Page 50 of Together Again at the Cornish Country Hospital

Amy had come round to find Lijah kneeling beside her, promising her it would be okay. The pain in her ankle had been so bad it had made her sick and Lijah had held her hair back, not baulking at the sight of her at her very worst, sobbing and vomiting. He’d taken care of her and made her believe his assurances that she’d be okay. She could tell her ankle was badly broken just by looking at it. She’d stepped back into a narrow crevice between the rocks, her ankle wedging and twisting in the opposite direction to the rest of her body as she fell. The sound of her bone cracking was something that would haunt her for a long time.

Once the rescue team and paramedics arrived, they’d taken over, but Lijah came in the ambulance with her. Amy had managed to phone her parents to let them know that she and Nathan were both okay, and that they were being taken to St Piran’s in separate ambulances. Her mother had cried with relief and had said they’d head straight to the hospital. When she’d asked if either of them were injured, Amy had played it down and said she’d done something to her ankle and that it looked as if Nathan was just in shock. In truth, she’d known she’d almost certainly need surgery and she’d wanted to hug the paramedic when he’d administered some strong pain relief, although not as much as she’d wanted to hug Lijah. She’d been forced to let go of his hand, when she was being treated by the paramedics, and she’d felt the absence of it immediately. Her hand had felt cold and out of place when it wasn’t in his.

Once they reached the hospital, her suspicions had been confirmed and she’d been taken into surgery to have the bone in her ankle pinned. Her parents had arrived before she’d gone to theatre, and they were waiting by her bed when she was brought up from post-op in the private room she’d been given while she fully recovered from the effects of the anaesthesia.

‘Where’s Lijah?’ Amy asked as soon as her eyes allowed her to focus and realise he wasn’t there.

‘He’s waiting outside. I told him he should go home, but he said he needed to know you were okay.’ Her mother smiled. ‘He thinks the world of you, you know.’

Amy didn’t respond to her mother’s words, she knew they were true, but she also knew things were more complicated than how they felt about one another. ‘He’s supposed to be getting on a plane in a few hours, but I really want to see him before he goes.’

‘Okay sweetheart, I’ll get him to come in soon, but Nathan wants to see you too.’ Her mum’s voice quivered. ‘I know you might not feel up to that yet, but I think this has shocked him and he seemed so worried about you. I think he does love you, in his own way.’

‘Is he okay?’

‘A few cuts and bruises, but he’ll be fine thanks to you and Lijah.’ Amy’s father planted a kiss on her forehead, before standing up straight again. ‘You make quite the pair.’

‘You really do.’ Her mother’s tone was gentle. ‘Do you want me to ask Lijah to come in now?’

‘Yes please.’

‘We’ll leave you to it, sweetheart.’ Kerry kissed her cheek. ‘But we’ll be right outside if you need us.’

‘Thank you. I love you both.’

‘We love you too, darling, so much.’ Her father gently squeezed her shoulder, before they both left the room.

Amy tried to run her hand through her hair, but it got stuck in the tangles. She must look a wreck, but suddenly the realisation hit her that it didn’t matter. Lijah loved her, he’d made that so clear over the last few weeks, but it had taken a near disaster for her to really believe it and to realise how precious it was. Walking away from that for a second time would be something she’d regret for the rest of her life.

Lijah had been recognised by both of the paramedics and most of the rescue team who’d turned up too late to really be of any help. Some of them had given him sideways glances, but he’d acted like the Lijah she knew and had loved since she was just a kid. He didn’t change in the wake of other people’s attention and all he’d cared about was making sure she was okay. The sideways glances had stopped quite quickly as a result, and the paramedics had dropped their slightly awed tone, speaking to him like they would to anyone else. If Amy gave up her chance of being with Lijah, she’d be robbing herself of something she knew she’d never find again, she’d be punishing both of them for something neither of them had done. Lijah hadn’t let his fame affect who he was, and she didn’t treat him any differently than she had before he found success. Other people were the problem, and she’d let other people take far too much from her already. She just hoped she hadn’t left it too late.

‘Hello you.’ Lijah’s voice was warm as he came into her room.

‘Hello.’ Amy suddenly felt shy, she was about to make herself incredibly vulnerable by admitting how she felt and that wasn’t something she usually did. Humour had got her through the bullying at school, enabling her to make jokes about herself, in order to get ahead of anyone else who might have been intending to make her the punchline. When her relationships after Lijah hadn’t worked out, laughing at herself and the situation had been her salvation yet again. She didn’t let anyone know how she was really feeling, in an attempt to move past difficult emotions as quickly as possible. It was a protective strategy, but now she was about to lay herself bare.

‘You scared the hell out of me, you know.’ Lijah’s tone was still soft, but there was a flicker of something far more fierce in his eyes. ‘Please promise me you won’t ever do anything like that again.’

‘I’ll try not to.’ She smiled. ‘I’m so glad you were there, but I still don’t understand why you were?’

Amy had a vague recollection of asking him about that after the accident, but in the blur of pain and medication it all felt jumbled.

‘I went to see Albie and he made me realise I hadn’t told you everything I needed to say. Being back here has shown me what’s important, and what makes me happy, and that’s not fame. I still love writing songs, but the thought of performing again doesn’t excite me like it used to.’ He looked directly at her. ‘If it costs me the chance to be with you, I don’t want any of it. I love you Amy and what makes me happy is you. It’s always been you.’

Warmth spread through her body and this time it had nothing to do with the painkillers. Lijah was willing to sacrifice everything to be with her, and she didn’t doubt for a moment he meant it. Now it was time for her to be honest, and she took a deep breath to steady herself. ‘It’s always been you for me too. But I don’t want you to give anything up for me.’

‘I won’t be giving anything up. I’ve built the first genuine connections I’ve had in years since coming back home. When I told Albie I was leaving, he wasn’t sad because he wanted me around for who I was, he was sad because he wanted me to stay for what I was: his friend. I don’t need fame to make me happy, and I realise now it’s never really made me happy. Being back here and spending time with you has made me realise where I really belong. But if I haven’t got you, I haven’t got anything, and I—’ Amy held up her hand, cutting him off. She had to get this out before she lost her nerve.

‘I want to be with you, Lijah, whatever that might look like. I thought I had to sacrifice us to hold onto my career, because without that I’d go back to being just Amy. Except now I’ve realised that my job isn’t what makes me worthy of love, because just being Amy is more than enough. I can get used to the stuff that comes with being a part of your world, even if that means moving away and leaving my job, but I could never get used to not having you as a part of mine. I love you so much.’

‘I think I might have to get you to start co-writing my songs.’ He grinned, taking hold of her hand and entwining their fingers. ‘You’ve got no idea how much I love you, but I’m planning to spend the rest of my life showing you.’

‘The rest of your life? Are you sure it’s not too early to be making that kind of promise?’ Her tone was teasing, but the look in his eyes couldn’t have been more certain.

‘I wasted ten years looking for someone like you, but no one even came close. I’m never making the same mistake again, Amy, and I don’t want to waste any more time.’

‘Me neither, but you’re restarting the tour, and I’m not even going to be able to fly out to see you until I’m over this.’ Amy gestured down towards her leg.

‘Nick didn’t rearrange the tour, even though I asked him to. He just pretended he had, in an attempt to make us both realise what we were giving up.’ Lijah grinned. ‘Luckily for him it paid off.’

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