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Back Afterlove Save as PDF
Chapters (86)
  1. Title Page
  2. CONTENTS
  3. Love
  4. Before
  5. One
  6. ONE
  7. Two
  8. TWO
  9. Three
  10. THREE
  11. Four
  12. FOUR
  13. Five
  14. FIVE
  15. Six
  16. SIX
  17. Seven
  18. SEVEN
  19. Eight
  20. EIGHT
  21. Nine
  22. NINE
  23. Ten
  24. TEN
  25. Eleven
  26. ELEVEN
  27. After
  28. One
  29. ONE
  30. Two
  31. TWO
  32. Three
  33. THREE
  34. Four
  35. FOUR
  36. Five
  37. FIVE
  38. Six
  39. SIX
  40. Seven
  41. SEVEN
  42. Eight
  43. EIGHT
  44. Nine
  45. NINE
  46. Ten
  47. TEN
  48. Eleven
  49. ELEVEN
  50. Twelve
  51. TWELVE
  52. Thirteen
  53. THIRTEEN
  54. Fourteen
  55. FOURTEEN
  56. Fifteen
  57. FIFTEEN
  58. Sixteen
  59. SIXTEEN
  60. Seventeen
  61. SEVENTEEN
  62. Eighteen
  63. EIGHTEEN
  64. Nineteen
  65. NINETEEN
  66. Twenty
  67. TWENTY
  68. Twenty-One
  69. TWENTY-ONE
  70. Twenty-Two
  71. TWENTY-TWO
  72. Twenty-Three
  73. TWENTY-THREE
  74. Twenty-Four
  75. TWENTY-FOUR
  76. Twenty-Five
  77. TWENTY-FIVE
  78. Twenty-Six
  79. TWENTY-SIX
  80. Twenty-Seven
  81. TWENTY-SEVEN
  82. Twenty-Eight
  83. TWENTY-EIGHT
  84. Eleven Months Later
  85. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  86. Copyright

I consider it for a moment, but when I look up from my phone and realise that Rosh is taking the piss, I scowl at her. ‘I’m trying to be cool and aloof here.’

‘But you’re not cool and aloof, Ash. You’re intense and weird.’

‘You’re intense and weird!’

‘Good comeback.’ She gives me a thumbs up. ‘But don’t waste it all on me. Save some for Poppy.’

‘I hate you,’ I bark as I look back down at the screen of my phone. ‘Just tell me what to say!’

‘Tell her what you told me. That was nice.’

‘Nice?’ I say, appalled. ‘I don’t want her to think I’m nice. I want her to think I’m cool and sexy.’

‘I thought you were going for cool and aloof ?’

I have to stop myself from throwing my phone at her. ‘Rosh!’

‘Ash, just be honest. You said last time that you’re sick of the games so stop playing them.’

She’s right.

No more games.

I unlock my phone and open WhatsApp before I can talk myself out of it.

Hey, it’s Ash. Just wanted to let you know that now I’m back on dry land, I no longer feel the need to jump. I do feel the need for a coffee, though, if you fancy one xx

I hit send and scream when I see the single tick appear on my screen.

‘Thanks, Rosh!’ I hiss. ‘Now I have to spend the rest of the weekend waiting for her to respond!’

I throw my phone on the bed next to me with an UGH and put my head in my hands.

Before Rosh can tell me not to be so dramatic, we hear the front door and she calls out, ‘Dad?’

‘Hey, girls,’ he calls back and I immediately feel better as I hear the thud of his work boots on the doormat. A moment later he appears in our doorway and he looks exhausted. Happy exhausted. Not like when my mother gets home from work and the circles under her eyes are deeper and darker and she moves a little more slowly because her feet – her feet, her legs, her back – are so sore. No, he looks content.

Like it’s been a day well spent.

He’s so tall that he fills our bedroom doorway, but I can still see how much weight he’s lost since he started working at the Enclosures. My mother’s relieved, of course, worried about diabetes and heart disease and God knows what else, so she’s happy he’s keeping active. But I miss his big blanketing hugs and him, Rosh and I finishing a pack of Oreos before my mother catches us.