Page 43 of The Life Experiment
‘Yeah?’ she replied, turning back to him.
‘I don’t know what it is exactly that you’re going through, but I know if you’re here it’s because you’re struggling. I just want to say I’m sorry for that.’
‘That’s okay, Dad,’ Layla said, but it was clear there was more David wanted to say.
‘When things were tough after the accident, I… well, I never thought I’d get through it.’ Resting his finger on the doorhandle, David stared at the dull metal as he spoke. ‘A nurse at the hospital taught me something that helped. Maybe it can help you. In the worst times, when sadness was all I could see, it felt like happiness would never find me again. But it tried to, in small bursts. Usually with you and your sister. When you weren’t arguing, at least. You’d tell me about your day or come into the hospital all excited because you’d drawn me a picture.’
Layla smiled. She remembered those times well. Running from school, desperate to see her dad. Looking past the wires and the hospital gown to find the man who once carried her on his shoulders.
‘The nurse told me about the power of those small moments,’ David continued. ‘She told me they were healing. So, when they happened, I used to stop and focus on them. Really focus. I’d pay attention to what I could hear, what I could smell, how the clothes I wore felt against my skin. I’d take a mental picture that was so vivid, the memory lived in me. That way, when the sadness came, I could look back on the moment. Feel it. Know that while things were dark, I carried happiness in me wherever I went.’
Emotion danced across Layla’s chest, peaking when her dad looked back at her shyly.
‘I thought that might help, that’s all,’ he said softly before offering her a nod. ‘Goodnight, sweetheart.’
As David walked away, Layla listened to the sound of his footsteps. She noticed the fridge gurgling and the scent of floral kitchen spray lingering in the air. In that moment, Layla took her own mental picture, saving the knowledge her dad had imparted. She knew that when her time on earth was up, his shy smile would be one of the last things she saw.
20Angus
I always used to dismiss the saying ‘it’s grim up north’, but I can confirm… the weather today is grim x
I don’t want to brag, but it’s a glorious day here.
Blue skies and everything… x
You’re lying.
This is some cruel, weather-based trickery to make me come back to London… x
Ignoring the way his stomach knotted over the word ‘lying’, Angus’s fingers fired another message Layla’s way.
Hand on heart, it is a day that would make anyone want to run back to the capital x
Jasper took his attention off the road to glance at Angus. Spotting the phone in his friend’s hand, Jasper’s thin mouth settled into an even thinner line. ‘Will you stop?’
‘Stop what?’
‘Not listening to me so you can talk to whoever it is you’re always texting.’
‘Sorry,’ Angus replied, slipping his phone away.
‘Who is she, anyway?’ Jasper asked.
‘Who’s who?’
‘The woman you keep messaging.’ When Angus said nothing, Jasper shot him another sidewards glance. ‘I’m not stupid, you know. Being glued to your phone can only mean one thing – you’ve met someone. So, who is she?’
Again, Angus said nothing.
‘Is it Clarissa?’
Angus didn’t mean to laugh, but the idea was so absurd he couldn’t not.
Jasper sniffed. ‘Well, whoever she is, you can’t keep her hidden forever. I’m running out of patience. You need to either stop cancelling on me to speak to her or you need to introduce us.’
‘You can’t meet her,’ Angus replied, panicked.
‘Why not? Scared she’ll prefer me to you?’ As Jasper’s mouth curled into a leer, Angus shuddered at the thought of him ever smiling at Layla like that.
