Page 131 of Carbon

“Why?”

“Because I brought sushi back for lunch only you’re not here. Did something happen?”

“Uh, I just...” Emmy mimed eating with a knife and fork. “I just popped out for lunch with Emmy and Sofia. You know, girl time.”

“So Sofia’s with you too?”

“Mmm hmm.”

“Don’t tell her, but she’s got a surprise waiting when she gets back.”

“What kind of surprise?” And why did I have a bad feeling about it?

“Her boyfriend’s flown in to see her. Nearly gave me a heart attack when he introduced himself. Walking into him as I came out of the john wasn’t quite how I’d envisaged us meeting, but he’s a nice guy.”

Oh, shit, shit, shit.

“What’s happened?” Emmy whispered. “You’ve gone white.”

I put my hand over the phone. “Sofia’s boyfriend’s turned up at Albany House.”

“Fuck.”

“Uh, Ben, our food’s just arrived, so we’d better eat. Love you.”

I ended the call as Sofia tried to sit up, but the straps across her chest wouldn’t let her. “Get these off me!”

She scrabbled at the buckles and Emmy grabbed her hands.

“Relax. Just breathe.”

“I can’t. I promised Leo I wasn’t going to do anything dangerous for at least six months. Now I’ve got cuts all over my freaking face.”

“Maybe we could do something with your hair? You know, to hide the worst of it?”

“There’s a massive bruise coming up on my hip too. I can feel it.”

“Leo will forgive you. He’s one of those understanding guys most women spend a lifetime looking for.”

Sofia sighed and flopped her head back onto the stretcher. “Ouch. I know. I’m lucky in so many ways.”

* * *

The two of us made a right pair when we walked into Albany House three hours later. The doctors had given us matching neck braces, I had a row of stitches all the way up my calf, and we both clutched bags filled with assorted painkillers and anti-inflammatories.

Ben and a blond man I took to be Leo were sitting in the kitchen, chatting over coffee, and they both leapt up when they saw us.

“Honey, we’re home,” Emmy said.

“What the hell happened?” Leo asked, raining kisses on Sofia’s head.

“There was a slight problem with the car,” she said.

“You had an accident?”

“No, I crashed it on purpose.”

“Seriously, what happened?”

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