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Prologue
21 December 2004
Elena held Teddy tightly. He always understood and gave the best hugs.
‘Mummy’s had an accident,’ she whispered to her bear, as if saying the words more loudly might cause a bad outcome. ‘The police came to the door. Daddy’s gone with them to the hospital. Auntie Gayle is downstairs making me something to eat but I’m not hungry. Not even for a slice of my birthday cake that we never got to cut. Mummy iced a big number ten on top.’
She pushed back the covers and shivered, despite burning up with the hot tears that made her feel sick, along with the temperature Gayle said she was running. Tonight the roads were icy and the police thought that was one reason the other car hit Mummy’s. Elena was about to look out of the window. She was tempted to sneak outside, to cool off – to desperately look for her driving down the street as if nothing had happened. However, the phone rang and Auntie Gayle’s voice carried upstairs. Elena went onto the landing.
‘Elena is okay, Don, upstairs in bed. No… don’t worry, I’ll stay here for as long as it takes.’ Auntie Gayle listened for several minutes. ‘Are the doctors sure?’ she asked eventually, voice wavering. ‘There’s really no hope she’ll recover?’
The landing spun for a moment before Elena dropped Teddy on the floor and rushed downstairs. Auntie Gayle’s eyes filled and she passed her the phone. When the call ended, after Daddy said goodbye, Elena threw up on the floor. She’d never heard him cry before.
* * *
The next morning, Elena woke up and beside her, on the pillow, lay a playing card with a fancy back. The king of hearts? She had no idea where it came from. She yawned and sat up. Teddy lay, nestled in her arms, undisturbed by the jolt that ripped through Elena’s body as it all came back. The police, the call with Daddy and then… Elena had sneaked out; she’d gone to the woods and… She gulped at the memory of the stranger in the purple shawl, of the terrible promise Elena had made to help her mum… Shaking, she covered her face with her hands. They dropped away when the door creaked. It opened slowly and Auntie Gayle came in.
‘I’ve let you sleep in, sweetheart, but you should know that… You see… this morning the hospital rang and…’
Holding her breath, Elena stared at Auntie Gayle, willing her words to be happy ones.