Chapter Five
‘Have you got him?’
I pull the phone away from my ear as Reeni’s voice screams down the phone.
‘Have I got who?’
‘Olly. We were at the library. I started talking to someone. Now he’s gone. This is all my fault.’ Her last words are swallowed up in a sob.
‘Slow down. Where are you?’
‘On the green.’ She gives a snotty sniff. ‘I thought he might have come to get some ice cream from you.’
‘He’s two. He’d not get here on his own.’
‘But if he tried, he might.’ Her voice is high-pitched and frightened, and I can hear someone in the background talking calmly.
‘I’m sure he’s not come down the road. He’s probably playing hide-and-seek. He loves that,’ I say, keeping my voice low and level.
‘Do you think?’ The hope in her voice pulls at my heart. ‘I’ll never forgive myself if anything happens to him.’
‘It won’t. I’ll come to you. If he’s on the road, I’ll see him.’
‘Everyone’s looking for him, but he’s not here. Oh, Ellie …’ I can hear her sobs.
‘Stay put, I’ll only be a minute.’
I fill Jill in on the situation, then bolt around to the back of my flat where my trusty sky-blue bike with its wicker basket is leaning up against the wall.
My chest is begging for oxygen as I pedal flat out, and I arrive at the library green in record time. The camper van’s doors are closed and Reeni is standing in a huddle with Jackson and Milo and Milo’s best mate, Dillon.
‘He’s about this high,’ says Reeni to the group. She’s using her hands to describe Olly and even from here, I can see them shaking.
‘No sign of him?’ I call, dismounting and wheeling my bike up the curb onto the grass.
Jackson nods at me in greeting. ‘Ellie.’ His eyes are dark and serious, and I can see the tension running through his body.
Reeni shakes her head. ‘No.’ Her voice wavers.
‘We’ll find him.’ Jackson’s voice is calm and rings with authority.
‘We’ve already got people looking back around the library and down the road into the village.
Milo and Dillon, you two go onto the beach in the direction of the village and I’ll go on in the direction of the huts.
You and Ellie stay here.’ He cups Reeni’s arm gently. ‘We’ll find him.’
‘I can’t stay here,’ Reeni says, looking around her wildly. ‘The more people looking, the better. Aaron’s on his way to help. I need to be doing something.’ She’s hopping around from one foot to the other as if the ground is on fire.
‘Jackson’s right. If he comes back looking for you, you need to be here,’ I say.
‘I’ve messaged the community alert line.
They’re experts at missing children. They’ll put an alert out to all the shops.
’ Jackson’s mum is sitting at a nearby table.
I’d missed her when I first arrived. She looks a little brighter than the last time I saw her and has a rosy hint to her complexion.
Tippi’s lead is looped around her wrist and she’s holding her mobile.
‘Ellie, you go look too. I can stay with Reeni.’
‘Please, Ellie. He’s in those red dungarees with a dinosaur on the front that he loves, with a navy T-shirt. I don’t know what I’ll do if …’ Reeni’s face crumples.
‘Don’t panic. He won’t have gone far,’ I say, far more calmly than I feel.
‘Let’s get going,’ says Jackson, and he crouches down to say something to his mum, who nods at him, then pushes him away.
I give Reeni a hug and whisper in her ear. ‘It’s going to be fine. We’ll find him.’
She squeezes me back then starts pacing, shouting Olly’s name out loud. I jog to catch up with the group, who are walking down the concrete steps to the beach. Everyone pauses when we get to the sand.
‘We’ll go this way,’ says Milo, pointing towards Thorbridge.
‘He loves hiding in the long grasses,’ I say, the back of my throat dry from the tension.
‘No problem. I’ll keep an eye on the dunes as I walk,’ says Milo, and he and Dillon set off, calling out as they go.
Jackson’s hazel eyes don’t flinch from staring straight at me, although now it’s only us, I can’t hold his gaze for more than a couple of seconds. I switch to look around me.
‘You’re with me then?’ he says.
‘Olly loves to play hide-and-seek when we’re out.’ I nod down the beach. ‘There are a few little sneaky paths through the dunes we sometimes use.’
‘OK. Let’s go.’
We walk down the beach, calling out ‘Olly’ every so often.
I make sure I’m on the dunes side of Jackson to stay away from the incoming tide.
The beach is quiet, which helps, as a little boy alone wearing scarlet would be easy to spot.
I show his photo on my phone to anyone we meet, but so far, we’ve had no luck.
The silence is giving my head space to imagine horrible things.
‘The sea’s so close. He’s only tiny.’ My words catch in the back of my throat. ‘What happens if he’s …’
‘Don’t let yourself think that,’ says Jackson. ‘As soon as he went missing, we had customers looking. And the sea is where Reeni went and looked first before she even told us he was missing.’
‘Olllly,’ I shout at the top of my voice. ‘Olly. Where are you? You won; you don’t have to hide anymore.’
