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His gaze met hers and Anna nodded. One second of contact, but she knew that he trusted her to look after Jen while he searched for Spark. Warmth flooded through her, and she got out of the car, hurrying over to Jen.
The three of them scanned the embankment on either side of the lines. Jen was crying now, and Jamie’s face was impassive as he concentrated on looking for some trace of Spark.
‘There!’ Jen screamed, pointing to spot on the embankment to one side of the bridge. The small, black-clad figure was sitting almost under the bridge, with her legs drawn up to her chest, as if she was trying to make herself as small as possible. And she was heart-stoppingly close to the tracks.
Jamie didn’t even look back. He started to run and Jen went to follow him, but Anna grabbed her, pulling her back.
‘Let me go...’ Jen swore at her.
‘Wait. Wait!’ Anna held her tight, waiting for her to stop struggling. ‘Listen to me, Jen. You need to calm down if you’re going to help Spark.’
Jen gulped down her tears. She saw the sense in it, and the only thing she wanted now was to help her friend. Anna just had to convince her that maybe she wasn’t the best person to do that, and that she should leave it to Jamie.
‘Do you know how she got down there?’ A high fence bordered the embankment, and Anna knew that Jamie was relying on her to try and find a way through for him.
‘There’s a hole. Just there, by those trees.’ Jen indicated a spot close to the end of the bridge.
‘Okay. He’s nearly there...’ Anna waited for Jamie to turn and look back at her, and he did so right on cue. She pointed towards the spot that Jen had indicated, and he vaulted across the low railings that separated the pavement from the rough ground beyond, sliding down the steep incline towards the fence.
‘No...’ Jen was gesturing furiously. ‘Further along...’
Jamie saw her, and turned. Then he gave a thumbs-up signal and disappeared behind the clump of trees and bushes that Jen had pointed out.
‘I’ve got to go... Let me go!’ Jen started to pull away from her again.
‘Jamie’s nearly there now. He’ll bring her back.’
‘But you don’t understand. She’s not trying to kill herself.’ Tears were streaming down Jen’s face again.
‘He knows. She’s feeling so much pain right now, and she’s just trying to find a way of expressing it. Jamie understands that.’
Jen wiped her face, calming suddenly. ‘She cuts herself, too.’
Anna wondered if Jamie knew that. He must realise it was a possibility, and he’d be taking everything into consideration right now. She put her arm around Jen’s shoulders and they watched as Jamie appeared, slithering down the steep slope of the embankment and then starting to walk towards Spark.
He stopped thirty feet away from her, and must have called to her because Spark turned. His movements were slow and controlled, all his body language reassuring. He took a couple more steps then sat down on the grass.
He edged closer, stopping when Spark flailed one arm in his direction in a gesture that told him to back off. They seemed to be talking, though, and slowly Jamie started to move closer again. He leaned forward, wrapping his fingers around her arm, and Anna heard Jen exhale sharply. They’d both been holding their breath.
Then Spark turned, almost flinging herself into Jamie’s arms. He hugged her tight for a moment then go
t her to her feet, moving her away from the tracks. Carefully he helped her back up the embankment, the two figures disappearing behind the trees as they made for the fence.
‘Oh! He did it...’ Jen shook off Anna’s arm and started to jog towards the end of the bridge. Anna let her go. Spark was out of danger now, and the two girls needed each other.
Jamie had wrapped his jacket around Spark’s shoulders and was helping her over the low fence, his arm around her as they walked to the pavement. Jen caught up with them, throwing her arms around Spark, and the two girls hugged each other. Anna felt a tear form at the corner of her eye and wiped it away. He was so gentle with the two girls, protecting them both but giving them a little space as well to walk together towards the car.
‘Why don’t you go and sit in the back of the car for a moment? Then we’ll take you back.’ Jamie opened the car door and the girls climbed in. Then he turned to Anna.
‘She’s okay.’ He answered the question before she’d had a chance to ask. ‘She’s cut her arm, but it’s not too deep. Maybe you could take a look at it when we get back to the youth centre?’
‘Of course. You’re not taking her home?’
‘She says she doesn’t want to go home and I didn’t push it with her. I’ll give Phil a call now and get him to ring her parents and tell them we’ve found her. They don’t live far from the youth centre and they know us so it might be better if they came there to collect her.’
He took his phone from his pocket and made the call. Then he looked up at Anna, his eyes shining.
‘Thank you.’
