Page 116 of A Long Way Back
“It’s gone,” Tay said.
Ink nodded.
“Apart from your intervention, I think Lennie giving me that helped me see sense. The thought of taking heroin… Had I sunk that low?”
“Obviously not or you’d have taken it. Craving for codeine gone?”
“I’ve been too busy to think about it.”
“What are you going to do if your head starts throbbing and you can’t cope?”
“You can give me a massage…with a happy ending.”
Ink choked out a laugh. “They gave me codeine at the hospital. Should I get rid of it?”
“No. I’m not going to take your codeine.”
WHEN THE BOXES, TAPE AND bubble wrap were delivered that afternoon, Tay sent Ink out into the garden with Dog. He showed the removal guy all that needed to go in the van and once Tay had paid him, by credit card, he left, and Ink and Dog were allowed back inside.
Tay packed the books and Ink lifted the sea glass piece from the wall and laid it on a sheet of bubble wrap on the table.
“This is beautiful,” Ink said.
“Jonty made it. He was always looking for sea glass. Mum and Dad drove us to Seaham, near Sunderland and we picked up loads. In the Victorian era, Seaham had the largest glass bottle works in the UK, and Seaham Hall Beach is full of fragments. Gives you backache, walking along bent over. Jonty was desperate to find some eyes.”
“Glass eyes?”
“Sort of. The glass used to be thrown into the sea and some of the leftovers fused together so they were dual coloured and looked like eyes. I kept telling him he could make a living creating pictures and sculptures but he never believed me.”
“What’s he like?”
“Short white blond hair, piercings in his ear, eyebrow and nipple. He’s about your height. You’re a bit slimmer and darker skinned. His eyes are this amazing bright blue, but not as beautiful as yours. He’s funny. His mouth runs a mile a minute and he thinksafterhe’s spoken not before, but somehow he gets away with it. You’d like him. Everyone likes him. Except his parents.”
“I have that in common with him.”
“Yeah. My parents called to ask what happened. I sort of outed myself.”
Ink stared at him.
“They were fine about it. They knew before I did.” He laughed.
“Because of how you were with Jonty?”
Tay nodded. “My mum wants to speak to you.”
“Right. Not yet.”
“Okay.”
They moved from the living area to the kitchen and began packing up the contents of the cupboards.
“Shall we have pasta?” Tay asked. “Might as well use up what we can from the freezer.”
Ink shrugged.
When everything that could be packed, had been packed, Tay grabbed Ink’s hand.
“It’s going to be okay,” he said quietly.
