I wasn’t prepared for how Aiden would look when he finally came home. Dad brought him through the front door in a wheelchair and for the longest time, all I could do was stare. I’m not sure what I was expecting – the same old Aiden, I guess – but he was pale and obviously tired. The most dramatic thing was a contraption around his head that had metal spokes that seemed to dig straight into his skull; not that you could see much of his head, since it was wrapped in a bandage from just above his eyebrows. It was pretty obvious that Mum and Dad hadn’t told me the whole story about just how ill Aiden had been. And perhaps still was. I forced myself to smile, though I felt more like crying.

‘Hey, Aiden,’ I said. ‘Welcome home, bro.’

‘Thanks,’ he said. But he didn’t smile and his voice seemed different somehow, as if that had been damaged as well.

I didn’t know what else to say. I wanted to say thanks for saving my life, but that seemed weird somehow, there in our front room with Mum and Dad looking on. Artificial. So I just smiled. We’d talk later, probably in bed. I’d hold his hand and tell him how brave and wonderful he was. We had time.

‘I’ll take you to your room if you like, Aiden,’ said Dad. ‘You’re probably a bit tired after the journey home, huh?’

‘I’ll take him, Dad,’ I said.

‘He’s going to be in his own bedroom for a while, Ash,’ said Mum. ‘We’ve made up one of the spare rooms. It’ll be better all round. Aiden will be sleeping upright for a while until the head brace comes off, and he gets restless at night. This way, you’ll get a decent night’s sleep and he won’t be worried about disturbing you.’

‘But I don’t mind being disturbed,’ I said. ‘That’s fine. We’ll keep sharing a room, won’t we, Aiden?’

He licked his lips, but even that simple act seemed to take a huge effort.

‘I think I’d rather have my own space for a bit, Ashleigh,’ he said. ‘Just until I’m feeling a bit better.’

‘Of course,’ I said. ‘Whatever you want.’ But I have to admit, I felt a little hurt.

When Dad had wheeled him out of the room, Mum came over and put an arm around my shoulders.

‘Just for a while, Ashleigh,’ she said. ‘He’s been through a lot, you know. You both have. It’s going to take a little time to get over this.’

I nodded.

‘And I’ll bring your birthday present home tomorrow,’ she added. ‘You’re going to love it. Both of you.’

Our birthday was still two days away. She probably thought we needed a gift sooner rather than later, after all we’d been through.

‘What is it?’

Mum ruffled my hair. ‘Nice try, kiddlypunk,’ she said. ‘But I’ll tell you this much. You are going to be surprised. Very surprised.’