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Back All You Need Is Love Save as PDF
Chapters (56)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. OCTOBER
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. 42
  46. 43
  47. 44
  48. 45
  49. 46
  50. 47
  51. 48
  52. Acknowledgments
  53. More from Jessica Redland
  54. About the Author
  55. Also by Jessica Redland
  56. About Boldwood Books

We chatted more about where this left me, then we moved onto cheerier subjects like how Ryan’s and Steff’s marathon training was going, and how rapidly their bootcamp business was growing. It was lovely to see my friend so animated about her business success. I remembered the long hours and hard work she’d put into getting it off the ground, but it was clearly paying off now. But overshadowing the excitable discussions was a voice in my head repeating over and over: Scott’s dead. He didn’t intentionally abandon me. He died. And I had no idea how I should feel about that.

42

Sam

Walking round The Headland from The Lobster Pot on South Bay to Zack and Hailey’s beach hut on North Bay had seemed like a good idea. Thing is, I could barely walk. I certainly couldn’t walk in a straight line. Not that The Headland was straight; it was a steady curve. Maybe that was the problem – I was trying to walk in a straight line but kept bumping into the sea wall instead. My legs and knees were going to be so bruised, but at least I’d have sobered up by the time I got to the beach hut. A bit.

My phone rang. ‘Mum?’

‘Sammy? Where are you? We’ve been here since five.’

‘What time is it now?’

‘6.45.’

Was it? Hadn’t meant to stay in the pub that long. ‘I’m walking round The Headland now.’

‘People are asking after you.’

‘I’ll be there soon.’ I hung up before she had a chance to say anything else.

So it had started and I wasn’t even there – the talking, the whispering, the sympathetic looks. I knew it.

I’ve no idea how long the walk took me, but I finally made it round to North Bay. I heard them as soon as I rounded North Bay Corner; voices and music drifting towards me. I imagined the laughter and chatter stopping as I approached and shuddered at the thought.

My pace slowed as I stepped onto the promenade, moving aside as a couple of women who appeared to be in their fifties jogged past me. I squinted. One of them looked like she’d been involved in an explosion in a pink lycra factory. My eyes!

Mum had to have been watching out for me because she stopped me some way from the beach hut. My unsteady approach must have shown clear signs of inebriation because the first thing she said was, ‘Oh, Sammy, I thought you might have only had a couple of pints with your friends.’

‘I did. And then a couple more. And a couple more. And a couple more after that.’