Jess linked her arm through hers. ‘Don’t worry. She’s a big girl, she’ll be fine. Come on. Why don’t we go and see if Zac and his mates are here?’ Jess brushed her mousy blonde fringe from her face. Was that blue eye-liner she was wearing? Heather felt the all-too-familiar anxiety tug at her insides – first Flora going off with some strange lad and now her best friend wearing make-up and talking about finding that moron Zac and his mates.

She turned away, trying desperately to spot Flora. But her sister had been swallowed by the crowds.

‘Hey, she’ll be okay,’ said Jess, watching Heather intently. ‘You worry too much. Come on.’

Heather tried to smile, but she suddenly felt a sense of foreboding so strong she had to pause to catch her breath. She pushed down her unease and followed Jess further into the fair.

Chapter 10

10

I must be dreaming but I’m remembering you and the fair, the music, the crowds. I start to feel scared, just like I did the first time I went there, and I begin to thrash around, my legs jerking, but it must be my imagination because I know I can’t move. I feel like I’m under water and that the surface is up ahead, glinting enticingly, the sun beaming down, like the light at the end of a tunnel, but I can’t reach it. I can’t pull myself out of the cold darkness. I can’t reach you.

I don’t know if I let out a moan. Is that voices I hear? A hand stroking my brow? Is it my mother? I’m desperate to talk to her, to explain. I need to tell her what happened, and why, before it’s too late. But I can’t move, I can’t speak. Is this what it feels like to be dying?

My mind slips back to the fair. It’s all I can think about. And even in my muddy, confused state I know that the fair is very important. That it all started there. I mustn’t forget. It’s the link to everything.

Chapter 11

11

Jess