Page 136 of When We Were Young

‘Will? Will, can you hear me? Oh, mate…’

Emily rushed to Scott’s side. Will lay motionless on her bed. Her heart stalled and she dropped to her knees. His eyes were closed, his skin pale, a blood-soaked towel wrapped around his arm. ‘Will, wake up!’

His cheek was cold and clammy.

‘Is he breathing?’ asked Scott.

Emily put her ear to Will’s mouth, but all she could hear was her own heartbeat thumping in her head. ‘I don’t know! I can’t hear anything!’

Miranda was in the doorway holding the phone. ‘They want to know what’s wrong.’

‘He’s unconscious, uh… lost a lot of blood. A wound on his arm,’ said Scott. ‘Here, let me try.’ Scott bent over Will’s face and listened. ‘Watch his chest.’

After a few agonising seconds, they noticed a subtle swell in Will’s ribcage. ‘He’s breathing. Just,’ said Scott. ‘Tell them to hurry!’

‘Will, wake up! It’s Emily.’ Tears were streaming down her face now.

‘The ambulance is coming.’ Miranda handed Scott a scarf. ‘They said to tie something around it and put him in the recovery position.’

Scott wound the scarf around the towel and tied it in a tight knot.

Emily pulled Will onto his side with his good arm and arranged his knee so he wouldn’t roll. ‘Is that right?’

‘Yeah, that’s it,’ said Scott.

‘Will? Can you hear me? It’s Emily, wake up…please.’

She pulled at the neck of his t-shirt, stretching it even though it wasn’t tight. ‘What should we do now?’ she asked Miranda.

‘I don’t know, that’s all they said. They’ll be here in a minute.’

‘I’ll look out for them,’ said Scott.

Miranda took Scott’s place by the bedside. Emily was on her knees, shaking uncontrollably.

‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered. ‘I love you. Hang on. Just a few more minutes.’

It felt like hours before they heard the siren.

Suddenly, paramedics were in the flat, barking orders, shouting, ‘Will? Will? Can you hear me?’

Emily and Miranda moved out of the way into the kitchen and a moment later, they carried Will past on a stretcher. Emily felt Miranda’s arm around her shoulders.

‘Where are you taking him?’ asked Emily.

‘St George’s,’ replied the paramedic.

‘Can I go with him?’

‘Only one of you.’

On the landing, two police officers were talking to Scott. She followed the paramedics as they manoeuvred Will’s stretcher down the stairs.

She waited on the pavement while they put him in the back of the ambulance. Miranda brought her a jacket and her bag. ‘We’ll meet you there, okay?’

The paramedics wouldn’t allow Emily in the back with Will. She had to ride in the front wearing a seatbelt, the late-night London traffic parting in front of her, her head full of questions and her heart heavy with guilt.Oh God, please let him be okay.

Emily was still waiting in the A&E department when Miranda arrived with two police officers. Miranda held her hand,while the officers asked her an endless stream of confusing questions.