Page 40 of The Bookshop at the Cornish Cove

‘Hey,’ Dennie said, stepping in and raising his voice. ‘That’s no way to talk to Nancy, sister or not. You’re out of order, mate!’

My head snapped around. While there was a part of me that loved that Dennis was sticking up for me, I was my own personand could stand up for myself. I didn’t need anyone else to fight my battles. I was perfectly capable of fighting my own.

Also, anyone with siblings would surely confirm,Icould slag off my brother, but no one else could.

‘Thank you, Dennis, but I can handle my own arguments thank you very much. I’ve managed perfectly well fighting my own battles for the last twenty-seven years, without anyone else interfering. I don’t need you! I don’t need anyone. You don’t know anything about us as a family. If you did, you’d know that he follows the same pattern every time. She upsets him. He takes it out on me. It’s just the way it is. Welcome to our family!’

‘And she’ll then tell me why she’s on her own,’ Dan added. ‘That she doesn’t want to end up like me. And that’s why she’ll never take a chance on love. Never gives anyone the chance to get close to her. She’s too scared that her heart will break. But sometimes you have to take the risk. To love is to live. How can you have a life without love?’

‘Well, I’d rather be alone, thank you very much. At least that way you don’t get hurt. Life is just full of people letting you down and at least my heart will always be protected if I don’t give it away to anyone. No thank you. Not for me. I’d rather live without love than go through this shit.’

Dan’s lip quivered. One minute he was talking about me and then he realised that he was actually talking about himself. His eyes welled up. I knew him well enough to know when he was about to break down and he flew across the room and into my arms. His body was heaving with sobs and we clung onto each other for dear life. My poor battered brother. I hated the way Sabrina treated him. I wished he’d wake up and realise what she was like. I wished he’d find someone else to show an interest. I stroked his back, trying to calm him down. Just like I always did.

Then I turned to Dennis, but he wasn’t there. All that was left on the table next to where he’d been standing was a full cup of coffee, hardly touched. He’d clearly left us to it.

I sighed. Dan looked up at me.

‘Sorry, sis, have I interrupted something?’

‘No, it’s fine. Don’t worry. It was nothing important.’

The click of the front doorafterthat sentence, indicating that he had probably heard every single word, was a sound that I could never forget.

23

Once Dan had calmed down, I left him curled up under a blanket on the sofa watchingThis Morning. I really did wish he’d sort things out with Sabrina once and for all. He couldn’t go on like this, for all our sakes as well as his own. His mental health was so fragile and I worried about him so much. But I also knew that he needed to be in the right place to deal with it. Sabrina was controlling him and she loved it. Classic narcissist behaviour. If you looked at the list of characteristics, she literally showed every single one. And it was so unfair.

My brother, my gorgeous, kind, lovely brother, was being totally and utterly manipulated. And I hated her for it. One day I would have my say with her, but not yet. Not until he was ready for me to do that. I just hoped that as a family we could pull together and get him into that place.

Dan’s words about my own love life had really hit home this time. Normally, they were like water off a duck’s back. They never really bothered me. But that was before Dennis had come into my life. This time it felt like he’d cut to the very core of me. And yes, I was scared. Scared of ending up in a relationship like this, where I was a puppet, and my strings were being pulledby my puppet master. But maybe he was also right and that if I never gave myself a chance, I’d end up alone for ever.

Dennis deserved an apology after my little outburst. He was important to me and I needed to show him that. After he’d opened up to me about the neglect from his own family, I could see now that my words may have seemed cruel towards him, and I owed it to him to say sorry. I genuinely was. I wouldn’t hurt him for anything in the world.

I practically ran and knocked on Vi’s door, and she seemed to take an age to answer. She smiled when she saw me. I must have looked like a drowned rat, the rain dripping off my hair.

‘He’s gone to the train station.’

‘He’s leaving?’

‘Yeah, not sure what’s happened between you two, but he was mighty hacked off. Said there was nothing here for him any more. Mumbled about the fact he thought there was but he was wrong. Said no one needed him here and that he’d be better off back in London. Charming, eh? Cheeky little bugger. What about his old nan? I’ve loved having him here.’ She looked at my face and could see how upset I was. Glancing at her watch, she said, ‘His train to Truro is in ten minutes. If you go now, you might catch him. Hurry though. And sort everything out, you daft tart, or I’ll have to bang your heads together!’

I leaned forward and kissed her papery soft cheek and she put her hands up to my face.

‘Go, Nancy. See if you can stop him leaving. He’s so shitting proud. Such a silly lad! He doesn’t realise what a little treasure he really is and how loved he is. Letting someone into your heart is hard you know, but it’s worth it.’ I wasn’t sure if she was talking about me or Dennie. ‘I could swing for his parents, they’ve damaged him more than they’ll ever know. Just when he felt like he was belonging somewhere, and fitting in, and well…you know. He loved spending time with you. And now he’s run away.’

I ran home, grabbed my bike, and pedalled with all the energy I could muster. My heart filled with joy at the thought of potentially having a relationship with Dennis and declaring my feelings to him. Butterflies in my tummy kept me going, but as I approached the level crossing and the gates came down, my heart sank. I frantically kept checking my watch until they were ready to rise again and allow the traffic to continue, and I sped towards the station as fast as the pedals would allow.

As I pulled into the car park, I saw that the train was still there on the opposite platform. I looked to the sky and mouthed ‘Thank you.’ Maybe Aunty Theresa had my back in more ways than one. I slammed on my brakes and leapt off my bike at the same time. The sound of clattering metal echoed around the empty car park as I tried to fling it into the grassy verge, but the back wheel caught on my dress. The bike didn’t go down fully, landing on my foot, and pulling me over in my haste, the bike somehow landing on top of me.

The whistle blew. And as I tried to pull the bike off me, I could only watch as the train slowly pulled out of the station.

And then the heavens opened.

Sobs wracked my body, and I wiped my snotty tears with my sleeve. I was too late. Too shitting late as Vi would say. As I sat with my head in my hands, I heard a gentle cough. I uncovered my eyes, and saw a pair of pristine white Prada trainers in front of me. I gasped as my gaze travelled further up the dark denim-clad legs, and the hem of a crisp white shirt.

Dennie removed the bike, which was balancing precariously on my leg, and propped it up against the nearest wall. Then he returned to where I was sitting, knelt before me, and I breathed him in as he took my face in his hands.

And then he kissed me.

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