Before I Saw You
Emily Houghton
About the Author
Emily Houghton was a digital specialist, but is now a full-time creative writer. She originally comes from Essex but now lives in London. Emily is a trained yoga and spin teacher, is completely obsessed with dogs and has dreamed of being an author ever since she could hold a pen.
Readers love Before I Saw You
‘One of the must-reads of 2021! It is beautifully written, with characters that have such great depth.’
‘I expected this to be an emotional story. What I didn’t expect was to laugh and cry in equal measure … Absolutely amazing and a must-read!’
‘A really intense and original romance that is so well crafted and paced that it leaves you yearning for more.’
‘One of my favourite 2021 reads … Wonderfully crafted, complicated, messy, funny, broken and human characters. Loved them both so much.’
‘All of the characters in this book are so amazing, so loveable, and they jump right off the page.’
‘A lovely romance novel showing people in some of their darkest moments. I couldn’t put it down once I started, leading to a very long night!’
‘Truly inspiring and my heart constantly felt full of love and admiration.’
‘I loved this really fresh take on a love story … in your darkest days, the kindness of a stranger and a really good friend can make all the difference in the world.’
‘My heart was full of emotion. The characters were so believable and I was completely absorbed.’
For Rebecca, who believed in me and this book before I ever could. I carry your words and support with me in my heart every day.
1
Alice
As she slipped in and out of consciousness, all Alice could process were the stark white lights overhead, the acrid smell of burning, and the searing heat that ripped through her entire body.
An unfamiliar voice drifted above her. ‘Good God, she’s lucky to be alive.’
She wanted to try and work out where she was. Find out who these voices belonged to, and more importantly who on earth they were talking about. But it hurt to just be, let alone think. Plus, those lights were blinding.
‘Lucky? You think she’s going to feel lucky when she looks in the mirror for the first time? She’s been badly burnt, the poor girl.’
She tried to force her brain into action, fighting against the pull of sleep. Just as she was about to give up and allow the cool safety of darkness to take her, Alice started to piece it all together.
The ‘poor girl’.
The smell.
The burning.
It was her who was lucky to be alive.
It was her who had been on fire.
2
Alfie
‘There he is! Alfie Mack, the luckiest son of a bitch I know!’
He didn’t need to pull the curtain back to know who had come to visit him – he would never be able to forget that voice, even if he’d wanted to.
‘Not quite so lucky when they chopped my leg off, but you win some, you lose some, right?’
‘Can’t argue with that one.’ Matty shrugged. ‘Anyway, how have you been, buddy? By the way, I can’t stay long today, got to pick the missus up and go for lunch with the in-laws.’
It was normal for everyone to make their excuses to leave before they’d even taken a seat, and Alfie was grateful to Matty for at least asking how he was first.
‘Yeah, no worries, I’ve got a fairly packed day too.’
‘Really?’
Alfie could tell he was only half listening.
‘Oh yeah, it’s relentless in here. The main challenge is trying to guess the number of times Mr Peterson will get up and go to the toilet this morning. Normally we average a good seven, but if he has a sip of that apple juice, it could be anything up to ten.’
A disgruntled voice rang out across the ward. ‘When you’re ninety-two and your bladder is about as taut as a dead duck’s arse, you’ll be pissing constantly too.’
‘It’s all right, Mr P, there’s no judgement here. Although, are you sure you weren’t a writer in another life? Your vocabulary is downright poetic.’
The old man across the way in bed fourteen broke into a smile, then very quickly shoved his middle finger up at Alfie and returned to reading his newspaper.
‘Seriously though, mate, how are you doing? How’s the physio going? Any idea yet when you’ll be out of here?’ Matty’s eyes were wide with hope.
Everyone asked the same questions with the same concern. It was strange; on the one hand he knew that they all just wanted him home and out of the hospital, but at the same time he couldn’t help but sense their slight apprehension. He supposed that while he was in the capable hands of St Francis’s nursing staff, it was one less thing they all had to worry about.
‘No idea, if I’m honest. The infection seems to be all under control now. Physio is going well and they’re going to measure me for a custom prosthetic soon. I just need to keep building my strength up. It’s small progress but, as the nurses say … every step is a step closer to the end!’