Page 70 of The London Girls
Olivia had dropped low to give the child a hug. ‘Flo, these children are survivors. It’s why I wanted to bring you here. They’re only alive because of people like you and Jack who risk their lives every night. This is where they come when they’re discharged from hospital, if they have nowhere else to go; you may have even saved some of these children that you see here.’
Florence burst into tears then, she couldn’t help it. The children continued to laugh and play, their little voices lifting around her as Olivia’s arms found her and held her tight.This is where those children go. She thought of the family she’d saved in her first week on the job, the mother with the two children; could they be here somewhere, waiting for their mum to recover?
‘They’re alive because of you and others like you, Flo,’ Olivia whispered. ‘I needed you to see them, because I knew it would give you the strength to go back to work. I had a feeling that you were struggling more than you’ve let on, more than you’ve wanted to tell me.’
Florence nodded, not trusting that she wouldn’t cry again if she spoke.
‘This is the reason you can’t give up, Flo,’ Olivia said. ‘And when you return to work, every time it’s hard, every time you think you can’t keep going? You need to shut your eyes and think of these children.’
As a little hand found hers, tugging at her to come and see something, Florence felt something shift inside her. Olivia was right. She’d been so caught up in the pain of her memories, in her fear of something terrible happening again to someone she loved, that she’d forgotten what good she’d already done. What good they’d done night after night through the bombings.
She stepped out of Olivia’s embrace, mouthing ‘thank you’ before following the child whose hand had slipped so easily into hers.
Olivia had suffered so much pain, and yet somehow she’d turned her darkness into light. Florence already loved her, but this made her love her friend all the more.
‘I’m so lucky to have you in my life, Liv,’ she said, turning back to glance at her friend.
Olivia’s smile was as warm as sunshine. ‘It goes both ways.’
Six hours later, Florence was numb. When she’d turned up before the night shift started, the surprise and then relief in Jack’s eyes had told her she’d done the right thing in returning. She’d been filled with so much hope, so much determination, but it had fast become the most heart-wrenching, desperate night of her life, and she had the strangest feeling that she wasn’t even in her body any more; the day she’d spent with Olivia seeming like a lifetime ago. Jack was silent beside her, the toll of what they’d seen too much for any one person to deal with, let alone a person who’d lost his own family in the same way.
She wanted to shut her eyes to block out the terror, but Florence knew that, just like the memories of her own family, she would never be able to erase them, even if she tried to follow Olivia’s advice and think of the children. The smell of burned flesh, the sound of people screaming, the sight of the thick smoke that had seemed to engulf all of London, swirling and threatening to choke everyone in its path.
London had been on fire, the incendiary bombs starting a firestorm like nothing she could have ever imagined, and it still wasn’t all extinguished. The saddest part of her night had been,without a doubt, taking two firemen to the hospital, covered in burns and screaming out in pain. One of the men hadn’t made it, losing consciousness on the way, and she’d wondered if his friend had prayed for the same fate. She hated to think what he’d go through if he did live beyond the night.
They still had a long way to drive to get back to headquarters, having broken protocol to take another injured firefighter home to his family at the end of their shift, and Florence was grateful she could see the road. The smoke had been so thick in parts that it had completely obscured the road like fog, and it didn’t matter how tightly they had the windows wound up, the smoke had still seeped in and made them cough.
She blinked through her tears as she drove, her knuckles visibly white as she clutched the steering wheel.
Florence slowed as she passed something on the side of the road, the glint of metal catching her eye. The sky was already light now, the horrendous night of bombing over, but it took a second to realise what she was looking at.
Oh my god, it’s a motorcycle!
She pulled over, her hands starting to shake as she turned off the engine.
‘What are you doing?’ Jack asked, but she didn’t have time to answer him.
Florence leapt out of her seat, running across the road to check the motorcycle. She heard Jack limping behind her, and she called back to him, unable to take her eyes from the wreckage before her.
‘Check for a survivor,’ she cried.
It was then that her heart almost stopped beating.No. No, no, no, it can’t be.
Florence forced her feet to keep moving, dropping to her haunches as she reached her trembling fingers out to the soft pink ribbon. It was smudged with grease, or perhaps it was dirt, butthere was no mistaking that it was the ribbon Ava had told her about.
‘There’s no one here,’ Jack said, coming up behind her. ‘I’ve had a good look around the area.’
She tried to open her mouth but no words came out. Florence’s hands dropped to the ground in front of her as she tried to steady herself. After everything she’d been through, this was the moment that finally broke her.
‘Florence, what is it?’ Jack asked, lowering himself down beside her. ‘Tell me what’s wrong!’
She lifted her hand, opening her palm with the ribbon she’d tugged from the handlebars.
‘This is Ava’s motorcycle, Jack,’ she whispered. ‘It’s hers.’
Jack’s eyes met hers for a moment before he stood, holding out his hand. And it was then she saw the blood on the road.
‘We’ll find her. I promise you, Flo, we’ll find her.’
