Blue Eyes

Blue Eyes Chapter 1 Marie felt her entire body tense up when she spotted Matthew across the crowded room. She wanted to evade eye-contact at all costs but at the same time wanted nothing more than to stare long enough until he noticed her. “Marie” Said her companion Julie “Are you listening?” They were sitting the in brown, leather armchairs at the other side of the dancefloor, Julie’s was facing away from the bar so she was not immediately aware of why Marie had a far-away gaze in her eyes. “Sorry, I was listening” She replied. Julie turned around and looked at the man standing near the bar who was now being given a close hug by an attractive young woman. “I like you’re taste” Said Julie “But I‘m not getting vibes that he‘s single” “I don’t have a crush on him, he‘s just someone I know” Replied Marie defensively. “We’ve lived together for more than a year now, I know you better than that, Marie!” Marie sighed and admitted defeat. When in the company of her flat-mate Julie hiding feelings wasn’t exactly an option. “He’s a police sergeant, a colleague, I’ve worked with him at a couple of crime scenes” Marie Wells had come to the UK from America eighteen months ago and worked at the same police station as Matthew Callaghan for all of them. When she looked across the room at him again she felt a small triumph when she noticed the absence of his female friend. Suddenly he looked in her direction and waved, she pretended not to notice him when he waved her over. Though Marie wasn’t so sure that was a good thing when he started dodging his way through the throngs of people to get to her table. “He’s coming” She told Julie “Don’t turn around” Though she had spotted him a long while ago Marie feigned surprise at seeing Matthew, hopefully to throw off the fact that she was absolutely besotted with him. “Just wondered if you’d like to join us?” He said cheerfully “Us?” Said Marie nonchalantly. “We’re celebrating my little sister’s birthday, the more the merrier, come on” Marie felt her body taking control of her mind and will as she felt herself go with him. She didn’t have a lot of choice when he grabbed her hand and practically dragged her out of her seat. In turn Marie turned to find out where Julie had gone and noticed her grinning ear-to-ear while disappearing in the direction of the ladies toilets. “Go for it!” She mouthed. Marie gave her a less than approving glance and then lost her in the crowd. She felt out of her depth, there were only two people she knew, one was Matthew and one was another of their mutual colleagues, everyone else was a stranger. “Marie, I’d like you to meet the birthday girl” He said “This is my little sister Gillian” Relief filled her up when she recognised the attractive brunette as the woman who was very close to Matthew earlier on. Gillian Callaghan had a short, cropped haircut, the type Marie could never pull off. Gillian kissed Marie’s cheek in the way of a greeting. “It’s nice to meet you” She said “You must work with Matt” “I do, I’m one of the scenes of crime officers” She replied “I’d never guess you as brother and sister“ “Matthew and Adrian are more like our dad, apparently I took after my mum” Gillian replied. Simply by the way he looked Marie guessed the man who had just passed Matthew and

Gillian a drink was Adrian. In a white long-sleeved t-shirt with black trousers he was just as stunning as Matthew. They both shared fair hair, the type that bleaches in the summer sunshine and icy, flawless blue eyes that had an almost hypnotic quality. “I’m Adrian, Matthew’s brother, sorry I didn’t bring you a drink I wasn’t sure what you were having” “That’s no problem” She replied It was a couple of minutes before she realised that her so-called friend Julie had abandoned her completely and was now enthralled in a conversation of her own with a new-found male companion. “So what part of the states are you from?” Asked Adrian “I’m from the sunshine state, Florida” Their fledgling meeting was cut short by the return of Gillian who had just announced that everyone was moving on to a nightclub. Both Matthew, Adrian and the whole troop of them accepted, however Marie figured she wasn’t going to push her luck and shyly withdrew to find Julie. ******************************. Marie was left in a flutter of excitement about meeting Matthew Callaghan the night before. Though she hated night-clubs as a rule, she felt like kicking herself for not taking the opportunity to get to know him better. She sauntered back to her flat through the park carrying shopping bags full of sensible winter clothing. She still couldn’t quite get used to the British November climate. She passed numerous dog walkers on the bright but freezing cold day and one or two homeless people making home of a wooden bench. Marie’s eyes were on the floor, if she’d have looked up then she’d have been squinting blindly into the bright sunshine. She raised her eyes to see a black and white Springer spaniel exit the artificial lake, and shake, it’s owner copping most of the excess water, but seemingly taking it in good humour. Marie smiled to herself thinking about her own dog at home in Florida