The Circle (Hammer) - By Elfgren, Sara B.,Strandberg, Mats Page 0,72

wall with a bang.

‘Nessa?’ Wille appears in the kitchen doorway. ‘I’ve been waiting for you all night. Where have you been?’ There’s no hint of rebuke in his voice, just concern.

‘Over at Evelina’s,’ she says, and makes a mental note to warn her alibi. ‘Why didn’t you call?’

‘Can’t we go to your room and talk about it?’ Wille asks.

Vanessa peers into the kitchen. Her mother is reading her horoscope book, studying it conspicuously to show that she isn’t eavesdropping.

Vanessa nods and they go to her bedroom. She shuts the door. When she turns around Wille puts his arms around her. She moves close to him, feels the warmth of his body and catches the smell that is uniquely his.

He’s mine, she thinks. Mine and nobody else’s.

‘Sorry for being such an idiot this morning,’ she murmurs.

‘I know why you were pissed off with me. I disappeared all weekend.’ He lets go of her. ‘I wasn’t at Jonte’s place … I was at his father’s cabin.’

‘Alone?’

‘I needed to think. I’ve been a bit depressed.’

Suddenly Vanessa is frightened. ‘About us?’

‘About everything,’ Wille answers. ‘I’ve got no job. I’m living with my mother. I haven’t done anything since I left school.’

Vanessa bites her lip. She’d been hoping he’d realise he needs a life. The question is whether there’s room in it for her.

‘I tried to think of what I like about my life and what I don’t. And I saw that there isn’t much I do like.’

Vanessa’s eyes fill with tears. Here it comes. Now he’s going to break up. This is where everything ends.

‘Except you,’ Wille says. ‘You’re the only good thing in my life. You and my mum. Shit – that sounds weird.’

Vanessa laughs and starts crying at the same time.

‘Nessa?’

‘I thought you were going to dump me.’ She snivels.

‘No, no! Far from it! It’s just … I want to be the man you deserve. You’re so incredible. I love you. And I was wondering … Can’t we get engaged?’ Wille digs in his pocket and pulls out a thin silver ring. ‘We can wait to get married, of course. Ten years, if you like. I just want everyone to know that we belong together.’

Vanessa’s head spins. She doesn’t know how she feels any more.

‘Do you want to?’ Wille asks.

Yes. There’s one thing she knows she feels: she loves him, whether she likes it or not. And she wants everyone to know they belong together. That they’ve chosen each other. That they’ve decided against everyone else. He slides the ring on to her finger. Then he digs out another, thicker, ring from his other pocket and hands it to her so that she can put it on his finger. ‘It’s you and me now,’ Wille says.

‘It’s you and me,’ Vanessa echoes. ‘I love you.’ She kisses his warm mouth and presses her body against his. His hands work their way under her top and down towards the small of her back.

There is a knock at the door. ‘Vanessa!’ her mother’s shrill voice calls.

Wille tries to break free but Vanessa clings to him. ‘Forget her,’ she mutters.

A moment later the door opens a crack. ‘Wille, Vanessa’s got school tomorrow.’ Her mother is using her serious voice, the one that brooks no resistance.

‘Oh, for fuck’s sake!’ Vanessa bursts out.

‘It’s okay,’ Wille says. ‘I’ve got to go home anyway.’

She follows him to the front door. She tries to kiss him, but Wille finds it embarrassing in front of her mother. Instead he gives her a hug. ‘I’ll pick you up after school tomorrow,’ he promises.

She shuts the door behind him. When she turns, her mother looks worried. Vanessa holds up her left hand.

‘Aren’t you a bit young for a ring?’

Her mood sinks. Her mother can’t even pretend to be happy for her sake. ‘It’s not like we’re getting married tomorrow,’ she snaps. ‘It’s a symbol that we belong together.’

‘I just don’t understand why you’re in such a hurry to commit yourself to someone when you’re so young.’

‘You got pregnant with me when you were sixteen, for Christ’s sake! With someone at a conference in Götvändaren! You were so drunk you couldn’t even remember his name.’

‘Don’t you use that tone with me,’ her mother says.

‘Don’t you use that tone with me,’ Vanessa mimics. She realises instantly that that was the wrong approach if she wants to seem mature enough to get engaged.

Her mother glares at her. ‘Go ahead then, play grown-ups. Maybe you and Wille should move in together so we have a bit more space