‘That’s brilliant news!’ Anna sat up in bed, genuinely happy for her friend. Eva had been waiting for news on her prosthetic limb for a while — Anna knew she was desperate to get going with it so she could be up and walking again. ‘Do you want me to come and photograph it?’
‘If you’re up to it?’
‘Of course I’m up to it. I wouldn’t miss this for the world. What time?’
* * *
Feeling thirsty, Anna made her way downstairs to make a cup of tea. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten, but couldn’t face the thought of food. She was grateful that the house was empty to give her time to process the situation. She was on her own now. Her dreams of a life with Daniel gone. She shook herself. There was no point dwelling on it. She would just have to get on with things. She was glad she had tomorrow to concentrate on. She would focus on that for now, then take a leaf out of Eva’s book and take it one day at a time. She sat down at the kitchen table and braced herself to pick up her phone. There were several missed calls from Daniel and a ream of text messages. Anna deleted them without reading them. She knew she had to speak to Daniel — he deserved that at least. She should try to make up for the way she’d slunk out in the early hours of the morning. But not now. She couldn’t face it now.
She took a deep breath and steeled herself for the next thing she needed to do. She clicked into Instagram, looking for the post she hoped she wouldn’t find. But there it was. The very moment Verity had launched her glass of champagne into her face. Almost as though the photographer had known it would happen and when.What a coincidence. The phrase “today’s news is tomorrow’s chip wrapping” ran through her head. Only these days it wasn’t like that. These days, once something was online, it was there for life, for all to view for ever. Whenever there was anything new to say about a person those photographs could be dragged up in an instant for all the world to see.
‘Well, thank you, Lucinda,’ she muttered. ‘Now my humiliation is complete.’ She sipped at her tea, grimacing because it had gone cold. Lucinda may have won in terms ofsplitting her and Daniel up, but Anna wouldn’t let her win completely.The best revenge is success, she told herself. She was determined that whatever she decided to do she would be successful, just to spite Lucinda and her friends.
* * *
‘So, here she is, your new leg,’ the physiotherapist said.
‘She’s beautiful.’ Eva stroked the metal lovingly.
‘Most people give them names. But that’s up to you.’
‘I will give her a name. Something that’s going to give me my independence deserves one. I’ll have to think about the right one though.’
‘I know this is a cliché, but you need to understand it’s going to take time. It’s going to be metal against flesh for a while, so it will rub at first and you’ll have to take it in small bursts, while you become acclimatised.’
‘Okay, I understand.’
Standing in the background, filming the first time Eva would put on her prosthetic limb, Anna marvelled again at how upbeat and positive Eva always seemed to be. She was sure that she had her moments, where despair would hit her, but she never showed it in these sessions. Here she was always prepared to go the extra mile, to make the best of her situation. Eva was definitely the kind of person Anna wanted to emulate.
The time passed quickly as Anna concentrated on getting the best shots and videos of her friend, and she was glad that she had something positive to focus on.
* * *
Daniel groaned as his phone rang and Lucinda’s number flashed up. Hadn’t she got the message? He stared at his phone as it rang, contemplating whether or not to answer it. But what if she was phoning about Ben? And there it was. The reason they’d always have to stay connected.
He accepted the call. ‘Lucinda,’ he said curtly.
‘Daniel! He’s gone!’
‘What do you mean? Who’s gone?’ He wondered what drama Lucinda was trying to create. Had she split up with Axel? Was she using that to try to pull him back in?
‘Ben! Ben’s gone.’
A shiver of fear ran down Daniel’s spine. Not just at her words, but at her voice, which he now realised was genuinely hysterical.
‘Ben’s gone? Where’s Ben gone?’
‘I don’t know! He didn’t come down for breakfast so I went to wake him up. His bed was empty and his backpack is gone.’
‘Shit!’ Daniel was suddenly very afraid. ‘Have you phoned round all his friends?’
‘Not yet, no. I thought he might have come to yours.’
‘Start phoning. I’ll be round as soon as I can.’ Daniel picked up his keys and ran to his car.
The journey to Lucinda’s house was a blur. All he thought about was Ben. Where had he gone? Was he safe? And he thought of all the dangerous people who were out in the world, who could harm his precious, innocent nine-year-old son.
* * *
