Page 129 of From Best Friend to Bride
“If we weren’t before, we sure as shit would be with your racket,” he snapped. “What do you want?”
“Crikey,” she said, opening the door. “Who pissed on your cornflakes this morning? Well, afternoon, I suppose.”
Afternoon?
I went to reach for my phone, only to realise it wasn’t there. It wasn’t anywhere. My watch was out of battery, too, and the bedroom clock had no batteries.
Why hadn’t they been replaced?
“Afternoon?” I asked, turning around to face Mel. “What time is it?”
“Just past twelve,” she answered. “Don’t you have your phone with you?”
“N—no. It’s… I don’t know where it is.”
“In the car.” Fred sat on the bed, his back to his sister. “I was more focused on getting you to bed, and you wouldn’t let me leave once I had.”
I blushed.
Mel’s gaze flickered between us. “Right. Makes sense. Anyway, I’m here because Lucy called.”
My heart pounded.
A small smile crept onto her face. “Nana’s awake.”
I brought my hands to my face and crouched down, relief washing through me. “She’s awake?”
“Yeah,” Mel said softly. “But, Deli… She isn’t doing great.”
I knew that.
I knew she wasn’t coming home.
There was just something inside that was telling me that was the case.
“I know,” I whispered, dragging my hands away from my face and sitting on the floor. “I know. She’s…”
“Shh.” Fred wrapped his arms around me from behind, kissing the top of my head. “Go and shower. You’ll feel better. Meet me downstairs when you’re done and we’ll go and see her, all right?”
“I want to go right now.”
“No, you need to look after yourself. Go and shower or I’ll wash you myself.”
“I… Fine,” I said, sagging against him. “I’ll do that.”
He released me with another kiss to the top of the head. “Get out, Mel.”
“Blimey, you could say thank you.” She sniffed, then glanced at me. “Where are your keys, Fred? I’ll grab your stuff from the car and charge your phones for you.”
He smiled softly at her. “Here.” He grabbed them from the pocket of yesterday’s trousers and tossed them across the room at her. “Thanks.”
She caught them easily. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll boil the kettle, too.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
She hesitated, then ran over and bent down, hugging me tightly. It was the biggest squeeze, but she released me a mere few seconds later before running out of the room.
The door clicked shut behind her, and Fred crouched down in front of me.
