Page 22 of You've Got The Love
“I think Yuki has a new favourite,” Bas says from behind his coffee cup.
“She’s a beautiful girl. Did you name her Yuki, or was that already her name when you got her?”
“Abel named her,Yukiis a character from one of his favourite cartoons,‘Galacktik Football’,”
“That’s brilliant, I love that. She slept in with me last night. She turns into a right little lump,”
“Oh, that she does. Have you had any pets before?”
“Yes, I grew up at home with dogs.Border Collieswere Nans’ favourite. We had a few cats, and I had a horse. I loved him. He was calledBentley.”
“Oh wow, a horse. They’re expensive, right?” Bas enquires as he clears away our breakfast bowls.
“Yes. Very. I was lucky that my aunt was a riding instructor, so in exchange for helping out around the yard—mucking out the stables, tacking up the horses, and keeping the yard clean—I got free lessons. Then, Dad bought me Bentley for my sixteenth birthday. He was such a great horse; he was a piebald, meaning he was black and white–splotchy like a cow’s markings. I loved him; he was a good boy,” I smile, remembering the day I got him. I was so happy I cried.
“So was that your‘thing’while you were growing up? Horse-riding?” He asks as he comes to sit next to me and begins to stroke Yuki. What I’d give for him tostroke me.
“Bell?”
“Uh… yes, sorry, I was a million miles away then,” … imagining your hands stroking me like a good girl… damn those spicy romance novels. “Yes, I was very much a horsey girl. As you know, I’m scared of sharks, and living on an island makes that ten times worse. Unlike most of my friends, I wasn’t into water sports, so I spent all my free time at the stables. Those were great times, I miss having a horse,” I say with a hint of melancholy in my voice.
“What’s stopping you now?”
“For one, as you pointed out, they are expensive, so running a small business and owning a horse takes a lot more money than I make, and two, the time. They really take up a lot of time to look after one properly. But three, after losing Bentley, I’m not sure my heart could take it again.”
Bas wraps his big arm around me and gently kisses my forehead, and I have to check that I haven’t melted into a puddle on his kitchen floor.
“I’m sorry,liefje,”
As I’m about to ask him what that means, my burner phone rings on the kitchen counter, and Bas jumps up and grabs it for me.
“Hello?” I say as I smile up at Bas.
“You need to leave.Now. Get in his fuckin’ car and run!” Dad shouts down the phone at me; he sounds out of breath.
“Slow down, Dad. What are you talking about?”
“No fuckin’ time to explain, grab your shit andgo!I’ll call you in ten minutes. You better be on the move.”
All I hear is the rushing of blood in my ears as I stare at my phone.
“What the fuck was that about?” Bas asks.
I don’t feel anything. Not Yuki’s fur between my fingers, or the fresh air blowing in from the window next to me. All I feel is numb. Nothing. Time feels like it’s frozen. I feel like I’m stuck in this nothing for what feels like hours. I’m in some kind of weird bubble.
“Amber!” Bas’s shout breaks through my nothingness, so I gaze up at the beautiful man, not sure what he wants.
“Yes?”
“What is going on? What did Jack want? Talk to me,liefje.”
There’s that word again. I hope it means something nice. Wouldn’t that be lovely?
All of a sudden, Bas is shaking me, and he pulls me out of my bubble back to what I think must be reality.
“What’s happening?” Bas begs.
“We have to go. Right now. I don’t know why. Dad said to pack our shit, get in the car and go. He’ll call in ten minutes, and he wants us on the road then.” I tell him calmly. Like I’m not talking about real life, but the plot in a movie.
