instead, for a better view.
And one girl has crouched down on the sand, her hands covering her ears. Her eyes are wide with horror.
I feel something cold on my skin.
Rain.
It’s
never
rained on the Beach before.
Danny is staring at me, his eyes blood red. I don’t see love. I see terror.
His arm grips mine. Except . . . it can’t be Danny touching me, because he’s backing away.
I look down. There is a hand on my arm but it’s not Danny’s . . .
‘Lewis?’
He’s here. Next to me. Not on the Beach, but in his flat, his hand on my arm as he looks over my shoulder . . .
‘NO!’ I scream. I wrench my arm away, shut down the Beach as fast as I can.
But I already know it’s too late.
16
He stares at me as though I’m speaking a foreign language.
‘Lewis. Tell me. Did you see the Beach?’
His eyes are half closed, as though he’s trying to hide something. ‘No. I saw nothing. I’ve only come in because the alarm was ringing and I needed to turn it off. I was
calling across the room for ages but you didn’t hear that either. So I came over. But I didn’t look.’
I don’t believe him.
The phone alarm is sounding, shrill and insistent. I didn’t hear it at all while I was in Danny’s arms.
I try to make sense of what just happened, to guess how many seconds the thunder and lightning lasted before I realised Lewis was there. Ten. Maybe fifteen? ‘How long have you been next to
me?’
‘Not
that
long.’
‘It only takes a split second to see something you shouldn’t, Lewis. And I warned you how dangerous it might be.’
He sits down on the sofa. ‘Look, maybe I did see . . . I need some time. To . . . process it. To make sense of what it was.’
‘You promised you wouldn’t look.’
‘I didn’t mean to. It wasn’t
planned.
But you seemed to be in a trance. I had to try to wake you somehow, so I touched your arm and then—’
‘Then you couldn’t resist a peek, right? And because of that, I might have lost
everything
that matters to me.’
Hurt crosses his face, but I’m too furious to care.
‘I almost lost the Beach before when I asked questions I shouldn’t have. I can’t imagine what the penalty is for showing someone
else
.’
Lewis is running his hand through his hair, and it sticks up like he’s a cartoon character who’s seen a ghost. ‘Alice, we don’t even know this place exists, so how can we
have broken the rules?’
‘Doesn’t exist? So all that stuff about researching the Beach, helping me discover the truth? You were only fobbing me off. You think I’m mad too!’
‘No, I didn’t meant that, but surely it can’t have changed in a split second—’
‘Shall I tell you what changed? Why I turned round? It was because . . .’ I remember screams, sudden darkness. My refuge transformed into a place of terror.
Lewis stands up again. ‘Ali. Ali, you’re right. I’m sorry.’ He reaches out for my hand but I back away. ‘I promise I didn’t do it on purpose. I was afraid for
you.’
His voice is so contrite that it takes the heat out of my anger.
‘What if it’s too late?’ I say.
‘I did see something,’ he murmurs, as though he can’t believe what he’s saying.
Those words change everything. ‘Say that again.’
‘I
did
see something, Ali. A beach. At least, I think I did. Unless all this talk has put ideas in my head . . .’
‘Don’t backtrack, Lewis. You might doubt yourself but I believe it. I have to.’ Despite the horror of my last moments on the Beach, my heart hums with excitement. If he saw it,
then
it exists.
‘Were there people?’
He shakes his head. ‘Just landscape. Colours. Blue and gold. But it did feel . . . very real.’
Part of me is desperate to try going online again right now – but I’m scared of what I might find. ‘So does that change things? Do you believe me now?’
‘Ali, I always have. But I’m rattled. That’s an understatement, by the way. I don’t
And one girl has crouched down on the sand, her hands covering her ears. Her eyes are wide with horror.
I feel something cold on my skin.
Rain.
It’s
never
rained on the Beach before.
Danny is staring at me, his eyes blood red. I don’t see love. I see terror.
His arm grips mine. Except . . . it can’t be Danny touching me, because he’s backing away.
I look down. There is a hand on my arm but it’s not Danny’s . . .
‘Lewis?’
He’s here. Next to me. Not on the Beach, but in his flat, his hand on my arm as he looks over my shoulder . . .
‘NO!’ I scream. I wrench my arm away, shut down the Beach as fast as I can.
But I already know it’s too late.
16
He stares at me as though I’m speaking a foreign language.
‘Lewis. Tell me. Did you see the Beach?’
His eyes are half closed, as though he’s trying to hide something. ‘No. I saw nothing. I’ve only come in because the alarm was ringing and I needed to turn it off. I was
calling across the room for ages but you didn’t hear that either. So I came over. But I didn’t look.’
I don’t believe him.
The phone alarm is sounding, shrill and insistent. I didn’t hear it at all while I was in Danny’s arms.
I try to make sense of what just happened, to guess how many seconds the thunder and lightning lasted before I realised Lewis was there. Ten. Maybe fifteen? ‘How long have you been next to
me?’
‘Not
that
long.’
‘It only takes a split second to see something you shouldn’t, Lewis. And I warned you how dangerous it might be.’
He sits down on the sofa. ‘Look, maybe I did see . . . I need some time. To . . . process it. To make sense of what it was.’
‘You promised you wouldn’t look.’
‘I didn’t mean to. It wasn’t
planned.
But you seemed to be in a trance. I had to try to wake you somehow, so I touched your arm and then—’
‘Then you couldn’t resist a peek, right? And because of that, I might have lost
everything
that matters to me.’
Hurt crosses his face, but I’m too furious to care.
‘I almost lost the Beach before when I asked questions I shouldn’t have. I can’t imagine what the penalty is for showing someone
else
.’
Lewis is running his hand through his hair, and it sticks up like he’s a cartoon character who’s seen a ghost. ‘Alice, we don’t even know this place exists, so how can we
have broken the rules?’
‘Doesn’t exist? So all that stuff about researching the Beach, helping me discover the truth? You were only fobbing me off. You think I’m mad too!’
‘No, I didn’t meant that, but surely it can’t have changed in a split second—’
‘Shall I tell you what changed? Why I turned round? It was because . . .’ I remember screams, sudden darkness. My refuge transformed into a place of terror.
Lewis stands up again. ‘Ali. Ali, you’re right. I’m sorry.’ He reaches out for my hand but I back away. ‘I promise I didn’t do it on purpose. I was afraid for
you.’
His voice is so contrite that it takes the heat out of my anger.
‘What if it’s too late?’ I say.
‘I did see something,’ he murmurs, as though he can’t believe what he’s saying.
Those words change everything. ‘Say that again.’
‘I
did
see something, Ali. A beach. At least, I think I did. Unless all this talk has put ideas in my head . . .’
‘Don’t backtrack, Lewis. You might doubt yourself but I believe it. I have to.’ Despite the horror of my last moments on the Beach, my heart hums with excitement. If he saw it,
then
it exists.
‘Were there people?’
He shakes his head. ‘Just landscape. Colours. Blue and gold. But it did feel . . . very real.’
Part of me is desperate to try going online again right now – but I’m scared of what I might find. ‘So does that change things? Do you believe me now?’
‘Ali, I always have. But I’m rattled. That’s an understatement, by the way. I don’t
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