. The large flames licked up the sides of the pyre, causing everyone’s faces to glow in the heat. Then, as a fitting finale to the evening, some fireworks were lit.

  Skye leant on her crutches and watched the sky light up with the various colours as they exploded.

  ‘Hello,’ said Jamie, appearing from nowhere to stand next to her. ‘I’ve been looking for you. Are you having a good time?’

  ‘It’s great,’ she told him. ‘There are so many people, I had no idea the village could be this busy.’

  ‘Most of them are my patients,’ he whispered, rolling his eyes. ‘I’ve spent much of the night hiding behind my scarf.’

  She giggled.

  He smiled at her warmly before removing his glove and reaching into his pocket. He brought out a card and handed it to Skye. ‘My business card,’ he told her. ‘Just in case you fancied that drink.’

  She hesitated as she took it from him, wondering if she should turn him down.

  Yes, her heart craved romance and love. Someone of her own. Someone to be with her, always. But she would be moving on very soon and Jamie would be staying in the village.

  However, as she was about to reply she looked up and found Will scowling over at them from the other side of the bonfire. She could almost sense his disapproval.

  Feeling irritated, she turned to Jamie and found herself saying, ‘Actually, I think a drink would be nice.’

  He looked surprised but pleased. ‘That’s great. Let me check my diary, but I think I’m free on Tuesday. Will you still be here?’

  She nodded, thinking that she could stay on until then. ‘Tuesday sounds good,’ she said.

  Was that how easy it was to set up a date with someone? She couldn’t wait to tell Summer and surprise her after all the nagging she had received from her younger sister about having no love life.

  But her pleasure was short lived because just after Jamie had left and the fireworks had finished, Will materialised by her side.

  ‘What was all that about?’ he asked, straight to the point as always.

  She laughed. ‘Nothing for you to worry about. What do you care? Anyway, I’ll be leaving next week, back to civilisation and urban sprawl.’

  He made a face. ‘Do you know the best thing about no urban lights around here?’

  Skye shook her head. ‘I can’t think of a single thing.’

  To her surprise, he reached out and took her chin in his cold fingers and lifted her head up. ‘Stars,’ he told her. ‘Ursa Minor.’

  ‘What?’ Skye was still a little taken aback that he had unexpectedly touched her face, let alone trying to take in what he was saying.

  ‘The Little Bear,’ he told her, before rolling his eyes. He pointed at the sky. ‘See the set of stars that look like a saucepan? Four in a rectangle and then the handle? That’s Ursa Minor, or The Little Bear as it’s otherwise known. That bright star at the end of the handle is Polaris. The north celestial pole.’

  She gazed upwards for a moment before turning back to him. ‘Who are you and what have you done with Will Harris?’

  ‘It’s bonfire night,’ he told her, looking slightly uncomfortable at her scrutiny before his face brightened up. ‘I know, maybe we can set that trailer of yours on fire? Just kidding!’ he said, holding up a hand at her glare. ‘I know how much it means to you.’

  Then he walked away, leaving Skye feeling that she understood him even less now than she had done before.

  20

  Will stood in the corner of the trendy wine bar and suppressed a yawn. He had been looking forward to getting away from Willow Tree Hall and spending the weekend in London but, to his surprise, he hadn’t enjoyed any of it.

  He glanced over to Maria who was squashed in the middle of a long curved sofa, not that she seemed unduly worried. She had her arm draped around yet another man whose name Will couldn’t remember. Something to do with directing movies, he seemed to recall, which appealed to Maria, who had suddenly announced that she was intending on starting an acting career. It was all news to him. She had never mentioned any kind of dream of acting in their conversations before. Not that they had talked very much at all that weekend. They had been constantly surrounded by people and hadn’t had any time to be alone until they had headed back to her apartment and had unexpectedly ended up in bed. And even then, he felt as if both their minds were elsewhere.

  He had been well aware of the date when Maria had told him about the party on Saturday night, but he had thought he could cope. It turned out that, like every other year, the anniversary of his parents’ death was the worst of days.

  He knew that perhaps he should have rung Sam but, as usual, his elder brother contacted him first. Just a short ‘you okay?’ text. Nothing more between brothers who didn’t need to exchange words to know that the other one was hurting.

  Would the pain ever leave him? He had no idea.

  Somebody suddenly cranked up the music to full volume. Will’s head pounded even more.

  His best friend Alex wandered over to mouth something at him, but Will was having trouble focusing on anything, such was the amount of alcohol that he had drunk that evening. Anything to dull the pain.

  He had known Alex since their schooldays and he was best friend to both Will and Sam. Will had spotted him earlier trying to chat up a particularly handsome man. Unfortunately the focus of his attention was well over six foot, whereas Alex was a mere five foot, even in his cleverly hidden heels.

  He could feel Alex glancing at him and frowning at his friend’s miserable face. Will picked up his gin and tonic and downed the rest of the glass in one.

