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“What’s happening? Where is he?” I ask.
Flora wraps her arms around me in a rib-crushing hug I didn’t know I needed.
“Is he okay?” I ask, almost buckling in her embrace. “No one has any answers. I need to see him.”
She lets go of me and dabs her eyes with her fingertip. “I don’t know much yet. He’s in surgery. Come and sit with us.”
“Oh,” I say like an absolute idiot. “Surgery.”
Well, obviously. He was stabbed. I ball my fist and press it to the churning in my stomach as bile creeps up my throat.
Flora sucks in a breath and says, “He’s going to be fine. Casper can get through anything by strong, stubborn will alone.”
I hope she finds comfort in her words because I don’t.
She leads me to a small room where Marvin and Frederick are sitting.
They both stand to hug me. I cling to them one by one, slowly losing my mind.
“Freya is parking the car,” I tell Marvin, wiping my eyes.
He gives me another hug. “Okay, I’ll go meet her.”
I sit next to Flora as she clings to Frederick’s arm while Marvin runs to catch up with Freya.
“Who did this?” I ask.
Frederick shakes his head. “I don’t know, but I soon will. I’ve been liaising with the police, and the gym manager says the area is covered by CCTV. Whoever it was, they will spend the rest of their life behind bars. You have my word on that.”
Flora pats his arm. “Let’s focus on our son, Frederick. He’s all that matters right now.”
Frederick leans back in his seat, and I get the impression that he’s not good at sitting still and waiting. He needs to do something practical to stop his mind wandering… so he can’t consider the possibility of burying his child.
I wish there was something that would distract me right now.
“He knows that I didn’t want to break up, didn’t he?” I ask. “You know about that?”
“We spoke to him, and, darling, of course he did. He called me after he’d got home. I’m so sorry you found out that way. I can promise you that we didn’t take much convincing once he told us how amazing you are.”
That only makes me feel worse.
“How was he on the phone?” I ask.
“Miserable and guilt-ridden, but he knew the risks that came with not being honest with you from the start. Giving you space didn’t sound like his favourite thing to do, but he was determined to win you back.”
“I wish I’d let him in. We could have talked it through and then he would have never gone to the gym—”
“You didn’t cause this. Ainsley, my son has never been happier than he’s been with you. There will be arguments along the way but you keep going. This isn’t the last argument you will have. In those moments, lean on the fact that you will work through them. Be open and honest, even when it hurts or leaves you vulnerable. I had this same conversation with my son.”
“What the hell! Where is he?” Penelope cries, bursting into the room.
I’ve never met her before, only briefly on FaceTime, but I recognise her instantly. She has the same pale, glassy grey eyes and inky black hair. She’s not as put together as she was then. Her hair is messy, and she’s wearing loungewear as if she just chucked on the first thing she saw.
I haven’t even looked in the mirror this morning. I don’t care.
Her parents greet her and fill her in. We don’t know much. Certainly no more than he was stabbed and is still in surgery. While he’s there, he’s not dead.
Freya and Marvin are close behind, then Imani and Reggie.
