Losing You (63 page)

Coming back on the line, Hans said, ‘Yes, it was Olivia, but it seems she has been unable to find Sylvie at the airport, or at Johann’s house. So I am afraid that at this moment we have no idea where she might be.’

Chapter Thirty-Two

IT WAS JUST
after eight thirty that evening when Emma finally returned to the centre, to hear some sort of kerfuffle going on along Maple Corridor. As a chill sixth sense slid down her spine she broke into a run, knowing already it was coming from Lauren’s room. To her horror, when she got there, she found Will being manhandled away from the bed by a couple of the physios, while Lauren, tears streaming down her face, shouted, ‘Go way! Go way. Don ... wan yooo heeere.’

A flood of such ferocious anger raced through Emma that she might have attacked Will were she not so keen to push her way through to Lauren.

‘It’s all right, it’s all right,’ she soothed, taking Lauren in her arms. ‘I’m here now, no one’s going to hurt you.’

‘Make himmm goo,’ Lauren sobbed. ‘Dun ... unnnerstan.’

‘Could you kindly take your hands off me,’ Will was saying to the physios. ‘I’m not going to hurt her, for Christ’s sake, she’s my daughter.’

Turning to him, eyes blazing with fury, Emma hissed, ‘What the hell are you doing here? I thought you’d gone.’

‘I don’t have to answer to you,’ Will retorted bitingly.

‘It’s time to go, sir,’ Julian, the head physio, told him.

Will looked as though he might punch him. ‘This has nothing to do with you ...’

‘You were causing a scene, upsetting a patient,’ Julian reminded him stiffly.

‘What the hell made you come back?’ Emma demanded, still holding tightly to Lauren while wanting to ram her fists into his foul, crimson face. ‘I told you not to ...’

‘I’m not just standing by and taking all this nonsense about the Lomax family,’ he informed her. ‘If you can’t see what they’re up to, I can, and she has to stop seeing him ...’

‘Get out of here!’ Emma seethed. ‘Get out
now
!’

‘Don wan him heeere,’ Lauren gulped into Emma’s shoulder. ‘He dusn’t unn ... stand.’

‘I understand perfectly,’ Will growled, though his voice was softer now he was speaking to Lauren. ‘The Lomax family are terrified that we’re going to claim compensation for what they’ve done to you, and so they should be, because we will, sweetheart. That boy put you here ...’

To Julian, her voice trembling with rage, Emma said, ‘Please escort him out of here.’

‘I’m her father, for God’s sake,’ Will cried, snatching his arm away. ‘I have a right to be here.’

‘’No!’ Emma choked. ‘You have no rights at all.’

‘I’m sorry, sir,’ Julian said, ‘but you’re obviously upsetting Lauren, so we’ll have to ask you to leave.’

As both physios started to crowd him towards the door he shot at Emma, ‘You’re a fool if you can’t see what’s going on. Why the hell else would that boy be interested in her, the state she’s in?’

He barely even saw Emma coming until she grabbed his hair and forced him to his knees. ‘I told you I’d kill you if you hurt her,’ she whispered viciously into his face.

‘Get off me,’ he snarled. ‘For Christ’s sake, I’m just trying to point out the obvious.’

Grasping his collar, Julian hiked him back to his feet. ‘You really do need to go, sir,’ he said quietly, though meaningfully.

It was clear from the gleam in Will’s eyes that he’d have fought, had he not been outnumbered.

‘If you try to come near her again,’ Emma told him savagely as she returned to Lauren, ‘it’s you who’ll have a lawsuit slapped on you.’

‘For what?’ he cried incredulously.

‘It’ll be a restraining order, and don’t think I can’t get one, because after the way you’ve just behaved ...’

‘The way
I’ve
behaved? I’m the one trying to protect my daughter and look out for her best interests.’

‘You don’t even know what the words mean.’

‘Lauren, sweetheart,’ Will implored, from the door.

‘Go way!’ she shouted. ‘Hate you. Go way.’

‘I’m going to do my best for you,’ he told her. ‘I’ll get you every penny you deserve ...’

‘Sssh, sssh, don’t listen, don’t worry,’ Emma soothed, taking her back in her arms.

‘Heee don unn ... erstand,’ Lauren sobbed.

‘No, he doesn’t, not at all.’

‘Gl-ad heee din come toooday,’ Lauren said. ‘Heeed have sp-oil ev thing.’

