Page 102 of The First Time I Saw You
‘We did it, Michael, we made it.’
I close my eyes and stay slumped by the side of the road, just as I hear the growl of an engine. I open my eyes, sit up and squint towards the sound, where a light is bumping up and down the road towards me. I stand and begin waving my arms as it approaches; the growl slows into a grumble and the driver door opens and closes with a thud.
‘Samuel?’ a deep voice asks. I focus on the parts of his face that I can make out, the lights from the car showing me that another brick has been added: the circle of light is shrinking faster.
‘Yes,’ I answer, my voice battered and bruised.
I feel a firm grip on my shoulder. ‘You stink of sheep shit.’
‘I know,’ I reply.
‘I’m Charlie, Sophie’s neighbour.’
Blue lights flash from beneath the forest, my name being shouted by – three? four? five? – people.
I can’t help but think of the irony of screaming for help for hours with nobody around, and then after I’ve slithered my way through the decay and excrement of the Welsh hills, that there are now four people here looking for me.
‘We need to get you to hospital,’ Charlie says.
‘I don’t need to go to the hospital. My ankle is a bit bashed up, but I need to get to Sophie.’
‘That’s why you need to get to the hospital. She’s in labour.’
‘Labour? But—’
‘They’re not going to let you see her smelling like that,’ he adds.
I hear the boot opening; feel the wave of a blanket being shaken and then he takes me by the elbow and leads me inside the car. My teeth are chattering and I try to control them. The heater on the car is turned up as he calls the police and explains that I’ve been found.
‘How quickly can I get to her?’ I ask. ‘I don’t want her to go through this by herself.’
‘Your dad is with her. She’s not alone.’ Charlie speaks in strange, blunt sentences; it’s hard to amalgamate this with the rock-star image I’d had of him.
‘Da?’ I say, and I shake my head. If I had just waited for that other flight, I would be with her now. ‘Good man,’ I say quietly. My da. He always manages to save me. One way or another.
‘Yeah. I’ll ring him when we get home,’ Charlie says. The car bumps and sways up the road and I realise I was still a long way from Sophie. It slows, then the engine cuts out and I’m guided inside. I have no idea where furniture is or if there is mess on the floor. Charlie seems to instinctively know this as he steers me towards the stairs by my elbow; he says nothing as we climb the stairs or as he guides me into the bathroom.
‘Sit down,’ Charlie instructs, and I feel for the toilet seat. The tap is turned on and I hear a plastic cup being filled. He places it in my hand and I swallow it down in huge gulps. ‘Keep still, you’ve got cuts all over your face.’ I flinch as he wipes my skin with antiseptic, his movements slow and gentle. I notice he smells of soap and mints as he picks up my hand, turns it over and repeats the action.
‘How is she?’ I ask.
‘I don’t know. I’ve been away. I shouldn’t have left her.’ He places my hand on my knee. ‘You’re done.’ I hear him shift and the shower is turned on. ‘There’s a towel on the hook at the back of the door, opposite the shower,’ he adds. ‘I’ll leave you some clothes on the bed, second door as you come out of here. The trousers will be too small.’
‘Thank you,’ I say. Tears threaten, and the emotion tightens my chest. I sense rather than hear him give me a nod.
The police have arrived. I take careful steps down the steep stairs. Without Michael, it takes me longer to navigate. A waft of aftershave and a flash of dark hair lets me know that the uniform by my side is a man and he helps me towards the sofa, returning shortly after with a cup of tea and two biscuits. There is too much sugar and not enough milk but it is the best tea I have ever had, and the cup is empty too soon. The police ask me a few questions as I swallow the biscuits and I answer them impatiently.
‘Can we go now? I need to get to Sophie.’ I stand up, the edges of Charlie’s jeans scraping above the socks, and I’m grateful that I can’t see the state of myself.
‘I’ve tried to call, but Sophie’s phone’s not answering,’ Charlie says. ‘But I’m sure everything is fine.’
‘First baby, is it?’ The deep voice from the policeman booms into the room, and I wonder if he sings.
‘Yes,’ I answer.
‘Right then.’ The policeman claps his hands. ‘Looks to me like you need to be blue-lighted to the hospital, then!’ His partner groans.
‘Can I drive?’ the other officer asks.
