Chapter 39
BETH
I rush into the house, wondering where Hattie is. ‘Hattie, no!’ I race across the kitchen. ‘Stop!’
I startle her, much to my horror. Her frail hand drops the kettle. It clanks onto the worktop. A spurt of boiling water shoots out of the spout. She cries out in pain as a splash catches her wrist.
I take her arm. The sickness comes at me in waves now.
She holds her thin arm in the air, her silver bangles tinkling as they fall to her wrist. ‘It hurts.’ A pitiful cry slips from her lips. ‘Get my Harold.’
‘It’s OK, Hattie.’ I study the mark on her skin. ‘It’s not bad.’ I don’t want Justin to have to take her to hospital. I need him here with me.
What the hell was that girl doing? She should never have left Hattie on her own.
She’s far too vulnerable. An angry red mark blemishes the poor woman’s skin.
‘We need to get it under the tap.’ Inside, I’m reeling.
What have I been telling him all this time?
That girl is a liability. I can’t believe she’s left Hattie alone in the house and gone for a swim.
Thank goodness we weren’t too far away. The traffic was a blessing in the end.
Justin spun the car around and sped back here.
Otherwise, we’d already be at the hospital.
Then who knows how this would have played out.
I guide Hattie to the sink and, one by one, carefully remove her bangles.
Her wailing penetrates me. I shouldn’t have to be going through all this.
All I want is a peaceful life. Time to sit and relax, read my books, go for a walk when I feel like it.
‘Calm down, Hattie.’ I strain my neck to see what’s going on outside.
Justin is stomping towards the end of the jetty.
‘It hurts,’ Hattie cries, diverting my attention from what’s going on outside.
‘It’s going to be OK.’ I turn on the taps, adjust the temperature and hold her arm under cool running water.
She tries to pull away, calling out for Harold. ‘Where is he?’
‘He’s not here today, Hattie. I’ll help you.’
Immy has made a dreadful mistake leaving her unattended.
I hope Justin listens to me now.
I talk to her in soothing words, while trying to keep an eye on what’s going on outside.
Justin is standing at the end of the jetty, holding out a towel for Immy.
The image turns my stomach. Immy’s head appears at the top of the steps.
She swipes her goggles from her head. My insides turn at how this is going to play out.
And then joy fills my heart. I didn’t know he was coming here today.
That’s not Justin holding out the towel for her.
It’s Connor.