Page 78 of Save Us
Silence settles between us again. I feel like we’re spending more time on this call not speaking than talking to each other.But maybe that’s not such a bad thing. Being quiet with someone can prompt a whole bunch of stuff too.
I can almost feel Cy trying to process what I’ve just told him. And at the same time, I’m remembering everything that binds us together—days when we skipped school and went clothes shopping in London. Nights we just talked, and times when I thought I’d never have another friend like him.
Right now, I realize one thing—I can’t imagine a future without Cyril in it. And however badly he hurt me, I don’t want to lose him.
“Can you deal with that, Cy?” I ask quietly.
He clears his throat, and it sounds like he wants to answer, but nothing comes out. I stare at the bright pink flowers in Ophelia’s garden. When I arrived here, they were still just buds, but now they’re fully out.
“D’you think I’d make a cool uncle?” he says eventually on the other end of the line.
A tentative smile twitches at the corners of my mouth. I feel my heart lightening. “You’ll definitely be a cool uncle.”
Ruby
“I’ve got something for you,” says James.
I look up at him from my book. I’ve been lounging in the garden for over an hour, and James is standing by my chair, smiling at me. There’s a little pile of papers in his hand.
“That sounds mysterious. What is it?” I ask, clapping the book shut—but not without marking my place first.
James walks around the table and sits down opposite me. I tryto get a glimpse of the papers, but he folds them up and presses them to his stomach.
“What are your feelings on surprises?” he asks.
I immediately think back to our date in that restaurant conservatory. James surprised me that evening, and it’s one of my favorite memories with him.
“I like surprises from you. I think,” I add, which makes him grin.
“I’d like to take you away for the weekend.”
I bolt upright, so suddenly that the book almost slides off my lap. I grip on to it with both hands. “When?”
He nods. “Now. If you like.”
I can’t help the smile that’s now spread over my whole face. “Where?”
“That’s the surprise.”
“James!”
Now he laughs. “You need overnight stuff.”
Suddenly, I’m all antsy. “And we’re leaving right now?”
“As soon as you’re packed.”
I stand up. The whole way through the garden, I can feel James’s eyes on my back, and before I walk into the house, I turn to face him again. The look in his eyes makes my heart beat faster.
He looks happy.
As I pass the kitchen, I stick my head around the door. Mum’s standing at the counter, slicing onions, while Dad drizzles oil into a pan.
“James has invited me on a weekend away,” I say, not quite keeping the excitement out of my voice.
Mum turns around. “We know. He asked us first if we minded.”
“Do you know where we’re going?”