who now lived with her sister Kate. She missed the unconditional love that only came from a dog, bad day or good the dog would still be pleased to see her at the end of a day, and never argued with her or judged. “Well, fancy seeing you here” Said the owner of the dog “We kind of lost each other last night!” She had been so lost in thought she hadn’t noticed him coming towards her. Marie looked up, firstly mistaking his voice for Matthew’s. It wasn’t Matthew. “Adrian?” She said, unsure of his name “Please tell me I’m right, I have a terrible memory” “You’re right” Marie laughed, she was aware of the dog who was reveling in a patch of mud and brambles. “You have a beautiful dog” “Beauty‘s not exactly a word I‘d use, but I love her all the same” Smiled Adrian “It was Matthew’s turn to walk her today but he’s such a wimp when it comes to hangovers” “I’d never have guessed” She replied “No hangover for you then?” “Not as big a one as him!” He smiled “But why do you think I’m wearing sunglasses?” “You should take them off” She said “I’m sure even with a hangover you’ve still got beautiful eyes” Marie amazed herself by the ease she felt around him to be able to pay him a compliment such as that. “Thank you” He said humbly. He called the spaniel whose name was Maggie and clipped the lead to her collar. “Why don’t I give you a ring in the near future and we can get together sometime” Adrian suggested.

In their two encounters with each other, Marie felt comfortable around him, talking to him wasn’t an effort there were no awkward silences. Had he not looked so much like his brother she could have almost forgotten about Matthew. Adrian typed the number she gave him in his phone, saved it, promised he would call her and arrange getting together at some point soon. Adrian wasn’t Matthew but Marie found herself looking forward to his phone call all the same. ******************************** After a day and a half Adrian made good on his promise to phone Marie. “You don’t go out on dates very often do you?” said Julie. There were clothes from Marie’s wardrobe scattered all over the floor, with Marie sitting on the carpet in the middle of the mess. “If I wear this” She said picking up a stunning black dress “I’ll look like I’m trying too hard” Julie simply laughed. “What if he just means we’re going out as friends” She panicked “What if it isn’t a date” Julie came down to Marie’s level and sat on the floor with her, she put her hands on her friend’s shoulders reassuringly. “Listen, from what you tell me this Adrian is hot, am I right?” “He looks just like Matthew, so yes he is” Admitted Marie “What’s that got to do with anything?” “Marie, gorgeous men like that don’t just ask women out to be friends, it’s a date, trust me” After much deliberation and with a reality check from Julie, Marie finally decided on her faithful black trousers and a sparkly top finished off with a pair of highheeled shoes. Marie inwardly thanked Julie for making her dress up as she followed Adrian into an up-market pasta restaurant in the west-end. They sat at the table for two designated by the waiter. “So how many first dates do you bring here?” “You’re the first, unless you count my sister” He replied. “That’s kind of sweet, Adrian” She grinned. “It’s not” He said, slightly embarrassed “Gill had a job as an understudy to some west-end actress and I was working a lot of night-shifts in the hospital at the time, so we used to come here for dinner before we both started work” The waiter came and took orders for their drinks and swiftly disappeared again. “So you’re sister is actress, you’re brother is a police officer, what do you do?” “I’m a radiographer, I do x-rays and CT scans for a living” “Sounds interesting” She remarked. “It is, but enough about me. I asked you out because I want to hear something about you...” ******************************* A garlic-bread and a large pasta dish later Adrian insisted on paying the bill and they left the restaurant in the direction of the Westminster embankment. “I’ve been living in Rochester for over a year now, and never set a foot in central London until now” They stopped and Adrian turned to her with a look of surprise on his face. “Then you’ve never lived until now” He said Marie’s attention turned to the imposing structure of the London Eye on the other side of the Thames. It struck her how well it fitted in on the London skyline, it was an impressive product of the new century, in a city balanced old and new structures so well, The Eye looked stunning against the background of the dark sky. “Adrian” She said, turning back to him “I really had a good time tonight, but in

