Page 6 of Five Things I Love About You

‘Ooh, what?’ Sophie leans closer, eyes wide.

‘I heard him telling the police his name, and it began with J. Well, J. A. something.’

‘And that’s all you heard?’

‘Yeah.’

‘So James? Jason?’

I shrug. ‘Who knows?’ I sigh. ‘Anyway, after that someone told him he could go and I didn’t see him again.’

‘And then you dreamed about him?’ Sophie says.

‘Yes, just now.’ I rub my head. ‘It was definitely more than a dream though. It felt like… I don’t know. It felt real. Properly intense, like we were the only two people in the whole world.’ I stop and shrug. ‘Except he wasn’t really here, was he, so I don’t suppose it means anything at all.’

We sit in silence for a moment, before Sophie reaches into her bag. ‘I almost forgot, I brought you these,’ she says, pulling out a brown paper bag. I peer inside.

‘Grapes!’ Kirstie says, plucking one from the top of the bunch and popping it in her mouth.

‘You’ve got to bring grapes to hospital, it’s the law,’ Sophie says.

‘Thanks, Soph.’ I shove one in my mouth and chew slowly.

‘Does anything else hurt?’

I take a mental scan of my body. Apart from a dull ache in my head, a dry throat and my sore right wrist, the only other thing I can feel is a bruise on my right knee. I shake my head.

‘I think I might have got off lightly,’ I say.

‘Thank God you were wearing your helmet.’ Kirstie rubs my arm. ‘It could have been a lot worse.’

We’re all distracted by the sound of the curtain being drawn back and a nurse appearing.

‘Afternoon, ladies, do you mind if I just check my patient?’ he says. The look on his face doesn’t invite discussion and Sophie and Kirstie stand abruptly.

‘We’ll be back later,’ Sophie whispers, and they both disappear.

And as the nurse fits a blood pressure cuff round my arm and begins to inflate it, I let my mind drift off, back to the dream world where everything had felt otherworldly and amazing and a handsome man wanted to kiss me…

3

NINE MONTHS LATER

I’m lying in a tangle of covers, my eyes taking a moment to adjust to the milky light of early morning.

I glance at my phone which glows the time at me treacherously: 6a.m. Ugh, far too early.

I roll over, close my eyes and will myself to get back to sleep… back to the beach where I’d just spent a blissful few hours frolicking in the surf and sunbathing under a deep blue sky with a beautiful man…

But, no.

Next door’s dog is barking at something in the garden, a tap’s dripping in the bathroom, and I know my alarm is going to go off in an hour anyway… I give up.

I throw back my duvet, push my feet into my slippers and trudge grumpily through to the bathroom. While I stand under the steaming shower I try to recreate some of the magical moments from last night’s dream, but they’re like a will-o’-the-wisp, floating through my mind, evaporating before I can clasp them firmly in my hands. It’s infuriating.

But it’s the way it’s been for the last few months.

When I had the dream in hospital immediately after my accident, I decided Kirstie was right and it was just a result of the minor head injury I’d sustained. OfcourseI didn’t dream I was in love with a man I’d only glanced at briefly when I nearly ran into him on my bike. That would be insane.

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