Page 111 of When We Were Young

‘A man…’ she says between sobs. ‘He took my bag… it was across my chest…’

‘Slow down. Breathe.’

She draws in a ragged breath. ‘He pulled it over my head. The strap caught on my ear, but he kept pulling it.’

Her right cheek is red raw. He must have scraped it with the strap as well. Rage boils in my blood. How dare this man hurt my daughter? I’m afraid to ask, but I force myself. ‘Then what happened?’

‘Once he got my bag, he ran off. He’s got my phone, my money, everything,’ she wails. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘That doesn’t matter, so long as you’re okay.’ I pull her close.

‘What are you doing here?’ she asks. ‘Did Chloe tell on me?’

‘No. Linda rang – Chloe’s in hospital.’

Liv pulls away. ‘Chloe’s in hospital? What happened?’

‘She had to have emergency surgery for appendicitis.’

Her eyes grow wide with concern. ‘Is she okay?’

‘I think so. She’s recovering in hospital. Come on, let’s get into the light.’

She’s limping as we walk to the totem pole. ‘What’s hurting?’ I ask.

‘My knee, it got twisted.’

As I help her to sit, I notice what she’s wearing: denim shorts, a burgundy vest, and a brown corduroy waistcoat with a long string of beads and a lanyard dangling from her neck. I’ve never seen her in an outfit like that before.

She looks like me.

I wore an outfit almost exactly like it, for the entire summer of 1997, when I was festival hopping around Europe on a tour bus with Will, living out of a backpack.

I sit beside her. She’s trembling as I gather her in. I try Scott, but the call doesn’t connect.

‘Did you talk to Nathan?’ she asks.

‘We asked him to help us find you,’ I admit.

‘Nathan didn’t want to meet me, did he? He only messaged because you made him.’

I draw my mouth into a line and nod gently.

She buries her face in her hands.

‘You’re better off,’ I say. ‘He’s an idiot. I don’t know what he sees in that other girl.’

Liv drags her fingers down her face and fixes me with a glare. ‘What other girl?’

Just then, I spot Scott on the far side of the enclosure. I give him a wide, sweeping wave and he heads towards us.

‘We thought he was with you, so we followed him,’ I explain. ‘He went into his tent with this girl––’

‘He was in his tent with a girl?’

‘I thought you knew. I thought that’s why you went off by yourself––’

She fixes me with an icy stare. ‘Why would you tell me like that? How could you be so mean?’