the past I’ve always been ‘a friend’ and nothing more where men are concerned, we are more than friends aren’t we?” “You are really sweet, do you know that?” He said looking into her green eyes. After what felt like an eternity of silence he kissed her. After initially being taken by surprise Marie began to realise how much she was enjoying herself. Although despite herself she couldn’t help but wonder if this was what it felt like to kiss Matthew. When the thought crept in it gave her the first uneasy feeling she’d had all evening and she broke the kiss. “I don’t know about Florida but here in the UK, friends don’t usually kiss each other like that” “No Matthew, they don’t” “Adrian” He corrected. He realised that in any other circumstance he would not be justified in feeling as offended as he did, ordinarily it would simply be a innocent mistake. Although, following a kiss like one they had just shared, the last thing Adrian had expected to hear was Matthew’s name. To say the least, it hadn’t been the response he was hoping for. Marie gasped at her grave error, it killed the romance building between them. “I’m so sorry, Adrian” “It’s alright” He said with a resigned sigh “I’ve known from the moment I saw you staring at him across the bar you had a thing for him” “Adrian...” “No, it’s fine, really” He said, hurt laced the tone of his voice like poison “I just really like you and thought that maybe, just maybe I’d be able to charm you enough to fall for me instead” He began to turn away and Marie followed, the shoes that were hurting her feet made his fast pace hard to keep up with. “Just wait, this is our first date, and I can’t say how sorry I am. I was having a great time” She began “Honestly, I do like Matthew but I thought by going out with you I could move on and fall for someone else.” “That’s not the answer I was looking to hear either, Marie” He said disappointed. Adrian stayed silent for a long while, simply staring at her, thoughts quickly turning over in his head. He marveled at the intensity of the situation he had found himself in with a woman he had known less than a week. “I honestly don’t think I can start a relationship with you when it’ll be in the back of my mind every time you kiss me that you’re probably thinking of my brother. Come on, I’ll take you home” And with that their budding relationship was brought to a swift ending. Chapter 2 Adrian glanced at the clock in disbelief, half past twelve already, he was due to leave for work in half an hour. Since his car was in for MOT it seemed he was getting the train into London. Maggie was growling to herself on the floor in front of him, keeping herself amused with a deflated football. She was blissfully unaware of the strains that befell a human existence. A fact of life that made her owners envious. Another being that seemed to be unaware of any stresses and strains was the man who had just walked in through the front door. It was Adrian’s eccentric father Joe. “Matty?” He called “Adrian?” “Living room, Dad” “Hi, kiddo” His father replied “You watching the rugby with me?” The boys and their sister had grown up without a mother since the oldest of Joe’s children, Matthew, was only six years old. Christina Callaghan passed away suddenly following a car accident. Since the snuffing out of her young life, Joe lived for his children, doting on each of them more than seemed humanly possible. It either was that, or let grief consume him and turn inward.

“I’m getting the train to work in half an hour” Said Adrian putting his shoes on “But Matthew’ll be out of bed later, he’s doing a night-shift tonight” Joe was slightly more hurt than he expected to be. “Game’ll be finished by then” He said “Call in sick, Adrian” Adrian now began to put his things in his bag and was showing no signs of staying home with his Dad. “Who starts work at three o clock in the afternoon anyway?” Joe asked miserably. “I do” Replied Adrian apologetically. Joe grabbed Adrian’s wrist as he walked past the sofa on his way to the kitchen, and made him stand still for a second. “You need a girlfriend, my boy” He said “She would take your mind off things” Adrian laughed almost contemptuously. “Don’t even go there Dad, all the good women take one look at me and like Matthew better” He complained “God, I sound like a school kid again!” Joe sighed and sat silently. He knew all the quirks of his children’s characters, all their indivual triumphs and pitfalls and what made them tick. It could be said he knew he them better than they knew themselves. Joe had watched the son in front of him develop physically and mentally into the adult that stood in front of him. He knew that whenever something was bothering his youngest boy, his clever one, that Adrian had always retreated into his studies. Now that they were over, his escape from life’s problems was his work. He had always said it was the one aspect of his life that only he solely had control over. Joe knew no better way to get Adrian to talk to him than to say nothing while staring into his eyes that were so uncannily like his own. “I couldn’t have made it more romantic if I tried, Dad, I kissed her and she looks at me, glowing, and then kills every ounce of passion and romance by calling me ‘Matthew‘” “I think you’re over-reacting, mate” Said Joe. “Nah, I saw the guilt written all over her face, I know she’s liked him for a while, naturally he’s oblivious to every female, so she decided to try me instead. Apparently I didn’t match up!” He complained “Never mind though, at least my dog loves me” Adrian grabbed his bag, stroked his dog, placed a hand on his father’s shoulder then headed out to the train