increased
the anxiety that welled within, threatening to explode from Tony like vomit.
And then came the words that literally took Tony off his feet: ‘there has been
an accident.’
Tony dropped to
the sofa and stared at the blinded window which was keeping out what little
moonlight there was. At first, thoughts of a planned surprise birthday party,
or present ideas had flooded his mind as for a reason for the call. Terry had
never phoned him before; maybe he needed present advice for his daughter and
he’d tried him before Trevor. He had known her longer, he may have had a more
personal example of gift ideas. He ignored the fact that her birthday was six
months away, and even then, not a particularly significant number. But those
words - there has been an accident - brought only one thought to Tony's mind:
how bad?
‘What do you
mean?’ said Tony. His voice had dropped to almost mimic Terry's. He was on the
verge of cracking, not wanting to know how severe said accident could be. It
couldn’t possibly be the worst kind.
‘She...’ and
then there was definitely a cry. Terry had been caught out and not had time to
move the phone away from his mouth. This triggered something inside Tony; he
was losing control of his own breathing and knew he too was close to tears. He
needed to know the details. What exactly was he on the verge of crying for?
‘This afternoon...’
‘This
afternoon, I was with her; she picked me up from town. She dropped me home.’
Tony hoped the pleading he sensed in his voice wasn’t too clear. They’d met up
that afternoon, so how could there possibly have been accident.
‘At some point
this afternoon, Emma,’ - Tony had never hated the name being spoken so much
before - ‘Emma was involved in a car accident.’
It was Tony's
turn to struggle for words. He remained silent, still half praying this was a
sick joke, a wrong number, or a twisted and heightened version of his recent
visions.
‘We don’t know
the details. On the A98, about 5 o’clock. There was a head-on collision with
another car. She wasn’t wearing her seat belt...’
‘She always
wore her seat belt,' Tony whispered.
‘...and she.’
Just say it , thought Tony,
his eyes now clamped shut, blocking any tears.
‘Tony, she died
this afternoon. Instantly we’re told. I don’t know how to feel about that bit,
but I know the rest has torn me apart.’
Tony remained
silent. She must have crashed after dropping him home. Terry no doubt had
worked this out, perhaps it was irrelevant.
‘I thought you
should know. You’re welcome to come over if you like. I’m sure Pam and I will
be up all night. I don’t know yet whether we need to be alone or not but if you
need someone to talk to, we’re here.’
Tony suddenly
stood, needing a physical sensation to wake him. This had to be a dream, Emma
couldn’t die. But of course, he knew there was no logical reason why this fact
could not be true. He headed towards the kitchen, drawn by the bright light.
‘Thanks, I, I
don’t know what to say. I think I’ll stay here for now, and work things out.’
Tony didn’t know what this meant but Terry seemed to understand and began to
cry freely on the end of the phone. He could hear more muffled cries as Pam
joined him in the room.
‘You know where
we are if you need us.’
‘And if you
need me.’
‘She was a good
girl wasn’t she?’
‘She was the
best.’
The first tear
broke from Tony and he hurried his goodbyes, Terry appreciating his acceptance
of the news. He would now be informing Trevor. Despite how faceless and
fleeting within their lives he had been, it was not a call anyone would want to
hear.
Tony stared
blankly at the phone for at least five minutes before dropping it to the floor.
He then grabbed a mug.
Chapter 10
Dean Warren was
driving when it happened. He jumped just four seconds, yet it was more than
enough to disorientate him. The speeding surroundings skipped like a scratched
record and he
the anxiety that welled within, threatening to explode from Tony like vomit.
And then came the words that literally took Tony off his feet: ‘there has been
an accident.’
Tony dropped to
the sofa and stared at the blinded window which was keeping out what little
moonlight there was. At first, thoughts of a planned surprise birthday party,
or present ideas had flooded his mind as for a reason for the call. Terry had
never phoned him before; maybe he needed present advice for his daughter and
he’d tried him before Trevor. He had known her longer, he may have had a more
personal example of gift ideas. He ignored the fact that her birthday was six
months away, and even then, not a particularly significant number. But those
words - there has been an accident - brought only one thought to Tony's mind:
how bad?
‘What do you
mean?’ said Tony. His voice had dropped to almost mimic Terry's. He was on the
verge of cracking, not wanting to know how severe said accident could be. It
couldn’t possibly be the worst kind.
‘She...’ and
then there was definitely a cry. Terry had been caught out and not had time to
move the phone away from his mouth. This triggered something inside Tony; he
was losing control of his own breathing and knew he too was close to tears. He
needed to know the details. What exactly was he on the verge of crying for?
‘This afternoon...’
‘This
afternoon, I was with her; she picked me up from town. She dropped me home.’
Tony hoped the pleading he sensed in his voice wasn’t too clear. They’d met up
that afternoon, so how could there possibly have been accident.
‘At some point
this afternoon, Emma,’ - Tony had never hated the name being spoken so much
before - ‘Emma was involved in a car accident.’
It was Tony's
turn to struggle for words. He remained silent, still half praying this was a
sick joke, a wrong number, or a twisted and heightened version of his recent
visions.
‘We don’t know
the details. On the A98, about 5 o’clock. There was a head-on collision with
another car. She wasn’t wearing her seat belt...’
‘She always
wore her seat belt,' Tony whispered.
‘...and she.’
Just say it , thought Tony,
his eyes now clamped shut, blocking any tears.
‘Tony, she died
this afternoon. Instantly we’re told. I don’t know how to feel about that bit,
but I know the rest has torn me apart.’
Tony remained
silent. She must have crashed after dropping him home. Terry no doubt had
worked this out, perhaps it was irrelevant.
‘I thought you
should know. You’re welcome to come over if you like. I’m sure Pam and I will
be up all night. I don’t know yet whether we need to be alone or not but if you
need someone to talk to, we’re here.’
Tony suddenly
stood, needing a physical sensation to wake him. This had to be a dream, Emma
couldn’t die. But of course, he knew there was no logical reason why this fact
could not be true. He headed towards the kitchen, drawn by the bright light.
‘Thanks, I, I
don’t know what to say. I think I’ll stay here for now, and work things out.’
Tony didn’t know what this meant but Terry seemed to understand and began to
cry freely on the end of the phone. He could hear more muffled cries as Pam
joined him in the room.
‘You know where
we are if you need us.’
‘And if you
need me.’
‘She was a good
girl wasn’t she?’
‘She was the
best.’
The first tear
broke from Tony and he hurried his goodbyes, Terry appreciating his acceptance
of the news. He would now be informing Trevor. Despite how faceless and
fleeting within their lives he had been, it was not a call anyone would want to
hear.
Tony stared
blankly at the phone for at least five minutes before dropping it to the floor.
He then grabbed a mug.
Chapter 10
Dean Warren was
driving when it happened. He jumped just four seconds, yet it was more than
enough to disorientate him. The speeding surroundings skipped like a scratched
record and he
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