Page 47 of One More Shot
The cool night air slaps me in the face as I break free from the crowd and into the tiny garden people are using as a smoking area. It’s noisy out here, but I can at least hear the dial tone as I wait for Nan to pick up.
She doesn’t.
I try again.
Nothing.
The world starts to spin. I feel like I’m going to faint or throw up or—
‘Eliott.’ Dane’s voice cuts through the haze I’m rapidly sinking into and, for a second, I can breathe easily. But then the reality of it all sinks in and I’m drowning again.
Nan.
Twelvemissed calls.
And now she’s not picking up.
Fuck.
My mind swims with worst-case scenarios that I have to furiously shake away before tears start to prick at my eyes.
‘I’ve got to go.’ I start pushing my way back through the crowd, but Dane tugs on my arm and holds me in place. ‘Dane, let go. I have to—’
He whirls me around and cups my face tenderly in his hands. ‘Breathe, baby. Breathe.’
My breath comes out in a dry, choked sob. ‘Ican’t, Nan is—’
Nan is what? Crumpled in a heap at the bottom of the stairs? Gasping for breath, unable to crawl out of bed? My mind flickers with images of Nan hurt, injured, and alone in her home.
Breathing gets even harder.
‘Have you tried your mum?’ His voice is calm and soothing, cutting through the alarm bells that are blaring in my mind. ‘Or your sister? Maybe she managed to get ahold of one of them.’
Logic cuts through my panic. He’s right. If Nan couldn’t reach me, she’d definitely try Mum or Leanne.
Mum doesn’t pick up at all, but Leanne answers on the second ring.
‘Oh my god, Elz, I was just thinking about you. You know that dress you have, the purple one? Can I—’
‘Leanne.’ I cut her off abruptly. We don’t have time for this. Not tonight. ‘Has Nan called you tonight?’
‘Nan?’ She hums and I can just picture her tapping her chin thoughtfully. ‘Oh. Yeah. She called me about twenty minutes ago, but I was in the shower and—’
‘Did you call her back?’
‘No?’ She sounds confused. ‘I told you, I was in the shower and I had to do my hair routine and you know how longthattakes, so—’
I hang up before I say something I know I’ll regret.
‘What about your brother?’ Dane is tapping away on his phone, but he looks up at me when he hears my groan of frustration. ‘Try him.’
‘Nan wouldn’t bother with Josh unless—’ I hiccup out a panicked breath. ‘Unless it was an emergency.’
I can’t decide whether I want Josh to have heard from her or not, as I wait for him to answer the call. That’s assuming he even does. Mum still hasn’t even texted me to ask why I called.
‘Yo.’
Relief floods through me, but it’s short-lived. ‘Josh, has Nan called you tonight?’
