Felix points at the screen. ‘Rory is a hero because he talked the missing boy into going home.’
‘What?’
Nodding Felix beams at the screen. ‘He looks like he’s been in a fight. Rory is so cool.’
‘A fight? Rory?’
I watch Felix lift his eyes for a second and flick them to the floor. Then he screeches so loud I am almost deafened. I follow his finger. Baxter is free of his lead and is racing off into a crowd of people. Shit!
‘Stay here,’ I bark at Felix, before letting out a blood-curdling scream and racing after tiny Baxter. Given the tin-can size of Baxter he is bound to get trodden on. ‘BAXTER!’
If that little dog gets hurt, kidnapped, or flattened I will never forgive myself.
‘BAXTER – where are you?’ I wail.
‘Emily?’ A familiar voice behind me makes me jump. Turning on my heel I find myself staring up at Rory’s summer blue eyes. In his arms is a proud Baxter, who is sat on top of a bright yellow scarf.
‘Rory?’ I can’t believe he’s stood in front of me.
Without hesitation he pulls me into his arms and kisses the top of my head.
‘Where have you been?’ I say, with a sob as Baxter licks my face. ‘We’ve been looking for you.’
He steps back with shock. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Felix and I went to Leeds to find you…’
Running his hand through his curly black hair he stares in amazement. ‘Emily, I went to Brighton to find you and…’
We both stare at each other in shock.
‘It’s true, Emily,’ he says. ‘I had an accident at King’s Cross last night, spent half the night in hospital, went to Brighton and had a brief cup of tea with Miss Hemingway after knocking on your door and getting no reply.
My eyes notice the huge violet and green coloured bruise on the side of his head. He points to his injury. ‘At King’s Cross an excited traveller pushed me into a ticket barrier.’
‘Ouch. Rory I can’t believe what I am hearing. Felix and I travelled all that way to Leeds, and you were in Brighton the whole time. Did you come to Brighton to see me and Felix?’
I watch him place his free hand on my shoulder. ‘Yes, I came to say I love you both… very much.’
As Rory’s face goes blurry Felix comes hurtling towards us. ‘RORY!’
Tears stream down my cheeks as I watch Rory lift Felix with one arm and hold Baxter in the other. ‘Hello, Felix.’
We all walk towards the seats where Felix and I were sat. Rory hands a wriggling Baxter to Felix and kneels on the floor between us. He takes hold of my hand and Felix’s. ‘Listen, I love you both dearly and I want to be a part of your lives.’
Tears fill Felix’s eyes, and he buries his head into Rory’s shoulder. ‘I love you, Rory,’ he cries.
When Felix lifts his head Rory wipes away his tears and plants a delicate kiss on his forehead. ‘I’ve missed you, buddy, and I love you too.’
Rory turns to me. ‘I also love you, Emily. There was never anything between Anna and me. I want you to believe me.’ He lowers his head and takes a deep breath. As he lifts his eyes to mine, I feel like I’m looking deep into his soul. ‘Emily, ten years ago my little brother, Lawrence, died in a car accident. He was eighteen. I was in the passenger seat when he lost control of the car.’ He stops and gently squeezes my hand. ‘Lawrence was a great brother, and I was so messed up after losing him like that I stopped talking about him. I’m sorry I never told you about him.’ I stroke his face as he takes another breath. ‘Anna knew Lawrence from when he used to go to her mum’s ballet school as a child.’ Rory turns to Felix. ‘Does Emily know about…’ Felix nods. ‘I told Emily everything last night.’ Rory smiles and takes a deep breath. ‘You remind me of Lawrence and going back to the ballet school brought back all my memories of Lawrence.’ I watch Rory flick his eyes to the floor. ‘When Anna joined my company, she told me she and Lawrence had been close at university. Best friends, in fact. I spent a lot of time with her because I wanted to hear about her memories of Lawrence.’ His voice is thick with emotion. ‘She made it feel like Lawrence was alive again.’
Felix throws his arm around Rory’s neck and hugs him.
Rory stares at me. ‘Last night I met up with Anna because I wanted to understand to why I had been such an idiot.’
‘An idiot?’
He caresses the top of my hand with his thumb. ‘I spent far too much time with Anna. I see that now. I can understand why you thought we should split up.’ Pointing to the huge purple and green bruise on his forehead he says, ‘I had an accident and ended up in hospital. Anyway, after that Anna and I went for a coffee. She told me she’d never been close to Lawrence.’
