Page 162 of Take My Hand

Laughing, I gathered my stuff and walked towards the front door, knowing that secretly Dad loved that Zak was taking the time to walk me to school.

And, when I got outside, there he was, about to push his bike up our path with a huge grin on his face. He looked as gorgeous as ever, wrapped up in his coat with a black beany hat pulled down over his dark hair.

“Morning.” As I approached, gripping the handle bars, he leaned the top half of his body forward to kiss me. “You smell nice.”

“It’s my usual perfume.” I gave him another quick peck. “Want to give me a croggie?” I pointed at his bike.

“What the hell is a croggie?”

I laughed at how it sounded in his accent. “A croggie, a seaty. Basically, you sit on the seat, and I sit on the crossbar.”

Frowning, he looked at me and then the bike. “We can if you want to give it a go, but…”

“I’m joking, Zak. I think it’s illegal anyway.”

“We’d better walk, then.” Smiling he held out his hand, which I took, loving how his big one curled around my much smaller one. “So, tell me about Maya. All you said in your text was that she had an accident and was staying at yours.”

“It was a car accident,” I told him. “Someone went into the back of her, and she broke her wrist and a couple of ribs. She’s been lucky, and is going to be fine, but I think Dad wanted her close.”

“That’s understandable.” He squeezed my hand and led me across the road. “Thank God it wasn’t worse.”

He was right. I’m not sure how Dad would have taken it. Maya was going to be fine, but it was obvious he was worried sick. I was glad she was staying with us, for Dad’s sake as much as hers.

“Have you heard anything from Ana since we got back?”

All I seemed to do lately when talking about Ana was sigh. My response to Zak’s current question was no different, a long drawn out exhale that held a mix of frustration and sadness. I felt a twinge in my chest at the thought of seeing the girl who’d been my best friend for what seemed like forever. I hated that things weren’t right between us, but I wasn’t sure what else I could do. We’d tried to help her, but she didn’t seem to want to make things better.

“No and I’m nervous to see her,” I reply. “I have no idea how she’s going to be on a day to day basis.”

“Hmm, there’s got to be more going on than just her mum and dad. I mean your dad went out of his way to help her with that, yet she’s still being awkward.”

Aware of the steel in his tone, I decided it was better to change the subject. I knew how he felt about Ana, but she was my friend, and I didn’t want to argue about her.

“So,” I said, looking up at him with a smile. “Heard any gossip about the party?”

“How are you feeling?” I asked Emma as we filed into the canteen at lunchtime. I hadn’t had chance to talk to her all morning. “Bit sore down there.”

She giggled. “I’m fine.” Looking around, she leaned in closer. “He called last night, and we had phone sex. Well, I say phone sex, I was knackered, so just made a few moaning noises while he had a wank.”

I burst out laughing, grateful that Emma knew just how to brighten my day, seeing as Ana was barely talking to any of us again. She’d sat next to me in study period in total silence, but she definitely wasn’t studying. When I asked her why she hadn’t turned up for the trip to London, she’d muttered something about having better things to do.

“You’re an idiot,” I told Emma as we joined the queue for food. Then something struck me. “Not that I don’t trust Liam, but you didn’t do it over video chat did you?”

“God no,” she snapped back, elbowing me in the side. “How stupid do you think I am?”

“I mean, I don’t think he’d do anything bad, but people can get hold of stuff like that and?—”

“It’s fine, Miss Cautious. I didn’t and I won’t, and I won’t send him any nudies either, and I certainly don’t want any dick pics from him.” She picked up two trays and passed me one. “I mean it’s a beautiful thing he has in his pants, but I don’t want to clog my phone up with images of it. Besides, what happens if we split up, I’ll be tempted to look at the photos all the time, and I’ll never move on. I’ll always remember the good days.”

When she raised an eyebrow, we both burst out laughing, and were still clutching our sides when we got to the front of the queue.

A few minutes later, Liv joined us at the table and slammed her salad box down.

“What’s wrong?” I asked her, forking a tomato from my plate.

“Ana.” Was her short, curt reply.

“What’s she done now?” Emma shook her head. “What the hell is wrong with her? I thought we’d sorted everything out.”

---