Page 80 of The London Girls
He grimaced and she moved a little, hoping she wasn’t hurting him.
‘It’s my leg,’ he said, and he shifted the sheet, still grimacing as he adjusted his position. ‘I was sent home to see if they could save it, but it’s not looking good.’
She blinked at him, trying not to react. He was alive. That was all she needed to focus on, the fact that he was there. ‘I see. Well, I hear we have the best of the best surgeons here, so—’
‘It’s not looking good, Liv. No amount of positive thinking is going to help me with this one.’ He sighed. ‘I’ve come to terms with it, I’ll accept what has to be done, but I just want a chance to save it. If there’s even a slim chance, I just ...’ She watched as he swallowed, clearing his throat. ‘All I want to know is that I’ve done everything I can to keep it first.’
Olivia stayed silent a moment, clearing her own throat and refusing to let her emotions get the better of her. Seeing her strong, strapping big brother reduced to a shell of his former self, in a narrow hospital bed and fighting back tears, it was almost too much to bear. ‘Well, I’ll tell you what is going to help you, and that’s hearing about my job.’
‘Oh yeah? My little sister the Wren, huh?’
She grinned. ‘Your little sister themotorcycledispatch rider, actually.’
‘I don’t believe you!’ he laughed.
‘Well, you’d better believe me,’ she said, loving that she’d made him smile. ‘I told everyone that you taught me how to ride, and when I’m out there sometimes, it’s like it’s you and me again, racing as kids. I can actually see you beside me.’
‘Can you also still hear Mother shouting bloody murder from the front door? I thought she was going to have my hide for taking you out there with me, but it was worth it. It was always worth it.’
They both erupted into laughter then, and she squeezed his hand. ‘It’s so good to have you home, Petey. I don’t know how I could have survived if you hadn’t made it.’
He nodded, but the loss they both shared stretched between them, unspoken but unmistakably there. He’d made it home, against all odds, and somehow Leo had died on home soil. It just didn’t seem fair, but then nothing about war seemed just or fair.
‘You just focus on getting back on a motorcycle, you hear me?’ she said. ‘I want to see if I can finally beat you now that I’m riding every day.’
‘You’re already back at work?’ he asked. ‘After, well, you know.’
‘Only just,’ she said. ‘But I couldn’t start my shift today without seeing you first.’
Pete smiled up at her. ‘Anyone ever tell you you’re the world’s best sister?’
She laughed. ‘Only you, Petey. I don’t think our brothers share that feeling.’
‘The two of us against the world,’ he said, and she saw unshed tears clinging to his lashes. ‘It was always just the two of us, wasn’t it?’
‘The two of us against the world,’ she repeated, dropping a kiss to his forehead and hugging him.
‘I’ll be back to see you again tomorrow,’ she whispered. ‘I promise.’
‘Ava, is that you?’
Olivia walked closer and saw that it was indeed Ava, sitting on her haunches, wearing overalls and working on a motorcycle.
‘I decided that if I can’t ride,’ Ava said, grunting as she used a spanner to tighten a bolt, ‘I can help you all out with mechanical problems and take some of the workload.’
‘Well, you do make a very pretty mechanic,’ Olivia teased. ‘Although I have to say, I think it’s the first time I’ve seen you with tools in your hand. Should we trust you?’
‘You most certainly can trust me,’ Ava said, standing and wiping her hands on her overalls. ‘I have a bit of catching up to do, but I’m actually liking the manual work. I also appreciate the fact that you didn’t tell me I should be home in bed the moment you saw me.’
‘Should you be?’ Olivia asked.
Ava just raised her eyebrows in reply.
‘You’re a big girl, Ava. If you choose to be here, then that’s up to you,’ Olivia said. ‘Trust me, I know what it’s like to not want to be at home, and you were the one who encouraged me instead of telling me what was best for me.’
Olivia put her bag away and sat down on the concrete floor, telling Ava all about her reunion with her brother, happy to see unexpected late-afternoon sunlight make a pool of brightness on the ground nearby. The garage door was open for riders to come and go during the day, and there was something about seeing the sun that made her feel positive about the future, about what was yet to come, rather than dwelling on what she’d lost or left behind.
She sat for an hour or more, until Ava had no more repairs to do and came to sit beside her on the ground. She had sandwiches she’d made earlier in the day, and she shared them with Ava, the pair of them content to sit and eat as the sky turned dark.
