‘I’ll bet you’re glad he did.’ She smiled at her sister. ‘So…you’ve been to Hertfordshire. What’s next? Something a bit further afield?’
‘I don’t actually know.’ Her thoughts turned to Jonathan and she wondered how he was getting on in Italy. Maybe he’d moved on somewhere else by now. ‘It was different to doing some of the articles for the paper in London. This was a positive event, something good. At the paper I sometimes had to hound people who didn’t want to talk and I hated it.’
‘It sounds as though you’ve fallen on your feet.’ Imogen pulled a face. ‘Sorry, under the circumstances that sounds terrible, but I’m glad you’ve found a job, something to focus on. It’s a good thing.’ She reached out and clutched Lydia’s hand in a reassuring way she’d never done before. The pair were close as sisters but as Imogen was so much younger, she rarely showed a more mature side, and Lydia realised then that she cared and understood how impossible this whole situation was. Before, Imogen probably would’ve said something like ‘it’s worse than if he died, at least you can move on then’. But there was no sign of anything tactless coming out of her mouth as they cleared away the plates.
The day Imogen left, Lydia realised how much she’d relied on the company if only for a couple of nights. The silence was less deafening with someone else around, there was a feeling of life back in the place rather than the staid atmosphere that accompanied Lydia’s daily routine. Usually the only sounds were passers-by or vehicles beeping and Lydia had got into the habit of putting the television on in the background, or the radio in the kitchen, simply to fill the void.
‘I’ll miss you.’ Imogen hugged her sister warmly when they reached the station where she’d take the train up to Yorkshire to stay with their parents.
‘I’ll miss you too.’
‘I’m keeping every single thing crossed for Theo, you know.’
‘I know you are.’ Lydia hugged her sister again. ‘You’d better go, you don’t want to miss the train. Are you sure you’ll be able to navigate the change in London?’
Imogen burst out laughing as the sun came out from behind the clouds and bathed the station entrance. ‘I’ve just trekked through country after country, I think I’ll be okay.’
‘I forget sometimes. You’re my little sister, I still look out for you.’
‘And I look out for you, so promise me you’ll come up to Manchester one weekend.’
‘I promise.’ She waved as her sister went in to the station.
Her sister’s presence in her life had always been flighty. It was what twenty-somethings were like. But seeing her this weekend had also grounded Lydia. Managing her feelings as she saw yet another person’s reaction to Theo and what was happening to him now helped her cope in a way.
But nothing would ever take away the guilt that months after the accident had happened, he was still lying helpless in a bed.
And she’d promised him the exact opposite.