  Alex shook his head, concern etched across his face. Will shrugged his shoulders in reply. He didn’t care. He just needed to numb the pain.

  Everyone was faking smiles and bitching about everyone else. It was exhausting. Why couldn’t they just be honest? Like Skye. She had given him nothing but truthful, honest contempt ever since they had met. In fact, he was actually enjoying the verbal sparring that occurred between them every day and would miss it when she left.

  He picked up the next full glass and downed that drink in one gulp as well. He lost track of time after that but had finally decided that he had reached his limit. Maria was still chatting to the director, but he had no hesitation in grabbing her hand and pulling her up to stand next to him.

  ‘Let’s go,’ he shouted, above the music.

  She laughed. ‘Go? It’s only midnight. What will people think?’

  He shrugged his shoulders. ‘Who cares?’

  She stared at him for a beat before leading him out of the nightclub.

  At last, he thought. He wanted his bed and he wanted some peace and quiet.

  B
ut when they were finally outside, Maria stopped to light up a cigarette.

  ‘When did you start smoking again?’ he asked, aware that his words were more than a little slurred.

  She raised her eyebrows at him. ‘You sound like my ex-husband,’ she told him, before blowing out a long stream of smoke into the night air.

  ‘I’m nothing like him,’ said Will, taking her hand. ‘Come on. I’m tired.’

  But Maria pulled her hand out of his. ‘I’m staying.’

  Will sighed heavily. ‘What’s the matter with you this weekend?’

  ‘Me? What’s up with you?’

  ‘I just want a bit of peace and quiet,’ he told her. ‘Look, I’ve been thinking. Maybe we could move in together.’

  His words surprised them both. He hadn’t seen her for a few weeks. He had thought that they were just good friends. Then they had slept together and suddenly he was blurting out about making a home together.

  Maria laughed. ‘Darling,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘Why on earth would I do that?’

  ‘I dunno,’ he replied. ‘I thought that perhaps I might think about settling down at some point.’

  ‘Trust me, you’re just drunk. You don’t want to settle down. Commitment isn’t for you.’

  He frowned. ‘Maybe it will be.’ One day, he thought.

  She laughed again. ‘One woman for life? Honestly? That’s not you. Anyway, what have you got to offer anyone but your good looks?’

  He blanched. As always, she was straight to the point, but even the amount of alcohol that he had drunk couldn’t lessen the pain her words caused.

  She took another drag on her cigarette before glancing around her, as it to ensure there was nobody listening nearby. ‘Look,’ she said, in a softer tone, ‘I’m grateful to you for helping me out of a very bad marriage. You know how awful it was and I’ll always remember that.’

  Will stared down at her, a thought making its way through his bleary mind that something bad was coming at him.

  ‘You’ve made such a difference to my life,’ she carried on. ‘And took all the heat in the press as well. But I was married for ten years and now I just want to have a bit of fun. Like you’ve been having all these years.’

  ‘A bit of fun?’ he repeated, trying to understand.

  ‘You’re a playboy. Always have been, always will be.’ She reached up and stroked his face. ‘Trust me, you’re far better off alone.’

  Alone. The word hammered into his brain.

  Maria glanced over his shoulder and Will turned to see the director standing in the doorway, watching them.

  ‘I must go,’ she murmured. ‘Goodbye, sweet William. Take care of yourself.’

  He watched in a daze as she sashayed towards the new man in her life, who was taking her by the hand and leading her indoors.

  Will stood still for a second before turning round and throwing up.

  Once he had stopped being sick, he became aware of someone holding out a paper napkin for him to wipe his mouth with. He straightened up and took it from Alex, who was now standing next to him.

  ‘Since when couldn’t you handle your drink?’ he said, but it was with a sad smile.

  Will staggered to the kerb and tried to flag down a taxi. He had a sudden urge to not be in London any more.

  Alex followed him. ‘They’re not going to pick you up if they think you’re going to throw up in the back of their cab,’ he said.

  ‘Am not,’ said Will, swaying back and forth.

  ‘You can barely stand, let alone speak,’ said Alex, with a sigh. He drew out his phone and dialled, speaking rapidly in Italian into his mobile. ‘Right,’ he said, hanging up. ‘My cousin Carlo’s an Uber driver. He’s going to take you back to my apartment.’

  Will shook his head, which made the whole street spin. He hung onto Alex for support. ‘Wanna go home,’ he said, when he could finally speak.

  ‘What do you mean? Willow Tree Hall?’ Alex laughed. ‘Mate, it’s midnight. You won’t get there for a couple of hours.’

  ‘Don’t care,’ said Will, still holding onto his friend’s arm to steady himself. ‘Wanna go home.’

  ‘You must be drunk because I’ve never heard you refer to it as home before. I’m assuming it’s the gin that’s brought on this change of personality.’ Alex sighed. ‘What happened with Maria?’

  ‘Dumped.’ Will shook his head. ‘Maybe she should turn her hair purple,’ he said, before laughing at his own hilarity.

