Page 58

BRYN

Five Years Ago

I slip through the front door behind Mum and Grant, my arms aching from carrying bags. Mum is complaining about how overpriced the honey stall was, while Grant heads straight for the kitchen, keys clattering as he tosses them onto the counter.

‘I’m going to my room,’ I say quickly, already backing down the hallway before either of them can ask questions.

‘Don’t forget dinner is early tonight because we’re going out!’ she calls after me.

‘Yeah,’ I shout back as I disappear down the hall.

Only once I hear cupboard doors opening and the murmur of their voices drift from the kitchen do I let myself breathe. I push my bedroom door shut behind me and turn, excitement bubbling up instantly.

‘Ash?’ I whisper, already smiling. He looks up from my bed where he’s sat, his back against the pillows, journal abandoned beside him. Relief flickers across his expression when he sees me.

‘Finally,’ he says, wearing an easy smile.

‘I know.’ I drop my bag and cross the room in a few quick steps. ‘But I brought you something.’

I dig into my tote bag and pull out a small paper bag and hand it to him. Inside is a metal keyring from one of the stalls, etched with a hand-drawn raven. It reminded me of his sketches as soon as I saw it.

He takes it, turning it over in his fingers. ‘You got this for me?’

I shrug, suddenly nervous he might not like it. ‘I saw it and thought of you.’

For a second, he just looks at it, then his eyes dart to meet mine, and something soft settles in his expression, almost disbelieving.

‘I’m keeping this forever,’ he says quietly. ‘Thank you.’

I drop beside him on the bed, tucking my legs underneath me.

‘So,’ I say lightly. ‘Everything went okay while I was gone?’

He exhales, fiddling with the keyring in his lap. He looks troubled for a moment. ‘About that …’

‘What?’ I ask, immediately concerned.

‘I thought everyone had left,’ he says. ‘I was hungry, so I went downstairs.’

My stomach drops. ‘Ash …’

‘Yeah,’ he mutters, bitterness creeping into his tone. ‘Isla caught me.’

I freeze. ‘She what?’

He nods. ‘Yup. Found me in the kitchen.’

Heat flares up my neck in panic, worry, and an unsettling protectiveness over Ash all at once. Isla likes to take everything from me. She’d absolutely adore Ash’s looks, especially knowing how much he means to me. I never planned to tell her about him, but she saw my phone lighting up with notifications one day and went through our messages.

‘Oh my God. What did she say? What did you do?’

‘Ah … it was weird.’

‘Weird? Weird how?’

‘She’s an interesting person. Exactly like you described her.’

‘Oh,’ I say, my voice a little flat. He must have thought she was absolutely stunning, just like everyone else does. He probably wishes he met her first. Jealousy flares inside me, almost violently, at the thought of the two of them here alone. I study his face, trying to read what happened while I was gone – what was said, how she acted, how he responded – but then I scold myself for thinking so little of him. This is Ash. My Ash. He’s with me, and what we have is deep on a level that Isla could never touch. At least, I hope so.