Chapter Thirty-One
Her breath came so fast she couldn’t catch it, pinpricks of panic cascading down her body, her heart thumping, as she swung around helplessly, aware of the great drop below her.
At last her vision cleared of the shadow that had descended over her eyes and she became aware, over the sound of her crashing heart and panicked breathing, of George’s voice coming from far below.
‘It’s all right,’ he was saying. She could hear the strain in his voice as he took the full weight of her. He was the only thing preventing her from plummeting to the ground right now. ‘You’re okay. I’ve got you.’
Nina glanced below. She could see him, see his body braced and leaning back, his arms pulled tight as he anchored her.
Even as she swung so precariously, she was aware of the absurdity of the situation; only she could get knocked off a cliff face by a goat, of all things, prancing around above her.
She’d be having words with Milo, once she got out of this.
‘You’re doing really well,’ George called. ‘The rope’s caught, I can’t bring you down. Can you reach the rock and free it?’
Nina tried to speak, but all that came out was a terrified sob. The rock swung in and out in front of her as she twisted, at the mercy of the rope and the sea winds. ‘I can’t reach it!’ she shouted.
‘It’s okay.’ George’s voice was strong and calm. ‘I’ve got you, don’t worry.’
Even in her panicked state Nina knew she had to free the rope. George was strong, but he couldn’t hold her there forever.
‘It’s okay,’ he said. ‘Take a breath. I’ve got you.’
Nina tried to steady her breathing. Her back was throbbing and the world was tilting around her. She felt sick. Swallowing hard, and forcing herself to breathe slowly and deeply, she felt the world come back into focus a little.
She managed to twist herself so that she was facing the rock. Reaching out, her fingers grazed the surface, but the movement set her off balance and she swung away again. It was hopeless. Below, she heard George grunt as he strained against the movement; he was getting tired.
‘I can’t do it,’ she called.
‘It’s all right,’ he called. His voice was calm and steady, and she clung onto it as though it was the rope keeping her from falling. ‘You were nearly there, try again.’
Nina heard herself whimper.
‘You can do it,’ George called. ‘You’re all right.’
Come on, she told herself. He was right. She was strong, she was brave. She needed to ignore the pain, ignore the nausea and dizziness, she needed to focus. She needed to get herself out of this.
‘There’s a ledge,’ he called. ‘By your right foot. Can you see it?’
Nina forced herself to calm down and focus on the surface.
She imagined her mum, cheering her on, believing in her.
Seeing the ledge he was talking about, she analysed the rock in front of her; there was a potential handhold just above.
If she could reach the handhold and balance for a moment, she might be able to get her foot on to the ledge.
She reached, and missed. Reached again, missed again, swinging further away. Her heart kicked and her hands were trembling uncontrollably.
‘Almost there,’ George called. ‘I’m here.’
She tried again, launching herself with as much strength and determination as she could muster, managing at last to grasp the handhold. The rock crumbled beneath her feet as she struggled to find the ledge, but eventually her toes found solid ground. Reaching up, she managed to untangle the rope.
A peal of uneven laughter streamed from her as she clung to the surface, her limbs shaking, her breath still coming in gasps.
‘Yes!’ George shouted. ‘Brilliant. Let’s get you down.’
Gently, he let out the rope and she slowly abseiled to the ground, feeling as though she would never get there, never feel the thud as her feet met ground at last.
But she did, landing and immediately falling into George’s open arms as he stepped forward to catch her.
Burying her face against his muscled chest, she hiccupped a few sobs as fear and relief crashed through.
‘It’s okay,’ he murmured. ‘It’s okay, you’re safe.’
Gently, he pushed her away a little, holding her by the arms, looking at her with a concerned expression. She realised, as he held her, that his hands were shaking.
‘You hurt?’ he asked.
‘No, I just – hurt my back a bit, that’s all.’
He nodded, gently unstrapping her helmet and taking it off, smoothing the hair away from her face. ‘My god, you were brilliant up there. You – you’re amazing. I thought – I really thought . . .’ His voice cracked and he swallowed.
‘I couldn’t have got down without you,’ she said.
He shook his head. His eyes, staring deep into hers, were a storm of intensity. She stepped into his arms and he pulled her close, holding her to him as though he would never let her go again. She looked up at him and he leaned down, his lips soft against her own.
Nina returned his gentle kiss, and their bodies were soon pressed together, their kisses becoming more passionate. She snaked her arms around his neck, lost in this feeling, aware only of his full lips on hers, the warmth of his taut body, the racing of her heart.