  ‘What are you going on about? Christ, you’re absolutely smashed.’ Alex rolled his eyes. ‘I don’t care that you’re scuppering your love life, but you’ve just upset mine now that I’ve left my charming companion in there. Not that I could hear a word he was saying. Doesn’t matter anyway. He was so pretty to look at.’

  A bright red Fiat drew up in front of them, music blaring from inside.

  ‘Here’s my cousin,’ said Alex, stepping forward to open the door. ‘He’ll take you home.’

  There was a rapid exchange in Italian as Will swayed to and fro on the pavement. The streets were too bright. It was all too much. The lodge was dark and homey. That’s where he wanted to be. Not here.

  ‘Okay, it’s going to cost me a small fortune, which you’ll owe me later, by the way,’ said Alex. ‘Go on, get in. Carlo will take you back to Cranley.’

  Will slid into the passenger seat but couldn’t even focus long enough to do up the seat belt. In the end, Alex leant across and clicked it into the place.

  ‘I’ll call you tomorrow when you can form a coherent sentence,’ snapped Alex before looking at Will’s face and shaking his head sadly. He reached out to clap Will on the shoulder. ‘Actually, you may need a bit longer after this. Just take care, okay?’

  Will barely registered the journey. He was only aware of the high volume of music on the loudspeakers when he asked for it to be turned down so that it no longer vibrated against his ribs with every beat.

  He closed his eyes against the bright lights of London and somehow fell asleep, despite the noise. When he opened them once more, he realised that he had been woken up by the taxi bouncing down the pothole-filled driveway of Willow Tree Hall.

  It had begun to rain once more and because the house was in darkness, he could barely see anything. But his eyes focused just enough for him to fling open the car door and stagger out onto the driveway.

  He heard Carlo say something, but he only waved his hand in reply.

  He turned round and aimed his legs towards the path through the woods. It seemed a lot darker all of a sudden, but he knew the way well enough. It was only his balance rather than his sense of direction that was out of kilter. A couple of times he found himself tripping over and falling into the mud. He lay there, the wind gusting all around him and making the trees creak and sway. He laughed but without humour. It was all so awful. To cheer himself up, he broke into song.

  It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. He needed to talk to someone.

  And he knew just the person who should listen to him.

  21

  Skye awoke with a start.

  Had the wind woken her up? It was certainly getting stronger out there, even though the forecasters were still predicting that the storm forecast for the following night would miss them altogether.

  Maybe it was just something else outside to spook her. She had found it hard to get to sleep over the past two nights, knowing that Will wasn’t nearby in the lodge.

  She closed her eyes once more and tried to settle before suddenly having the strongest feeling that something was outside the trailer.

  She felt for the rolling pin under her pillow. Was it an animal? A large one from the sound of the rustling and thudding around out there.

  But then someone suddenly broke into song. A deep male voice was singing Adele at the top of his voice and not particularly in tune either.

  Skye went over to the trailer door and cautiously opened it up. There stood Will, in the middle of the clearing between the trailer
and lodge, swaying and singing. ‘Skyfall!’ he sang. He kept repeating the word over and over.

  ‘What are you doing?’ she asked, when he finally paused for breath.

  It was only when he swayed into the light coming from inside the trailer that she realised that he was completely plastered. She had never seen anyone so drunk. His hair was flat against his head, he was dripping wet and he was covered in leaves. What on earth had happened to him?

  ‘Singing,’ he slurred. ‘Skyfall!’ he carried on. ‘Get it? Skye fell over.’

  He laughed at his own joke and suddenly staggered, as if losing his balance.

  ‘Where have you been?’ she asked, shivering in the cold night air. Because it was so cold, she had been wearing a sweatshirt over her pyjamas in bed.

  ‘Party. London. Noisy,’ he told her.

  ‘You didn’t drive home, did you?’ she asked, horrified.

  Will shook his head before clutching at his head. ‘Ugh. No,’ he told her. ‘Never drink and drive. Bad. Very bad.’

  Well, thought Skye, at least that was something.

  It was no good. She was going to have to help him get inside the lodge otherwise he would be out there all night. But before she could head out, Will had clambered up the steps in an unsteady fashion and into the trailer. He pushed past her, a bit more harshly than he usually would, she realised, due to the drink.

  ‘Gin?’ he asked hopefully, staggering across the trailer before slumping down on the end of the bed.

  ‘I’m afraid not,’ Skye told him, turning round to close the door and keep in what little warmth there was. Then she switched on the kettle. ‘I’ll make you a coffee.’

  ‘Don’t want,’ he slurred.

  ‘Tough,’ she said. ‘You’ll thank me in the morning.’

  Will looked up at the harsh overhead light in the middle of the ceiling. ‘Too bright,’ he moaned, holding a hand over his eyes.

  Realising that she was standing on her bad ankle, Skye winced as she hobbled over to switch on the lamp next to the bed and then flicked off the main light.

  ‘There,’ she said.