Page 16 of Take My Hand

“You smoke?” he asked, reaching into the back pocket of his jeans and pulling out a packet of cigarettes.

I shook my head. “Never felt the desire.”

Another smirk. “You know, Maddy, we should all have desires in life.”

“You think?”

“I do. Now,” he said, nodding toward the back door, “keep me company outside.”

He placed his hand on the door handle and paused, looking back at me. “Do you need a coat? It’s cold out there,” he said.

“I’m good.”

Outside, I felt a slight drizzle against my skin. Nothing too hard, but enough to make my naturally wavy hair frizzy, and I almost ran back inside at the sheer horror of the thought. Zak, though, was already sat on the garden bench, so I approached him as he lit up his cigarette. His cheeks hollowed as he drew onit, holding the smoke in. After a few seconds, he blew it out and patted the seat beside him.

“Come and talk to me,” he said. “Tell me what your plans are.”

“My plans?” I asked, surprised.

“Yeah. After A-Levels. What are you planning on doing?”

“Uni,” I replied. “It’s just which one.”

“What are the choices?”

Did I have a choice? Was there any better than Lancaster for me that wasn’t hours away? The only other one I’d considered was even further away—Edinburgh, not that I had any chance of getting in there.

“Lancaster or Open University.”

“Bit different,” he said with a laugh.

“I know. My dad is desperate for me to go to Lancaster, but I don’t know.” I pulled the sleeves of my jumper down over my hands. “It’s all a little scary.”

“What’s scary about it?” Zak took another draw on his cigarette. It was long and hard and then he immediately threw it down and stamped on it. Pushing it into the ground.

“I like my life,” I admitted. “And I don’t know whether I’m ready to give it up.” I shivered against the cold and almost yelped when an arm came around me. Zak pulled me into his side and rubbed my arm. “Erm, thanks.”

“No problem. Now carry on telling me why you’ve got such a difficult decision to make.” He stretched his legs out in front of him, crossing them at the ankles. “What is it you want to do for a career?”

“Social work or counselling,” I replied without pause. I didn’t have to think about it; it was what I’d wanted to do for years, ever since Dad told me his story—how he and my mum had met in a children’s home. When he told me he’d have probably gone down the wrong path if it hadn’t been for Grandma Powell,I knew that I wanted to help people like him somehow. When Grandma Powell died when I was eleven, there were almost a hundred of the kids she’d fostered at her funeral. It just proved to me that working with kids who needed help was what I wanted to do. “Both are dedicated professions.” Zak gave me shoulder a squeeze. “I don’t know you very well, but I’ll bet you a tenner you’d be good at both.”

I shrugged. “Well, I hope so.”

“Yeah, I reckon so. I also know that Lancaster is one of the best degrees for Social Work, alongside Edinburgh.”

“How on earth do you know that?” I asked, wondering if he could read my mind.

“I wanted to know all the courses available in case I change my mind about being a vet.” He brought his legs up and nudged my knee with his. “Okay, why Open Uni then? Why’s that in the mix rather than going away?”

“Because I can stay home, and it won’t cost a fortune and because… I can stay home because I’m scared of leaving my dad.” I turned to look at Zak, expecting him to be looking at me like I was an idiot. He wasn’t, though. He was studying me and had a soft, understanding smile.

“Your dad will be fine without you, Maddy. As for the cost of uni there are such things as grants.”

I cleared my throat. “I don’t need a grant. My great-aunt left me enough money.” I looked up at him and grimaced. “Even more stupid, hey? I just don’t want to blow it all on my education.”

“Worse things you could blow it on.” Zak grinned. “As for the rest, well, life is good now, and you don’t want it to change, and I get that.”

“You do?”

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