At last they broke off, and he still held her to him. He didn’t let go as they gathered their things and made their way to the car, always holding her hand or stroking her arm or resting his palm in the small of her back. They held on to each other all the drive home.
George drove with one hand on the steering wheel, the other resting in hers, as much as he could. When he had to change gears, he placed her hand on his thigh.
He glanced at her, still looking concerned. ‘How’re you feeling? I still think we should take you to the hospital.’
Nina shook her head. She was sore and shaken, but not seriously hurt. ‘I’m okay. I just want to go home.’
He nodded, giving her fingers a squeeze. ‘Thank god you’re all right.’ He was pale, his freckles stark against the sickly pallor of his skin.
Nina rested her head against the window. She tried closing her eyes, but the movement of the car made her nauseous, and she was immediately assaulted by a sensation of being back there, dangling from the rope, the ground and George far below.
‘Are you sleepy?’ he asked gently. ‘I’m worried you’ve got concussion.’
‘Couldn’t sleep if I tried,’ she groaned. ‘It wasn’t really my head that got hit, it was more here.’ Gingerly, she pressed her fingers to her shoulder, where her skin smarted. ‘Ouch.’
George gave her a sympathetic look.
It wasn’t long before he was pulling up outside the house, helping her from the car and keeping his arm around her waist as they walked to the front door.
She leaned in to him, not because she needed to, but because there was nowhere she’d rather be than pressed against his strong body, breathing in the smell of coconut.
Theo and Heather were sitting at the kitchen table as they came in, drinking coffee and picking at a large bowl of Greek salad. As their eyes fell on George’s arm around Nina’s waist, Theo’s eyebrows shot up and Heather smirked.
‘You’re back early, I thought . . .’ Theo trailed off as he caught sight of Nina’s pale face, and the sombre expression both she and George wore. He leapt to his feet.
‘What’s happened?’ Heather asked.
Nina allowed Theo to take her from George’s arms and usher her to the table, where she gratefully sank into a chair. George waited a beat and, when it became clear that she wasn’t up to explaining the situation, he told them the story.
‘She was amazing,’ he finished up, his voice shaking a little. ‘So brave. Incredible.’
Theo’s face had paled, and his hands shook as he grasped Nina’s across the table. ‘And what about you, what were you doing while she’s dangling like this from the cliffs, eh? Useless boy! You can’t keep her safe with all this stupid climbing ideas, you leave my house. Now. Go!’
He was practically snarling as he leapt to his feet and grabbed George by the shoulders, trying to manhandle him out of the house.
‘Baba, no!’ Nina cried. ‘He helped me. He saved me! Leave him alone.’
Theo stopped, letting George go and standing still, rubbing his hands over his face.
‘Sorry,’ he muttered. ‘Sorry, young man.’ He patted George on the shoulder and slumped back to the table, looking defeated.
‘This is my daughter, you know? My precious daughter. If anything happens to her then I –’ His voice shook, and he broke off. Nina reached for his hand again.
‘I know,’ George said.
Heather, who had quietly been making tea, put steaming mugs in front of Nina and George, and began spooning sugar in. Nina didn’t take sugar in tea, and she was pretty sure George didn’t drink it at all, but they both gulped gratefully at the hot, sweet liquid.
‘Are you okay?’ she asked. ‘Nothing broken or anything?’
Nina shook her head.
‘I thought we should maybe go to the hospital, but Nina didn’t want to.’ George said, his eyes on her again. She could stay in his gaze forever.
Theo snorted. ‘Stubborn.’
George ignored him, still focused on Nina, as though she was the only person in the room. ‘Just – if you feel worse, you should probably get checked out. Promise me.’
‘I will.’
Theo and Heather exchanged a glance, eyebrows raised. Nina didn’t care.
Theo cleared his throat and stood up. ‘Well, thank you for bringing her home,’ he said, holding out a hand to George and looking pointedly at the door.
‘No, it’s fine.’ George stood, shaking Theo’s hand. ‘I need to get back to Yia-Yia anyway.’
Nina looked up at him. ‘You really don’t have to go, you could stay for –’
He smiled, gently stroking her cheek. ‘It’s okay,’ he said softly. ‘I’ll message you. Look after yourself, okay?’
She nodded, watching as he left, wanting to call him back. The accident had left her feeling raw and exposed; she had no resources left for pretence or bluster.
George was kind and clever, passionate and handsome, and geeky in a way that she found disarming. She felt both excited and safe when she was with him. He had been focused on her when she’d needed him to be, hadn’t he? Perhaps she’d been wrong to think he would ignore her the way Sam had.