Page 21

Ben pulled up Laurie’s records, his fingers shaking with adrenaline. He put her address and mobile number in his phone, then exited his office, ignoring the stares. It was quicker to get to the car park through the warehouse so he went that way. Blood was roaring in his ears, every sense focused on getting to Laurie. His unconscious mind clocked the warehouse was busy and negotiated him around the pallets. In front of him, a forklift was stacked so high he couldn’t see the driver. He stopped. Is that safe? How can they see where they're going?

The forklift started towards him. Ben called out but it didn’t stop. Behind him and to the sides were walls of pallets, above him the metal shelving units. Fuck! He leapt on top of a pallet of drinks, waving his arms.

‘Hey! Stop!’

Ben could just about make out the head of a young man, headphones wedged into his ears. His eyes were closed and he was singing. The pallet on the front of the forklift was getting closer and closer. ‘STOP!’ he screamed. The young man’s eyes snapped open and he stared at Ben in shock, as if waking from a nightmare. ‘BRAKE!’ A look of vague comprehension seemed to cross his face and he nodded. Thank fuck.

The forklift sped up.

Ben was aware of a whole- body punch, then everything went black.

There was always a lot of weather on the Mendips, but the blurriness through the windscreen of Laurie’s car wasn’t caused by rain. She had allowed her tears to fall the moment she pulled out of Somerset Snax, and now they wouldn’t stop. Less than a mile down the road, it became dangerous to drive and she pulled into a passing place by the entrance to a field and cut the engine.

The dam broke on everything she’d held in for the last eight years. All the loneliness and disappointment of her twenties flooded out. She finally allowed herself to acknowledge the wasted years, the regrets that she didn’t push harder for recognition and respect, and the realisation it had all been for nothing. Layered on top of the pain of her past was the empty wasteland of her future. No job. No career. No relationship. She’d never met anyone like Ben. Someone who was turned on, not off, by her height and the size of her brain. It was like experiencing the light of heaven, then having it snuffed out before your eyes and knowing the rest of your life would always be dark and empty.

I meant every word I said on Friday night. Even when I was pretending to be a bird.

His words slipped like strands of sunlight into the depths of her grief.

Please, Laurie. Give us a chance. I’ll always have your back.

She thought back to Friday night. He’d been willing to sacrifice himself for her. She was always the strong one, but he’d been her protector. He’d put her first without hesitation. Would Shelley or Denise, or any of her friends have done the same? Her tears stopped and she stared, unseeing out the front window. Of course they wouldn’t have. Just like at work, they would use her to their own advantage when it suited them. And not only would she let them, she was now running away from her biggest chance at happiness. A flash of anger surged through her. Why should she give up Ben for them? Why didn’t she deserve happiness? Sure, it was going to be hell at work, but why should she suffer for their sins? She started the car and turned around. Ben had fought for her and now it was her turn to fight for him.

Pulling into the car park, fear knifed through her at the sight of an ambulance outside the warehouse. Two paramedics were running inside and she followed them in. A forklift lay abandoned, under the shelving unit that had been damaged on Friday. Sandwiched between the boxes it had been carrying and the next pallet was a body. Ben. Despite her explicit instructions, and the obvious stupidity of the idea, the warehouse staff had continued to stack the unstable shelving, and now the pallet above the forklift was tipping. The ashen-faced staff stood like zombies, doing nothing to help as one paramedic rang the police and fire brigade and the other rummaged in his pack. Laurie didn’t know if Ben was dead or alive, but she had to get him out of there. If she didn’t, and the pallet fell, it would crush him. She climbed into the cab and started it up.

‘Miss! Get out, it’s not safe!’ Arms pulled at her, but she shook them off. A loud creak sounded above her and cans started raining down on the cab.

‘Laurie!’ screamed Stacie.

She reversed the forklift back, then jumped out, ran underneath the shelving and climbed on top of the pallet. Ben was slumped on his side, immobile. She pulled him to the edge, leapt off, and heaved him over her shoulders. She staggered out, cans raining down. There was an almighty crash, and the entire pallet came thudding down, right where Ben had just been lying.

Laurie was aware of screaming, but it sounded very far away. A paramedic helped Ben off her shoulders and they laid him on the ground. Even though the paramedics were assessing him, she held his hand and her breath, praying to every god she knew. She felt a squeeze on her fingers and his eyes fluttered open.

‘Laurie?’

‘Sir, can you tell us your name and date of birth?’

Ben ignored them. ‘Laurie. You came back.’

She nodded, tears falling. ‘You were right. We’ll get through this together.’

‘How are you feeling? Can you move your feet for us?’

Ben turned to the paramedic. ‘I’m fine. I’ve never felt better.’

‘We’re going to move you to hospital now. Miss, can you get back please?’

Ben held her hand tighter and pulled her towards him. His lips grazed her ear. ‘Laurie, after a near-death experience, I think we need to reaffirm our commitment to life.’

A laugh bubbled out of her. ‘By having sex?’ she whispered.

She felt his cheek touch hers as he smiled. ‘Yes, and other things.’

The End

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EPILOGUE