Unable to deny that, and afraid that he had anyway, Emma said, ‘Try to put him out of your mind and think about all the lovely things that happened today. Granny told me she and Berry danced at the disco.’

More tears welled in Lauren’s eyes. ‘I cannn-t dannn-ce,’ she said. ‘Wan too dannn-ce.’

As Emma’s heart folded around her pain, she hugged her even closer. ‘I know, sweetheart, and you will, I promise, just as soon as we get you better, and you’re doing so well now.’

‘Not!’ Lauren shouted. ‘Not!’ She began punching her fists into the bed. ‘Am stooo-pid, cannn-t speeek and cannn’t do annny thng.’

Though Emma had seen flashes of Lauren’s temper and frustration before, unsurprisingly today it was going much deeper. ‘Hey, come on,’ she encouraged gently, ‘you know very well how pleased everyone is with your progress, and you are too. You’re speaking much more clearly than you were even a week ago, and you’re walking ...’

‘With crrrr ches.’

‘But that won’t be for very much longer. You’re gaining strength all the time.’ She had no intention of telling her that she might always have a limp, because it was only a might, and once again the doctors could be wrong.

‘No gooood at annny thng,’ Lauren growled angrily. ‘Wisssh I died now.’

‘Oh, Lauren, that’s not a good thing to say when we all love you so much.’

‘I’m a nuuuu ... sance. Getting on evvver ... one’s nerrrves.’

‘That is absolutely not true. You’re tired now, darling. It’s been a long day and a very happy one with all your cards and presents, and the party. And look at your beautiful necklace. Wasn’t it lovely of Oliver to think of that, and then of his father to add the O?’

Lauren’s heavy, tormented eyes turned away as she said, ‘Not as expensss ... ive as comp ... sation.’

Wishing she’d killed Will the instant she’d set eyes on him today, Emma said, ‘Darling, you mustn’t credit them with the same unworthy thoughts as Daddy’s having. You know how much Oliver cares about you. He’s here with you every day, joining in your exercises, swimming with you in the pool, cooking in the kitchen, watching TV, doing everything with you, and making you laugh ...’

‘But Dad-deee said how cannn heee like meee when I’m innn thisss state? Am I in a state, Mummmy? Am I ugly?’

‘’Oh God no,’ Emma cried, gathering her up in her arms and having to fight back her own tears. ‘You’re every bit as beautiful as you always were, and no one thinks that more than Oliver.’

‘But if heee’s ...’

‘Listen, you know what Daddy’s like, he gets these ideas in his head and they’re almost always wrong. He doesn’t know Oliver, he hasn’t even met him, or seen the two of you together, so how can he possibly say how Oliver feels?’

‘So do yooo-ou thnk Ol-ver reeelly li-kes me?’

Emma almost laughed. ‘He more than likes you, my darling.’

Lauren’s eyes were still swimming in tears and uncertainty as she said, ‘I reeely more thannn li-ke himm too.’

Emma pressed a kiss to her forehead. ‘I know you do, sweetheart,’ she whispered.

‘Wan toooo come home with yooo-ou,’ Lauren murmured.

Drawing back to cup her face in her hands, Emma said, ‘You’re going to, my angel, very soon now, because the
stairlift’s being fitted and all the other little jobs that have to be done are already under way.’

Though Lauren’s eyes were shadowed with tiredness, a flicker of surprise showed in the darkness. ‘Will Olll-ver still commme?’ she asked huskily.

‘Of course,’ Emma assured her, and she had no doubts at all that he would, but now that Will had raised the subject of compensation she knew that she couldn’t carry on ignoring it.

The question was, what kind of bitterness was it going to create between the two families once she broached it?

Sylvie had been missing for almost a week now, and the only reason Russ hadn’t flown over there was because he’d fully expected her to turn up at her flat in Clifton, or even here at home without any warning. However, no one had heard a word from her, nor had there been any sign of her from the time she’d left the airport – and she had left, they knew that now, because Olivia had contacted the police yesterday and this morning they’d confirmed that there was CCTV footage showing Sylvie getting into a car and driving off.

Johann was as bewildered and worried as everyone else. He’d even told Olivia that if the police didn’t come up with some answers soon he’d hire a private detective.
And probably pay for it with Sylvie’s money
, Russ couldn’t help thinking, though he didn’t actually care who paid for it just as long as they found her.

‘The trouble is,’ Olivia had said a few minutes ago on the phone, ‘I don’t think the police are very interested. I mean, they’re going through the right motions, but as one of them said to Hans, alcoholics are notorious for disappearing on binges and turning up when they’re ready. In other words, they consider it a waste of police time to go looking for them unless there’s some real evidence that harm has come to them.’

