Chapter 12
SCARLETT
George loads the final box into my car. He turns and throws his arms around me. I wasn’t expecting this. I’ve only met him a handful of times, and he’s never come across as the affectionate type. I hug him back. He breaks away. ‘See you on Saturday.’
‘Sure. I’ll make sure I’m on the first carriage. Can we keep what you told me about Daisy to ourselves for the time being? You know, the bit about her being on antidepressants. Mum’s not in a good place. She doesn’t need to know about this at the moment.’
‘I’m not sure I’ll see your mum anytime soon.’
‘You know how rumours can spread.’
‘Yeah, fair enough.’
I watch him walk away. He looks older than his twenty years, his back bent and his shoulders drooped as if he’s carrying the weight of the world.
I wonder if he’s told me everything he knows about my sister.
What’s clear, though, is that this guy is as dogged as me in finding out what happened to Daisy.
The question is: how long will he stay in the hunt?
When uni work starts piling the pressure on again next month, I’m not sure he’ll find the time.
I return inside the flat and sit on Daisy’s mattress one last time. The room is cold and empty, like her body in her grave. I let out a large breath and remove my phone from my pocket.
My fingers shake as I google A Meeting of Minds and read about Marcus Aurelius, the mindfulness expert, the motivational speaker, who owns the organisation. Marcus Aurelius – where have I heard that name before?
The website looks slick and professional.
No cheap cuts here. The header shows a picture of him from the waist up.
He’s a studious-looking guy, casually dressed in a navy shirt over a white T-shirt, dark hair with waves of grey and a scruffy beard.
I may be stereotyping, but he looks exactly how I’d expect a counsellor to look.
It makes for interesting reading. His bio is a tidy career arc: After completing a postgraduate certificate in education, Marcus Aurelius went on to teach psychology in various secondary schools for ten years, while building his psychotherapy practice specialising in addiction.
A Meeting of Minds came about because he wanted an avenue for people who’d hit rock bottom and wanted to climb out.
It’s all about breaking through barriers of limitation to be the best you can be, the About Us section of the website says.
He speaks at the events of A Meeting of Minds he holds every other month across the country and also attends various functions and events as a guest motivational speaker.
This guy is a big deal with a growing following, it seems.
I turn to the event this weekend in Brighton that George and I have arranged to attend, where Marcus Aurelius is also running a two-hour talk.
But this talk, it states, isn’t just for two hours.
It’s a lifetime commitment to YOU, with solid guidance to enable YOU to regain control of YOUR life and break through barriers to create the future YOU want to live.
It’s as if I’ve read this somewhere before. Then it clicks. One of the quotes Daisy had on her pinboard was by this man: ‘Only YOU have control of your future.’
During the drive back to Cambridge, I listen to one of Marcus Aurelius’s hour-long podcasts.
A masterclass about treating each new day as a new opportunity.
A chance to move forward in your life. Get up with purpose and embrace whatever the day throws at you.
His tone is smooth, melodic and very engaging.
Daisy must’ve fallen down a deep dark hole and been trying to climb back out of it through all of this mind-changing material. I must admit, it’s addictive. I listen to the end.
I need to meet this guy.