My nerve-endings were on fire. The nearness of him, the warmth of his jacket, his scent, all of it was making me light-headed.
My hips shifted forward, of their own accord. The length of his body was pressed against mine. His hands were curled around my waist, and my own arms were nestled into his sides.
I breathed him in, overcome by a peace I hadn’t felt for a long time.
But then a buzzing sounded from my bag.
It snapped me back to reality. I needed some air; to hit pause and think.
I took a step back. ‘Sorry, I need to check who’s ringing...’ It sounded lame, I knew, but I needed to break eye contact with Nick. I pulled the phone from my bag: the callerIDsaid Simon. Why was he ringing now after days of silence?
A feeling of unease muscled out my earlier serenity. I swiped my finger to accept the call. ‘Simon?’
‘Zoë, thank God. It’s Jess.’ She sounded tense and I immediately held my breath.
‘Is everything okay?’
‘It’s Simon,’ she said. ‘An ambulance came. He’s in hospital. He wasn’t breathing.’
Panic squeezed my throat. ‘What happened? Is he breathing now? He’s not...’ I couldn’t finish the question.
‘He’s stable, but unconscious. I thought you should know. I don’t do hospitals. Maybe you could go and check on him.’
‘Jess, which hospital?’
Nick had been biting his lip, but now he frowned in concern.
‘That one in Paddington.’
‘St Mary’s?’
‘Possibly.’
‘Had you guys been drinking?’
‘Hmm?’ Jess sounded distracted.
‘Did Simon take something? Were there drugs involved?’
‘You’re a sweetheart, Zoë. I have to go now.’
She rang off, ignoring my question.
‘Fuck.’
‘What’s happened?’ said Nick.
The embrace we’d shared felt like a lifetime ago. ‘It’s Simon. Sounds like anOD, or something.’ My breathing was shallow, barely enough to push the words out. ‘He’s at A&E in Paddington – as far as I can make out. Jess wasn’t clear.’
I tried to focus.Yes, St Mary’s – that’s what she’d said.
Nick’s eyes were full of concern. ‘Is he okay?’
‘I don’t know. I need to get to him.’
‘Of course. Let me take you.’
‘No, no.’ I was already scrolling through my phone looking for my Uber app. ‘It’s okay. You need to go and rest your ribs.’ I was prattling. I just wanted to know Simon was okay. The idea of him not being in the world was filling me with ice-cold fear.