Though frustrated by the response, Russ knew he had to accept that the police over there really did have far bigger issues to deal with, so he’d simply said, ‘I think Johann’s route might be the best one to take. Does he actually know a private detective, or do we need to find one?’

‘I’ll call and ask him and let you know the answer. I’m very worried, Russ. I feel this is all my fault. I should never have allowed her to take a car, or even go to the airport without me.’

Feeling as though the responsibility was much more his than hers, he said, ‘Let’s try not to get into the self-blame game, it won’t achieve anything, and we have to remember, she’s an adult. We can’t make her do anything she doesn’t want to do.’

How true those last words were, and how often he had spoken them in one form or another, but they’d never yet eased the terrible weight on his mind, and he doubted they ever would. His biggest fear now was that she’d been dragged off to one of the townships, or perhaps she’d even taken herself there as a way of punishing him. It would be the kind of crazy thing she’d do when drunk; and he could be in no doubt that she’d found the nearest bar after he’d failed to turn up at the airport.

He wondered if the police had put out an alert for her car, and made a mental note to ask Olivia when they spoke in the morning. If she hadn’t turned up by the weekend he’d have to fly out there, though God knew what he could do that Hans and Olivia weren’t doing already.

In the meantime, what should he tell the boys?

Glancing up at the sound of Oliver’s car coming into the drive, he reached for his mobile as it rang. ‘Russ Lomax,’ he said quietly.

‘Russ? It’s Emma, is this a bad time?’

Shaking himself mentally, he said, ‘No, not at all. How’s Lauren?’

‘She’s doing fine. Still a bit low after the encounter with her father, but she’s starting to rally. Knowing she’s coming home next week is helping, which is part of the reason I’m calling.’

‘A problem with the stairlift?’

‘No, no, not at all, it’s being fitted even as we speak. No, it’s about the farewell tea they’re throwing for her next Thursday at the centre. Apparently they do it for everyone when they’re leaving, and Lauren and I would love it if you could join us.’

Thinking of how much he’d like to be there, he said, ‘If I can make it you can be sure I will, but something’s come up that means, well, it’s difficult to explain now.’ He paused as Oliver came in through the front door. ‘Can I call you later?’

‘Yes, of course. Or, actually, I was wondering if we could meet for a coffee tomorrow? There’s something I need to discuss with you and I’d rather not do it on the phone.’

‘Of course. Just text me a time and a place and I’ll be there.’

‘Hey Dad,’ Oliver said, dropping his phone and keys on the table as Russ rang off. ‘Everything OK? I’m starving, what have we got to eat?’

Not having given it a thought until now, Russ said, ‘Do you feel like popping out for an Indian?’

‘Sounds cool, but can we make it a takeaway? I promised Lauren I’d start work on her farewell to the centre speech tonight. Did Emma call you about it?’

‘Just.’

‘I hope you’re going to be there. Actually, I’m thinking about inviting Charlie, too.’

Raising a dubious eyebrow as he rummaged in a drawer for the take-out menu, Russ said, ‘You’ll be lucky to get him to come, he’s so busy these days. Have you heard from him lately?’

‘No, not much, apart from I had a text yesterday saying what good news it was about Mum.’

Russ frowned and turned to look at him. ‘What good news?’ he asked, feeling certain that whatever it was, it must be old, and the boys had only just caught up with each other.

‘You know, that she’s gone back into rehab.’

With a jolt Russ raised his head as his mind started to spin, and realising that no one had thought to check the clinic, or at least not as far as he knew, he said, ‘When did he hear from Mum?’

‘She texted us yesterday, or maybe it was the day before, I can’t remember now. Didn’t you get it too?’

Russ shook his head. ‘Can I see it?’ he asked.

Reaching for his phone Oliver scrolled through his messages, found the latest from his mother and handed it over. ‘I wondered why you hadn’t said anything,’ he commented as Russ started to read.

Salut mes chéris,
I waited at the airport today and none of you came which made me very sad, so I have decided to come back to the clinic to show you that I really can get myself well. I cannot make any promises, but I am going to try my best to do this, because I think you are finding it very hard to love me the way I am. I am not sure how long it will take, but please come to see me when you can, or write to me with all your news. Maman xxx

Oliver had texted Charlie to say,
Heard it all before, so will believe it when we see it
.