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‘What’s your problem?’ Bad breath too close.
‘Does she look like she wants to go with you? That’s my problem.’
The arms loosened and were drifting off.
‘Helen? Yer going t’ be all right.’ A hand was touching hers lightly, like she was a small forest creature.
Chapter 34
Helen blinked her eyes open, and saw green walls undulating. The shadows of leaves danced in the sunlight that had turned the light in the tent aquamarine. Helen looked down at her hands: her eyes focusing on all the lines that crossed them. That was her life line, her fortune line, her love line …
‘Amiga! Are you okay? Here, have some water.’ Elle’s braids brushed against her face.
Elle knelt next to her in the tent, and handed her a bottle of water. Helen hesitated for a moment then brought the bottle to her lips and sipped. It was water, cool and revitalising as she drank.
‘I was so worried about you! What do you remember?’
‘Brody.’
Elle grimaced.
‘I remember not liking Brody. I remember Fairy’s wings. I remember … I was alone and then there was a man who … what happened?’ Helen clutched at her clothes expecting to touch her old prom dress. Instead she was in Elle’s lilac tracksuit.
‘I shouldn’t have left you alone.’ Tears were filling in Elle’s eyes and she started flapping her hands to her face furiously. ‘I just wanted to meet that band … I’m so angry at myself. No, I’m so angry at him. Both of them.’
Helen reached out to hold Elle’s hand. ‘It’s okay. It was me. I wanted to be alone with Brody and I shouldn’t have drunk so much.’
Elle squeezed her hand hard. ‘Don’t be ridiculous love! You should be able to drink as much as you like, wear whatever you want, without … Rank. I’m so glad he was there to help.’
‘Who?’
‘Ish … You don’t remember?’
‘Ish?!’ Helen’s mind jogged back through what had happened. She was by the bonfire. She’d met Brody. She’d met Alice …
‘We met Alice, she was really nice …?’
‘Yeah she was a cool girl, though I wish she hadn’t given you her flask to drink …’
‘Then you went backstage to see Long Foolish Summer … and I went to the cliff tops with Brody … and he wasn’t the same …’
‘Maybe it’s less that he’s changed, more that you got to know him better.’ Elle shook her head like she was removing a bad memory from it.
‘And I was upset and I went through the utility bag and ate …’
‘Two mushroom chocolates …’
‘I actually think it might have been three …’
Elle made a sound that was half-laugh, half-cry. ‘And you were wasted …’
‘I was really wasted …’ Helen nodded.
‘And I went off to get you an orange juice, as that was meant to help you sober up …’
‘Doesn’t it make you more … high?’
‘Don’t go telling me you’re the expert now!’
