“I presume she is no longer with us?” Leo said with a sad smile.
“She passed away four years ago, not long after my dad died,” Paige said, her breath catching in her throat the same way it did every time she thought of her dad.
“I’m so sorry,” Leo said, “To lose both of them so close together must have been very difficult.”
“It was,” Paige said, “I thought I would never recover from the pain.”
“It isn’t quite the same to lose a sibling as to lose a parent, but I can empathise. When I lost my sister, I was so young, I felt like the world had ended.”
“Of course, I’m sorry, you know exactly how it feels. How old were you?” Paige said gently.
“I was 6 years old. She was 13, barely a teenager when we lost her. We were very close, despite the age gap,” Leo said, eyes drifting unfocussed in the mid distance.
“I’m so sorry,” Paige said, “She was so young.”
“She was. There is nothing as surreal as a child’s funeral,” he said, lost in memories, but the open tone of their conversation was encouraging him to speak, “It poured for her funeral day. My parents planned a huge wake in the garden after the church service, and we had to cancel it. I didn’t think that day could be any more difficult, but somehow knowing that the rain had spoiled her wake made it so much harder. Her coffin was so tiny... it was as if she wasn’t in there at all. As if it was for someone else.” He broke off as if worried her drifted too far into the past. Paige gave a sympathetic smile to reassure him that she understood. Leo gave a half-smile back.
“How awful, your parents must have been devastated,” Paige said.
“Yes... especially as my father blames himself,” Leo said gravely, “He was there when she died.”
“Oh my god... that’s awful. But why does he blame himself?”
“Well, because it was his from..” Leo was cut off as Paige’s phone began to ring, “Do you need to get that?” Paige examined the screen and saw Rufus’ name appear.
“No, I’ll ignore it,” Paige said, pressing the call decline button. Her phone immediately started to ring again, “I’m really sorry,” she said, muting her phone. She noticed she had two texts from her mum.
Mum
19.30pm
Rufus rang me. He’s coming to Oxford this weekend and wants to see you.
19.32pm
What do I do?
CHAPTER SEVEN
“IS EVERYTHING OK?” Leo said, noticing the look on Paige’s face.
“It’s my ex, he’s coming to Oxford to try and see me,” Paige said, beginning to regret agreeing to the drink. So much had changed in the last week that she hadn’t really realised how quickly it had all happened. She hadn’t even gotten her stuff from Rufus’ flat yet. What am I dragging Leo into?
“Does he know where your mum lives?”
“Yes, he visited her with me a few months ago...” Paige realised that Rufus could turn up at her mum’s house at any point.
“It’s okay if you have to get home,” Leo said.
“No, I want to stay,” Paige said. Her phone vibrated again, this time with a text from Rufus.
Paige unlocked the phone and read it aloud to Leo:
Rufus
19.32pm
I gave you space, but I want to talk. I’ve packed up your stuff and I’m coming to Oxford to see you. I’ve just stopped at Chieveley services, see you soon.
Leo blew out his breath in disbelief. “I’m really sorry,” Paige said, “I think I have to go and deal with this. He’s only half an hour away.”
“I understand. Next time, it’s your round,” he added cheekily, standing up and downing his drink.
“Definitely, next time,” Paige said, “Please stay, you don’t have to see me out.”
“That’s okay, I make a point of never drinking alone if I can help it.”
“Very sensible.”
Paige rang Tom, who picked her up outside the pub.
“I’ll walk you out,” Leo said, coming to stand with Paige at the front of the building. Tom’s car pulled up, a familiar and comforting sight that reminded Paige of her childhood years with her dad. Tom and her dad had been friends for so long they were always intertwined in her mind. They felt like home.
“Good evening, you two,” Tom said, rolling down the passenger side window and leaning so that they could hear him.
“Thanks for picking me up,” Paige said, “Leo, this is my step-dad, Tom,” she turned back to Leo and was surprised to see his face had fallen, “Are you okay?” she asked.
“What?” He seemed to jump out of his thought chain to make eye contact with her again, returning to his light-hearted smile like flicking a switch, “Sorry, I was away with the fairies for a second. Lovely to meet you, Tom” he said, leaning in for a rather awkward handshake.
“Sure, pal, you too!” Tom said, also clearly somewhat confused by Leo’s change in attitude, “Come on, P, we better get going, your mum is frantic.”
Tom took her home, as arranged. That car was filled with so many memories that it almost made Paige forget what was to come. Her life had become so complicated over the last few years, she yearned to return to that childhood feeling of freedom.
As they got out of the car, Paige noticed a blue Audi parked up the curb
