Page 116 of Endgame

‘Aari. Please don’t be. I’m here. You’ve spent the last few months fighting everyone, including yourself, for us. Now it’s my turn. I will die before I let anything harm you. In here,’ I touch her head. ‘In here,’ I touch her heart. ‘Or out there. If you canfind a way to tell me whatever you need, I will make it happen. It doesn’t matter what it is, even if it’s for me to leave you alone. I will.’

‘I don’t want you to leave me alone.’ She shakes her head sadly.

‘Then I won’t. You don’t have to tell me now, but whatever it is, and whenever you’re ready, I will be too.’

‘Thank you for coming. I’m so happy you’re here.’

‘There is nowhere else on this planet I’d rather be, Aari.’ I decide to go for the little push Em suggested. ‘Fancy a tiny walk tomorrow whenever we get up? There are swans nearby. Let’s take Lara. She’s bound to piss one off and get attacked.’ I chuckle. Her body shakes in a way that tells me she’s laughing too.

‘A tiny walk will be nice.’

I jump for joy inside. It will be slow and it will be gentle, but we are on our way.

She has kept her promise and we take a thirty-minute walk along the nearby river that leads to a small park. Jasper has picked the perfect place. She comes back hungry and tired, so I microwave a potato soup and we have a light lunch before she returns to bed for a nap. I grab Lara before she disappears.

‘We need to talk about the baby.’

‘What is wrong with you? We discussed this.’

‘I know, but she’s three months. She needs to register with a doctor, get assigned a midwife, do tests, get her scan, get signed up to some new mum classes. We can’t just pretend the baby isn’t happening.’

‘Lower your voice. You’re obsessed.’

‘I’m just saying that there are a load of factors that are contributing to this. For the average excited mum-to-be, it’s stilla lot. Maybe she doesn’t know where to start. Maybe she needs help there. I’m getting very heavy vibes that everything is too much at the moment – so why don’t we break it down into bite-sized chunks?’

‘How do you know so much about this?’

‘Internet. I’ve been tracking every week.’

‘No. She’s not ready.’

‘We should casually toss it into conversation and see if she is.’

‘No, Caleb.’

‘Whatever she is going through, I know that she is freaking out about the baby. Why don’t we help her get it out of her head and help?’

‘Because she doesn’t want to talk about it.’

‘But what if her hormones are completely messed up and it’s contributing to this?’

Lara is silent.

‘We need to get her checked out. Besides, don’t you want to see a scan of little Elsie?’

Lara’s face tells me that I’ve got her.

‘Okay, fine. Let me do it.’

‘Thank you, Lara.’

‘Go away. I need to think.’

‘By the way, thanks for putting my clothes in the wash.’

‘Fuck off. I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ She gives me an irritated look before disappearing into her room.

I hope Lara succeeds, but if she doesn’t I have a backup plan. Ariella may hate me for ever but, if Lara and I can’t get through to her, I’m calling Dahlia. It will be a rough ride because her parents don’t even know we’re in the country, but we are past the point of keeping Ariella’s little secrets. They are hurting her.

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