Prologue
Elijah
3 years ago:
“Fancy a game?”I ran up behind Johnny, pouncing on his shoulders and grabbing his attention.
“Only if you’re grabbing the wings,” he joked at me, patting my shoulder back.
“Why me?” I looked straight at him raising my brow.
“Winner’s choice.” He laughed back cockily.
“Always the optimist, hey?” I chuckled.
“Nope, you’re rubbish at snooker. You only come for the escape,” he replied.
“Too true. Maybe the company, too,” I said shrugging my shoulders.
That earned me a man hug as we headed into the club and found our favourite spot between the television and the first free table. As we sat down with plans to blow off the steam of the last few days, Johnny’s mobile phone rang. He didn’t answer the call as it was an unknown number, but it didn’t seem to bother him. He sent me up to the bar insistent on his wings. I would make a mental note of the final score and if payback was due.
A persistent ringing echoed in the air as I gritted my teeth wishing for the owner of the mobile phone to answer the damn thing but when it stopped it was followed by a commotion around the room. I wonder what’s going on. As I turned, Johnny dropped a couple snooker balls to the ground, as if in slow motion. With his phone in his hand and the sudden change in his expression I knew that the call was more important than we had first thought.
“Johnny, wait up! What’s up?” I shouted across the noise.
When he turned, his face was vacant, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. I knew that whatever it was, he was lost in what had been said to him and here wasn’t the place to tell me.
Johnny grabbed his belongings and headed to the door, looking distraught. I reached for his shoulder, and he automatically grabbed mine back, gripping it as tightly as possible. As we stood outside, the fresh air hit, and his knees buckled as I turned him around and stopped him in his tracks.
“Johnny, breathe,” I said calmly.
His face was as white as a ghost.
“Police…” He managed shakily.
I wrapped my arm around him and hugged him, supporting him however I could. I had an undue sense of dread and it hit me that nothing would ever be the same again.
The silence between us was eerie. I didn’t want to talk in case the words he said were ones that I couldn’t cope with. The minute I saw the family liaison officer and two police officers, I drew two different conclusions. Both of which I knew had the power to destroy the world as we knew it.
The words ‘dead’, ‘car accident’ and his parents’ names hit my ears but the truth of them felt heavy, surreal. Paula and Trevor were young, only in their late forties. How could they leave us all behind?
Harlow was at the forefront of my thoughts. She needed to know.
I formulated a plan in my head. My only coping mechanism was going forward. I knew Johnny would want to tell her himself. I could read the emotion on his face as he tried to accept the news.
The journey was a blur. We arrived at Harlow’s school, Newton Carr Academy. The headteacher went to escort Harlow from her class to see us. I remembered the time vividly as the clock hit two-fifteen pm.
She walked through the door and looked between the two of us, unease on her face, unsure why we were there.
By the way Johnny was looking at me, I saw the world he knew was crumbling before him. Despite his need to tell her himself, I knew I needed to take matters into my own hands.
“Har… I need to talk to you.” I dropped down to my knees and grabbed her hands in mine.
Her eyes flitted across the room, trying to grab Johnny's attention, but he was lost in his own emotions.
“Elijah, this is weird. What is it?” She dropped her hands from mine, looking directly at me.
“There’s been an accident.” I held back my own emotions and focused on her. Roars were building inside me. “Your mama and dad,” I started. “I’m so sorry, Har…” I said softly.