like spells in the night.
I nod quickly, my eyes filling up with tears again. He runs one finger in my hair. The action is unusual. Affectionate. We lost our passion. We have become pitiful creatures. I look at him sadly. Maybe we have lost too much to recover.
Now I understand why so many couples who lose a child break up. Because you just can’t help it—the natural instinct is to turn on each other and tear each other to pieces, so that there is nothing living left to remind you of your terrible, terrible loss.
‘ I will find him. If it is the last thing I do,’ he promises.
‘ I know. I know you will.’ And at that moment I don’t think of any other possibility. I don’t think I might need to sacrifice him for my son. Because I cannot think it.
Billie is in my head. ‘If Blake and Sorab were drowning, and you could only save one person, who would you save?’
‘ I’m not answering that. You’re a wicked witch, Billie.’
And she grinned evilly.
But now the choice is upon me. I want to, I want to with all my heart choose Blake, but I can’t. I just can’t. The great mistake I made was when I thought of my own pleasure before I thought of Sorab’s well-being. I’ve learned my lesson. This time I won’t think of myself. I’ll do what I have always done. Put the ones I truly love before me.
Blake Law Barrington
She makes a dreadful sound, like the last rattle in the throat of a dying animal. I turn around and wrap my arms around her tightly, and feel her open mouth press into my breast bone. Her fevered breath and the odd sounds seep into my skin and chill my heart. How effectively Victoria has wounded us.
‘ I will get him back. No matter what the price,’ I repeat loudly. In the darkness my voice mocks me with its blustery hollowness.
‘ I know that,’ she says sadly.
We lie awake for hours after that. Not speaking. Simply holding each other. At four thirty a.m. I switch off the alarm clock and get up. By five a.m. I am out of the house and itching for any kind of news of my son’s whereabouts.
Seventeen
Lana Barrington
I call Billie at eight in the morning. I don’t know why I do. Billie always sleeps late. I guess I just want to hear her voice. She sounds sleepy. I know I’ve woken her up.
‘ What is it?’ she says into the phone. She tries to disguise it, but there is an undercurrent of panic in her voice. She is expecting bad news. The thought that she is expecting bad news makes me feel frightened. The tears that are at the backs of my eyes surge forth.
‘ Nothing has happened. I just wanted to ask you something.’
‘ What?’
‘ If Sorab and I were drowning, whom would you choose?’
‘ I wouldn’t. I’d let us all drown.’
I stare blankly at the wall. Maybe that is the right answer. Why should I choose between my husband and my son? Let us all perish if need be.
‘ Do you want me to come over?’
‘ Yes,’ I sob, and put the phone down. I am a mess. I am a terrible mess. I want my son back.
The phone rings almost immediately after I terminate Billie’s call. I look at it with surprise, my sobs dying in my throat. It is an unknown number. I only hesitate for a second. I don’t know how I know but I know instantly that it is her . She is calling me. My thumb hits the answer button.
‘ Hello.’
‘ Will you come and see me?’
‘ Of course.’
‘ Bring my money with you.’
‘ When?’
‘ When you’ve got the money obviously.’ There is a thread of amusement in her voice.
The line goes dead. I don’t hang about. I call the bank manager immediately.
‘ I need it straight away,’ I tell him.
He tries to do what he does with anyone that wants a super large cash withdrawal. He starts making excuses as to why I can’t have it in the next hour. He picked the wrong woman. Coldly, in the same voice that Blake’s mother uses when she wants to decimate someone, I reduce him to what he really is. An idiot puppet
I nod quickly, my eyes filling up with tears again. He runs one finger in my hair. The action is unusual. Affectionate. We lost our passion. We have become pitiful creatures. I look at him sadly. Maybe we have lost too much to recover.
Now I understand why so many couples who lose a child break up. Because you just can’t help it—the natural instinct is to turn on each other and tear each other to pieces, so that there is nothing living left to remind you of your terrible, terrible loss.
‘ I will find him. If it is the last thing I do,’ he promises.
‘ I know. I know you will.’ And at that moment I don’t think of any other possibility. I don’t think I might need to sacrifice him for my son. Because I cannot think it.
Billie is in my head. ‘If Blake and Sorab were drowning, and you could only save one person, who would you save?’
‘ I’m not answering that. You’re a wicked witch, Billie.’
And she grinned evilly.
But now the choice is upon me. I want to, I want to with all my heart choose Blake, but I can’t. I just can’t. The great mistake I made was when I thought of my own pleasure before I thought of Sorab’s well-being. I’ve learned my lesson. This time I won’t think of myself. I’ll do what I have always done. Put the ones I truly love before me.
Blake Law Barrington
She makes a dreadful sound, like the last rattle in the throat of a dying animal. I turn around and wrap my arms around her tightly, and feel her open mouth press into my breast bone. Her fevered breath and the odd sounds seep into my skin and chill my heart. How effectively Victoria has wounded us.
‘ I will get him back. No matter what the price,’ I repeat loudly. In the darkness my voice mocks me with its blustery hollowness.
‘ I know that,’ she says sadly.
We lie awake for hours after that. Not speaking. Simply holding each other. At four thirty a.m. I switch off the alarm clock and get up. By five a.m. I am out of the house and itching for any kind of news of my son’s whereabouts.
Seventeen
Lana Barrington
I call Billie at eight in the morning. I don’t know why I do. Billie always sleeps late. I guess I just want to hear her voice. She sounds sleepy. I know I’ve woken her up.
‘ What is it?’ she says into the phone. She tries to disguise it, but there is an undercurrent of panic in her voice. She is expecting bad news. The thought that she is expecting bad news makes me feel frightened. The tears that are at the backs of my eyes surge forth.
‘ Nothing has happened. I just wanted to ask you something.’
‘ What?’
‘ If Sorab and I were drowning, whom would you choose?’
‘ I wouldn’t. I’d let us all drown.’
I stare blankly at the wall. Maybe that is the right answer. Why should I choose between my husband and my son? Let us all perish if need be.
‘ Do you want me to come over?’
‘ Yes,’ I sob, and put the phone down. I am a mess. I am a terrible mess. I want my son back.
The phone rings almost immediately after I terminate Billie’s call. I look at it with surprise, my sobs dying in my throat. It is an unknown number. I only hesitate for a second. I don’t know how I know but I know instantly that it is her . She is calling me. My thumb hits the answer button.
‘ Hello.’
‘ Will you come and see me?’
‘ Of course.’
‘ Bring my money with you.’
‘ When?’
‘ When you’ve got the money obviously.’ There is a thread of amusement in her voice.
The line goes dead. I don’t hang about. I call the bank manager immediately.
‘ I need it straight away,’ I tell him.
He tries to do what he does with anyone that wants a super large cash withdrawal. He starts making excuses as to why I can’t have it in the next hour. He picked the wrong woman. Coldly, in the same voice that Blake’s mother uses when she wants to decimate someone, I reduce him to what he really is. An idiot puppet
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