Absolution(75)

“She needs her rest and the doc said we shouldn’t stay long,” Tom said. “Maybe we should come back later.”

Callum shook his head. “I think I’ll stay for a while longer.”

There was no way he was leaving her alone, not after what just happened. He had screwed up once already – he wasn’t going to do it again.

“I’ll collect some of her things from the house and be back here in an hour or so. I’ll bring you something to eat.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“I didn’t ask if you were hungry.”

“Fine,” Callum sighed. “Bring her chair.”

“I will.”

He reached over Callum and rubbed Ally’s arm awkwardly. “I’ll be back soon, honey. Try to get some rest.”

Ally made no indication she had heard him.

As Tom backed slowly towards the door, Callum tried to give him a comforting smile that fell woefully short of the mark.

Turning back to Ally, he noticed her reflection in the window-pane. She wore a vacant expression that he had never seen before. It was as if her essence, her soul, had been scraped away and all that was left was a shell, brittle and fragile. He squeezed her hand gently, afraid of hurting her.

“It’s going to be alright,” he said, trying his best to convince both of them. “I’m not going anywhere.”

His words hung in the air between them for a while longer before the silence swallowed them up.



Jack took his new cell phone out and tossed the box aside. Inserting the battery, he plugged it into the charger and scrolled through the options, familiarising himself. One phone seemed much the same as another, and it wasn’t the first time he had discarded a perfectly good cell phone in order to wipe the slate clean. Pausing for a moment, he went into the contacts function and added Callum’s number from his old phone, just in case. A moment later, he added Ally’s.

He picked up his old phone again and scrolled through the contacts list, pausing on his father’s name. His heart seized as he stared at it. He would give anything to be able to tap that call button and hear his familiar voice on the other end.

Turning the phone over, he pulled out the SIM card and threw both phone and card into the garbage. No more missed calls from Ben. No more threatening voicemail messages. No more looking over his shoulder. Once again, he was walking away from his old life.

He put his new phone down on the table and found himself staring at the shopping list his father had left on the fridge. The handwriting brought back memories, tugging at his heartstrings. He wished he were here, so much it hurt.

Why couldn’t he have made the decision to come home sooner?



Ally was pulling the yoga mat out of the hall cupboard when she heard a knock at the door. She checked her watch. Callum was early, not that it mattered. It wasn’t like she had any plans. Maggie had offered to come around but she wasn’t in the mood. After everything that had happened, she just felt like a quiet night in, by herself. Her head felt better though, so Callum was coming over so they could get the range-of-motion exercises out of the way before she settled in for the night.

She deposited the yoga mat on her lap and headed down the hall to answer the door. Much to her surprise, it was Jack, not Callum, who stood on her doorstep.

“Hi,” he smiled.

“Hi yourself.”

He waggled a DVD in one hand and a bag of popcorn in the other. “I hope I’m not being too presumptuous?”

Despite her best efforts, she couldn’t deny the wave of happiness that overcame her. All her misgivings from earlier seemed to vanish and she smiled back at him shyly.

“Not at all. Come in.”

“You sure I’m not interrupting anything?” he asked, indicating the yoga mat still on her lap.

Suddenly she remembered Callum. Anxiety destroyed the euphoria she had felt just moments before.

“No, nothing,” she lied, dropping the mat on the floor beside her with a tight smile. “Let’s go through to the living room. What’s the DVD?”

He smiled. “An old fave.”

“Sounds good. Make yourself at home, okay? I just have a quick phone call to make.”

She ushered him through to the living room, grabbing the phone on the way and disappearing into the kitchen with it. She kept one eye on him as she wheeled further into the kitchen, dialing Callum’s number with trembling fingers. The phone only rang twice before he answered.