My words are met with a squawk from a low-flying seagull and the sea breeze whistling in my ears. We keep walking. Intermittently, I spin around to look behind us, just in case, but there’s no little boy in sight.
‘Have you had the café long?’ says Jackson.
‘Hmm.’
‘Do you enjoy it? It’s the last thing I thought you’d end up doing.’
‘It’s OK.’ I know he’s trying to distract me, and I’m grateful, but my brain won’t work well enough for a proper conversation. ‘We have to find him.’
We walk along in silence for another few minutes, although it feels like an eternity.
‘Up there.’ I point and begin to run.
‘Where? What are we looking at?’ Jackson’s jogging now to keep up with me.
‘The dunes Olly loves to hide in.’
I stop at the edge of the dunes and point towards a well-worn path that you’d miss if you weren’t looking for it. ‘This winds its way around and comes out later down the beach. I’ll go down it and meet you at the other end. Keep calling for him, won’t you?’
‘I will.’ He reaches out as if to touch my arm and then thinks better of it.
I set off down the gap in the dunes. The tall grasses have sharp spiky leaves and they catch my hands as I jog along.
We’ve used them as swords before now and Olly has squealed with delight as our grasses clash in a fight to the death, or in his case, to be tickled to death.
My chest explodes in a sob and a moan erupts from inside me.
‘Olly. Where are you? Olly?’ I call out loud, but the words are whipped from my mouth and disappear into the atmosphere before anyone can hear them.
I push my legs to move faster along the winding path and my feet sink into the dry shifting sand, my calves complaining at being made to work so hard.
‘Any luck?’ says Jackson as I rejoin the main beach.
‘No.’ I can hear the crack in my voice. ‘He surely wouldn’t have come this far. Should we double back or try the road?’
Before Jackson can answer, my phone rings.
I pull it out of my pocket, but it slips from my hand and goes flying, landing vertically in the sand.
I freeze, but Jackson reacts instantly. He retrieves it and brushes off the sand before handing it over.
It’s Reeni. My heart thumps in my chest and for a second, I stand and stare at Jackson.
What if this is news I don’t want to hear?
Jackson nudges me. ‘Answer it.’
I stab at the screen then hold it to my ear.
‘They found him!’ Reeni’s voice bursts with relief. ‘He’s safe.’
I let out a shaky breath. ‘Where was he?’
‘I’m not sure. Milo’s got him. Oh, I can see them. I’ll ring you back.’
‘OK,’ I say, but the phone’s already dead.
‘Is he OK?’ Jackson’s hand finds my shoulder and his heat goes straight through my thin T-shirt, warming my skin.
I grin, one of those involuntary, full-face smiles that crinkles your eyes whether you want them to or not. ‘They’ve got him.’ And without thinking it through, I fling my arms around his neck and squeeze him to me. ‘He’s fine. He’s safe.’
Jackson’s arms wrap around me, holding me steady.
My nose is buried in the curve of his neck and suddenly I’m not just hugging him, I’m remembering him.
His scent hits me all at once, sea air, salt, and something citrusy and clean.
It cracks open a part of me I’ve had boarded up for seventeen years.
I close my eyes, and my body moulds to his. A feeling of familiarity unfurls, stalling my breathing. I loosen my arms enough to look up into his face. His eyes are already on mine, dark and intense. That same quiet pull that they’ve always had that stirs the very pit of my stomach.
When my eyes don’t flinch, he reaches a hand up and skims the edge of my jaw, fingertips tracing a path that sends sparks skittering through me.
Without thinking it through, I reach up on tiptoes and press my lips onto his.
For a moment, neither of us moves, as if we’re trying to gauge if this is a good idea, and then he presses into my kiss and his hand moves to the small of my back, his fingers splayed against my skin.
My lips move against his and as he opens his mouth, our tongues flick against each other, hesitant then hungry.
My hand curls into his hair and I feel him press closer and for one dangerous second I forget everything else, where we are, what came before, what this might mean. And then … my phone rings.
We jump apart and reality comes crashing down. The heat is already racing up my neck and I know my face is going to end up on fire.
‘Shit, I’m sorry.’ Jackson looks as flustered as I am, and he runs a hand through his hair. ‘I can’t, I mean …’
‘No, it’s OK. I shouldn’t have …’ My phone’s ringtone sounds again. ‘I’d better …’ I shake the phone at him, then turn around to answer it and give myself space to put my head in order.
‘Sorry I cut you off.’ Reeni’s sing-song voice is back to normal. ‘He’s all safe and back with us. We’re meeting at the Pig in Blankets for a thank you drink for everyone.’
‘Sounds like a plan,’ I say, rubbing at my forehead. My stomach still feels like someone dropped a hundred marbles into it and they’re tumbling around freely. ‘On our way.’
I hang up and take a slow breath before turning to face Jackson.
He’s standing where I left him, hands in his pockets, eyes unreadable.
We have a history that I’ve kept locked away for my own sanity, and I have an uneasy feeling I’ve just smashed that box wide open. And I have no idea what comes next.