Page 80 of A Seaside Escape
Chapter Sixteen
November 2015
On Tuesday night the weather was atrocious. The worst she had experienced since moving here.Bang goes dressing up nice!she thought to herself, feeling rather disappointed. She had showered and heard the rumbling thunder as the water cascaded over her body. She hated storms. When it was time to go to work she wrapped up warm and pulled on her big waterproof jacket. After messing around trying to ensure that her hair would stay dry, she checked her watch and realised it was seven already which meant she was late.
She opened the front door just as the lightning lit up the sky like it was daylight; making her jump almost out of her skin. She pulled the door closed and locked it behind her. There seemed to be an awful lot of people hanging around which seemed really odd considering the weather.
With her head down against the rain, she trudged over to the pub to find it heaving with people when she got inside. But no one seemed to be drinking and there was an eerie hush around the place. It was then that she noticed the two police officers.
Stella pushed through the crowd of people towards her. ‘Oh Mallory, thank goodness! We weren’t sure if you’d gone with him!’ She hugged Mallory hard. ‘Colin banged on your door, but you didn’t answer.’
Mallory was puzzled. ‘Gone withwhom? What’s going on, Stella?’ Panic began to rise within her.
Stella’s wide-eyed stare told her something was very wrong. ‘Greg… he… Didn’t you know?’ Mallory felt a strange ringing in her ears and everything began to spin. Stella’s words sounded muffled, but she made out odd words. ‘Boys in a dinghy… out sailing… got into trouble… Greg went out… little blue… Mallory!’ Everything went black.
When Mallory came to and opened her eyes, Stella and Ron were hovering over her. Someone was pressing something to her head and it hurt. Everything echoed as she blinked her eyes open.
‘She’s waking up, Ron,’ a familiar female voice said.
Then an unfamiliar voice spoke. ‘Stay still, Mallory. Just let’s make sure you’ve no neck injury.’ She glanced in its direction and a man in a bright fluorescent yellow and green coat was looking down at her. He was the one pressing something to her head.
‘What happened? What’s… what’s going on?’ Mallory tried to sit but she was held down and the room’s spinning increased.
‘Don’t move, love, you’ll be fine we just need to stop the bleeding and check you over in case of concussion,’ the man said.
Mallory’s heart rate increased and she grabbed out, trying to reach for something to pull herself up. ‘What? Why? What’s going on?’
Stella stroked her hand. ‘Oh, sweetheart, you blacked out. You hit your head so it’s bleeding a little.’
‘Aye but the table’s fine so don’t worry,’ Ron chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.
‘Ron! Not the time nor the place!’ Stella snapped and then turned to focus on Mallory again. ‘Sweetheart, Greg hasn’t been found yet.’
Her breathing came in shallow inhales and exhales as she tried to make sense of what she was being told. ‘Found? What do you mean? Will someone please tell me what’s going on?’ she shouted, getting angry.
The paramedic helped her to a sitting position and checked her eyes with a little torch. He examined the back of her head. ‘You won’t need stitches, I’ve dressed the wound so you’ll be fine, but you must take it easy, okay?’ he demanded as he ensured the gauze was firmly in place, making Mallory wince.
‘Yes fine. Thank you… Stella?’ she pleaded.
Stella squeezed her hand this time. ‘Mallory, please don’t black out again… There was a terrible incident. The Carrick boys, you know, Tom and James? They were out fishing in their dinghy when the weather turned for the worse. They managed to ring their dad from Tom’s mobile and Greg was with him, fixing their kitchen sink, when the call came through. They contacted the coastguard right away but Greg took Little Blue out to try and reach them. That was two hours ago and the wind has really picked up and now with the storm… The coastguard is out there now.’
‘Oh my God no!’ Mallory pushed the paramedic away, clambered to her feet and bolted for the door. She was dizzy but she ran and ran to the marina where Little Blue was usually moored.This can’t be happening. Please no. Please let me wake up. Wake up Mallory. Just wake up.
Colin came dashing out after her. ‘Mallory, love, the coastguard is doing all they can, please come inside. You’ll freeze out here especially with you being in shock.’ He put his arm around her shoulder. ‘You won’t help anybody by getting yourself ill, hen.’
She knew he was right. Her legs were like lead as she walked back to the pub propped up by Colin.
Mallory was handed a large glass of brandy and she sat, shaking, at a table, enveloped in a blanket that Stella had provided. She stared into the amber liquid and let the tears cascade unabashedly from her eyes.
What have I done? Why did I wait? Why didn’t I just tell him how I feel? I may not get the chance now and he’ll never know the truth. He’s out there all alone in a violent storm thinking I don’t love him. Why was I so stupid? Why didn’t I just let myself love him? Don’t give up, Greg. Hold on. Come back home… please.
A sob escaped her chest and she was embraced by Colin and Christine simultaneously. The pain in her heart was almost excruciating and she closed her eyes as someone stroked her hair.
*
The wind continued to whip around outside and through the tiny gaps in the old windows, and every so often the lights flickered. People busied themselves passing around drinks and snacks but hardly anything was eaten or drunk.
An hour later a police officer barrelled through the door and announced that the boys had been rescued. A mumble of relief shuddered around the room. There were tears of joy at the news that, although they were in severe shock, they had only suffered minor injuries. There was, however, no report on Greg. Everyone continued to sit in the pub for hours, waiting.
