Page 8 of Together Again at the Cornish Country Hospital

Lijah had already broken into a sprint, with Nick right behind him, and he reached the woman within seconds.

‘He’s going to kill him, help me, please.’ Tears had streaked the woman’s mascara and, even as she spoke, she tried lashing out at the Rottweiler, who didn’t even seem to notice her.

‘Shall we call the police?’ Nick turned towards Lijah, who shook his head.

‘It’ll be too late by then.’ He didn’t even really have time to think about what he was doing and he knew it was probably a stupid mistake, but he couldn’t bear the sight of the little dog getting hurt even more than it already was. He made a grab for the Rottweiler’s snout, trying desperately to prize its jaws apart, even as a searing pain seemed to pass through his hand and up his arm. There were so many voices and so much commotion. He could make out Nick shouting at him to let go, but he couldn’t, because the dog had a vice-like grip on him too.

‘Deisel drop! Let go, let go now.’ Another shout filled the air and for a moment nothing happened. Then, as the instruction to let go was repeated again, the Rottweiler suddenly released the little dog and Lijah from its grasp.

‘Christ, Lij. What the hell did you do that for? It could have killed you, and… Oh my God, look at your hand.’ All the colour had drained from Nick’s face and, as Lijah looked down, he understood why. His right hand was covered with blood that dripped down towards his elbow, a small puddle of it already marring the carpet of green beneath their feet.

‘Oh Monty, sweetheart, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.’ The dog walker was wrapping the little Jack Russell in the hoodie that had been tied around her waist. Looking up at the others, her eyes were filled with tears. ‘I haven’t got the car; we came straight from home and I’ve got to get him to the vet as soon as I can.’

‘We’ll drive you. It’ll only take minutes for me to go back to the house.’ Lijah made the offer, ignoring the throbbing pain in his hand. Nick could do the driving, it didn’t matter as long as they got the little dog the help it needed.

‘Lij, you need to get to the hospital.’ Nick’s tone was uncharacteristically firm, cutting off the dog walker before she could even respond.

‘I’m fine.’

‘No you’re not.’

‘We’ll get the dog to the vets.’ A middle-aged woman with a poodle under her arm walked over to them. ‘Our car is on Beach Lane, about two minutes’ walk from here.’

‘Thank you, but I don’t know what to do about the other dogs.’ The woman cradling Monty in her arms still had tears running down her cheeks.

‘We can take them back to our place, it’s just off the coastal path.’ Lijah shot his friend a look when Nick started to protest, hoping he understood the deal he was about to offer, without him spelling it out. ‘Afterthat I’ll get my hand looked at.’

‘Oh my God!’ The woman with the poodle looked at him for the first time. ‘Aren’t you?—’

‘I’m Eli and this is Nick.’ It wasn’t a lie. His birth name was Elijah, and he still used it when he didn’t want to be instantly recognised by his name alone. He turned towards the dog walker, who looked to be in her late twenties. ‘I take it you’re Dolly?’

‘Yes, but I’m not supposed to let anyone else look after the dogs. I promised their owners that I’d take care of them myself, it’s why they trust me.’ The tears started to come even faster, and Lijah wanted to give her a hug, but they needed to get Monty to the vets right away.

‘I’m sure they’ll understand. I promise we won’t let anything happen to the other dogs, but right now I think your priority needs to be Monty.’

‘Okay, thank you.’ She mumbled the words and Lijah turned as the man behind him spoke.

‘I tried to get the owner of the Rottweiler to stop, but he just ran up the hill with that bloody animal. I’ve seen them out here before and I had to scoop Susie up before that dog went for her.’

The woman holding the poodle shook her head. ‘Disgusting. It wants putting down.’

‘More like the owner does.’ Dolly looked up. ‘I’m just so glad you were all here, especially you.’

She turned towards Lijah and the woman with the poodle nodded. ‘You were a real hero. I hate to think what would have happened if you hadn’t stepped in.’

Lijah didn’t respond. The last thing he could be described as was a hero. He’d run away from a life most people could only dream of in order to come home, but he hadn’t even had the courage to face his aunt yet, or truly face up to the fact that his mother no longer lived in the cottage he’d bought her. He wasn’t a hero, he was a coward.

8

Lijah had tried to persuade Nick that all he needed was a couple of plasters and a bit of Savlon, but his old friend was having none of it.

‘I know you don’t think you want to perform again at the moment Lij, but do you really want to let your hand get into such a state that the option is taken away from you? And if it drops off altogether, I’m not volunteering to wipe your bum.’

‘What if I put it in your job description?’ Lijah couldn’t help smiling despite the pain in his hand.

‘Didn’t know I still had a job.’ Nick frowned and Lijah felt a stab of guilt. Walking out on the tour didn’t just affect him, it had an impact on so many people. But Lijah had felt like he was drowning. He couldn’t think too much about the ripple effect of his decision, otherwise he might never get back on track. Whatever happened, Nick would be okay, Lijah would make sure of that.

‘Of course you have. If I do decide to quit, I’ll think of something else we can do together. Maybe we could start a little landscaping business.’ Lijah widened his eyes, anticipating Nick’s response before it came, but the truth was he was only half joking. The thought of facing life without his best friend by his side seemed impossible, even if it would be incredibly selfish to ask Nick to stay.

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