Page 98 of Find My Way Down to You

“London?”

My muscles tense again. How could Cary bring me here? To the city London was named after. But the longer I stare at him, the more I realize he doesn’t know. The concern in his eyes tells me he wouldn’t be that cruel if he did.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

“Yeah, uh…Am Iallowedto be here? I don’t even have a passport.”

“No need to worry. We will not be here long.”

Above the din of music and laughter and drunken shouts, a siren blares in the distance.

“Come,” he says. “We are late.”

Down side streets, I take in windows lit by neon signs. Union Jacks flutter above awnings. Lanterns paint the faces we pass amber. Twice, I almost lose track of Cary. He moves easily through crowds like he belongs here.

I clearly don’t.

At an intersection, the mass of bodies thickens. Bright blue lights flicker on a yellow ambulance. Cary’s hand finds mine.

“Do not let go,” he says, then pulls me through the stream.

Near the front, officers shout to keep people away. Phones are pointed at a scene just beyond them. A section of the street is taped off. Paramedics whisper to each other. But Cary doesn’t lead us in that direction.

Instead, we walk to the shadows of a darkened bookstore. He lets go of my hand. “Stay here.”

“But—”

Before I can finish, he’s gone. He approaches a boy sitting outside a café several feet away.

“Did you see that?” The boy blinks at Cary, mirth gleaming in his brown eyes. He’s around my age, beige skin and thick black hair. A sharp nose to match his long jaw. “I’ve never landed that trick in my life. It was sick!”

Cary kneels to his height. “Was it?”

The boy nods eagerly. “I wish my mates could’ve seen it.”

“They left you, Hasan,” Cary says gently.

“They—” Hasan pauses, rubbing the back of his head. He frowns as his eyes roam around. “Yeah, I guess they did. We’d had a couple of pints, and they dared me to do this unbelievable trick and…” His words trail off.

Then Hasan truly looks at Cary. “Wait, you know my name?”

Cary’s lips ease into a smile. “I do. Do you know who I am?”

Biting my lip, I watch reality sink in. It hollows Hasan’s gaze. “Yeah,” he croaks, frowning. “I think I do.”

“And you know why I am here?”

Hasan’s focus jumps to the street, where a skateboard lies snapped in half. A pale white woman sobs outside her car. Officers attempt to console her. Blood stains the road garnet. Paramedics zip up a body bag.

“That’s not me, is it?”

My chest tightens at Hasan’s broken voice. The way his knee bounces anxiously.

I want to run away. I can’t watch this. Can’t handle how hard my heart is throbbing in my throat as Hasan puts it all together.

But Cary maintains a steady smile. He carefully grabs Hasan’s hand like he did mine. “It is time,” he says.

Hasan sucks in a long breath like he wasn’t afforded that chance before the car slammed into him. “Mate, I’m onlyeighteen. I just started uni. I was gonna do so many things,” he rants. “This isn’t fair.”