A Long Way Back (Unfinished Business #2) - Barbara Elsborg Page 0,105
hand and held on tight. “Did you even think about it?”
Ink knew what Tay was asking. Whether he’d considered continuing to run and not come to the station. “No.” Not this time. He should have. He should have gone to a different station. But for the first time in a long while, he had a friend.
As the train pulled out, there were still empty seats opposite and in front of them, but most of the seats had reserved signs which meant others would be joining later. Ink put the dressing packet and the Steri-Strips between them, then struggled out of his jacket.
“Fucking hell,” Tay whispered. “Your T-shirt’s covered in blood.”
“I thought it might be. Let me get a clean one out of my bag first.”
When he sat down, he angled his back to Tay. Tay rolled the bloody T-shirt up to his neck and Ink pulled it over his head. “Hurry before someone comes.”
“Hey, I’m doing my best not to faint.”
Ink tensed as Tay peeled away the first dressing.
“Fuck,” Tay muttered. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
“Well, now I feel so much better. What’s wrong?”
“It’s opened up a bit.”
“Try and pull it together with a Steri-Strip.”
“I need to clean it first. Hold on.”
Ink turned to see Tay take a couple of the napkins from the sandwich bag along with a bottle of water. He wet one of the napkins and gently wiped Ink’s back.
Ink winced. “Did the blade miss Bela?”
“Yeah, it did. The wound’s just below her wing.”
He winced as Tay squeezed his skin but moments later, the new dressing had been taped in place and Tay was removing the one lower down.
“This one’s okay. It’s oozing blood, but the stitches are in place. It missed Bela completely. And any major organs. The doctor said it hit muscle. I had to tell them I was your brother to get in and… I’m sorry but they wouldn’t have let me see you or told me anything unless I was a relation.”
“It’s okay.”
Tay taped on the dressing, then wiped his lower back. Ink pulled the clean T-shirt over his head and got rid of the bloody tissues in the waste bin before returning his stuff to his backpack. Exhaustion swept over him.
“How did you manage to lose them?” Tay asked.
“Luck, I think. I played chase on the escalator at the Tube station, then hid behind a big guy until we boarded a train. I took a roundabout route to Euston. I wish no one had seen me come out of your place, though. Reporters keep pushing.”
“They’re intrigued by a shy hero. Someone who doesn’t want any acknowledgement of what they’ve done is rare.”
“If I’m linked… If Carter opens his mouth…”
“We’ll be fine. Stop worrying. Eat something. I bought cheese and onion pasties and they’re still warm. And two Mars bars which have probably melted since they’re in the same bag.”
The train had picked up speed and Ink sighed.
“You okay?”
“Yes. I feel safe when I’m leaving a place on a train. I see it as starting a new adventure. The first time I got on a train after I was released, I pretended I was on my way to Hogwarts. Bradford turned out to be nothing like Hogwarts.”
“I’ve never been to Bradford.”
Ink raised his eyebrows. “But you’ve been to Hogwarts?”
“Many times.”
Ink smiled. “Bradford was voted one of the worst places to live in the UK, but I don’t think much of polls like that. Who the hell is voting? If you live there, how do you know it’s worse than Grimsby or Billingham? If you don’t live there, then how come you can vote? Northern towns are never going to come off better than those in the south. Bradford was much nicer than some of the towns I spent time in.”
Ink bit into the pasty which was a perfect temperature, and all cheesy and gooey.
“You’ll love Northumberland,” Tay said.
“Why do you love it?”
“Because it’s big and open, the coastline is unspoilt, and I can drive for miles along roads and not see another car, and spend hours on a deserted beach with amazing views and seals in the water. When Jonty and I surfed, we sometimes had the sea all to ourselves. Northumbrian skies are huge and the stars are brighter because there’s less light pollution. I always felt free there. I want you to feel that too.”
It was a kind but impossible thought because Ink could never be free. What he was embarking on here was like a…holiday. Holidays didn’t last. There’d be a return