‘Sofia,’ Emma gasped. ‘Sam’s fallen down the stairs and is unconscious. Harry’s called an ambulance.’ She filled her in, then silently waited while Cooper called Annie, and once again handed the phone back.
‘Annie? Are you at home? Oh, thank God…’
Once Sofia was on her way to Sam, with Annie and Bridget close behind, Emma finally let go of his hand.
‘I’ll drive.’ Ben had at some point in the scramble of the past few minutes come to stand beside them. ‘I’ve only had one beer.’
‘You don’t have to do that,’ Emma said. ‘I can get a taxi. Or we could wait until morning. My sisters are on their way. I’m sure Orla will be home soon. There’s no need to ruin everyone’s holiday. I’m sure it’ll turn out to be nothing. Just a nasty scare for Harry. Sam’ll be fine…’
‘Come on.’ Cooper put one arm around her, steering her back up the lane. ‘I’ll pack while you change into something more comfortable. We’ll be home within a couple of hours.’
* * *
Emma
Ben dropped me off at Orla’s around one. Cooper had sat in the back and held my hand the whole time. I told him not to bother coming in. Sam had been taken to A & E at the hospital in Mansfield, and Bridget and Sofia were there waiting for any updates. Annie was with Harry, and Lottie and Oscar were fast asleep.
‘Call me if you need anything.’ Cooper had unloaded my bag and carried it into Orla’s house for me, in case I wanted a change of clothes or my toothbrush. ‘Anything at all. Or just to talk.’ He pressed a kiss to the top of my head, and I ached with the unfamiliar comfort of knowing someone had made me their priority.
‘Thanks. I’ll keep you updated.’
‘Please do. Even if it’s still the middle of the night.’
It was after two when Orla stumbled through the front door. Annie was dozing on the sofa with Harry’s head on one shoulder, so I jumped up to intercept.
‘Orla!’ I whispered as she tried to yank off her ankle boot.
‘What the hell?’ She spun around, hand pressed to her chest. ‘Bloody hell, Emma, you scared the life out of me. What are you doing here?’
Then she saw the look on my face.
‘What’s happened?’ She froze, one boot still on.
‘If you had your phone with you, I’d have been able to tell you.’
Her eyes darted away, the guilt rippling across her face. ‘I forgot it. Sam and I had a row and I left in a hurry. You know what he’s like at the moment.’
‘At the moment he’s in King’s Mill A & E.’
She whipped her head back to look at me, as her features crumpled. ‘What?’ She began trying to shove her boot back on, instead succeeding in toppling into the coat rack.
‘Come on, let’s sit in the kitchen and I’ll tell you what’s happened.’
‘Screw the kitchen! I need to get to the hospital! I need to be with Sam. Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no. Is he okay? He’s not okay. I knew something was wrong. I knew he wasn’t himself. Dammit. I need to get there. DAMMIT! WILL SOMEBODY DRIVE ME TO THE HOSPITAL, PLEASE?’
‘Orla. ORLA!’ I gripped both her hands, pulling them against my chest so she had to pay attention to my face, right in front of hers. ‘Harry’s in the living room. Keep your voice down. He’s upset enough without hearing his mum freaking out.’
‘Did he see it? Did he see Sam? What happened?’ Orla managed to pull herself together enough to stop shouting and sit down on the kitchen bench. I told her what had happened, including about the empty bottle of vodka and blood all over the hall floor, pulling her up against my shoulder so Harry wouldn’t hear her wail.
‘I was with Jim. I was with Jim, dancing and laughing and letting him put his hands around my waist, and my Sam was lying on the hall floor. Oh, Sam. Can we go now? Will you drive me? Will you take me to Sam?’
Knowing that my earlier two drinks would be well clear of my system by now, I drove Orla’s car the fifteen minutes to the hospital. I dropped her off with Sofia and Bridget, who hustled her towards the A & E bay where Sam lay, still unconscious.
Annie would need at least one extra pair of hands in the morning, so I left my sisters to it and sped back to Hatherstone, praying the whole way.
* * *
The verdict was concussion, three snapped knee ligaments, a broken collarbone, and enough alcohol churning in Sam’s veins to have potentially caused lasting damage.