station. Joe slumped back into the sofa letting it engulf him, grabbed the TV remote control and proceed to watch the rugby game on his own. Joe lived alone, and although apart from Maggie he was still alone he somehow felt less lonely in Matthew and Adrian’s home. ********************* The Rugby match had been won and lost, Matthew had been up briefly and headed out to work just like Adrian, and Joe was alone again. There was an almost inaudible knock on the front door, the nervous knock of a person unsure if it was right they should be there. Joe had quizzed Matthew about the woman who had made Adrian blissfully happy for one single evening. Matthew had told Joe enough for him to know that the American woman in front of him, when he opened the door, was Marie Wells. She had the sea-green eyes Matthew had told him about and the chestnut brown, naturally highlighted hair. Marie looked like a woman who was unable to see the effortless, natural beauty that she possessed. However, if he could see it, he was sure everyone else could too. “What can I do for you?” He said “I’m Marie, I was hoping Adrian was around” When Joe smiled his eyes smiled too, a trait that people always saw as the indication of a genuine man. “He’s gone to work, so has his brother” He replied Against his better judgment the cogs in his mind started to turn. He saw Marie’s disappointment written all over her face. The look of someone who’d mustered up a lot of courage just to be there, only to find it was not necessary. For the sake

of his son’s happiness Joe made the decision to let his mischievous side take over, and play Cupid. “Oh, I’ll come by another time then” “Wait” He said as she turned around to leave “How do you fancy driving into London tonight?” “Excuse me?” She said. “Well, firstly, I’m Joe, Adrian’s father and secondly I know how much he hates taking the train” “I don’t follow” She said confused. “His car’s out of action at the moment and he’s got to get a train home at ten when he finishes work” Joe told her “I’m sure he’d appreciate being picked up in a nice warm, comfortable car by his pretty, new girlfriend” Marie considered what Joe said for a second. She weighed up how much she wanted to see Adrian again and clear the air between them. She decided she didn’t have the heart to disappoint the old man by telling him she wasn’t his son’s girlfriend, and went back to her car. Unbeknownst to her, she left Joe thoroughly pleased with himself, with a satisfied feeling that could only be summed up by the phrase ‘job done’. ************************ The small, dimly-lit area between the two x-ray rooms was commonly known as the ‘viewing room’, by the radiographers that used it. Now that x-ray images were not developed on film, the viewing room had been re-fitted with computers. This pleased Adrian who had trained in the dying days of film processing. Computed radiography was a great deal quicker. Commonly though, the viewing room was also used for chatter, gossip, drinking tea and coffee and surfing the internet. Adrian said a quick goodbye to his colleague who’d finished his shift at six o’ clock. His other colleague was on the upper floor, in the operating theatre, providing x-ray guidance to the surgeon fixing a spectacularly messed up elbow, Adrian was alone. Alone at least until the radiographer doing the night shift came in at seven thirty. He got up and went to the door of the viewing area and peered into the waiting room, glad to see that the department was deathly quiet. A sight not often seen in the busy London hospital’s Accident and Emergency department. In the hour and a half before Diane came in Adrian x-rayed only two hips, a hand and another elbow. Luckily for him, he was x-raying when Diane came in, and not surfing social networking sites on the computer. Diane was the Superintendent Radiographer, his boss, not someone he wanted to catch him idly sitting around, even if there was nothing to do. “You may as well get a coffee in the staff room, as you can see I’m not run off my feet” He smiled as she came in. “Well, as you’re offering, and I’ve got a twelve hour shift ahead of me, I’ll take you up on that, Honey!” Adrian was surprised by how laid back she seemed to be, when he arrived three years ago, a newly qualified graduate, the notion of working with Diane scared him witless, he felt constantly assessed by her. Though now he felt things changing, he wasn’t a student anymore, he was a respected member of staff. Another thirty-five minutes went by and Adrian saw only one patient. In any department if a member of staff uttered the words: ‘it’s quiet in here’, they were thought to bring a curse on the day, and jinxing themselves to be presented with an incredibly busy day. Adrian was only thinking how quiet his shift was and by doing so, seemingly proved the jinx theory. The pager on the counter in the viewing room starting beeping and he got yelled at by it’s mechanical male voice, telling him he was needed to x-ray the victim of some major accident or assault, in the resuscitation room. He was secretly pleased that someone else’s misfortune had finally put an end to a very slow evening. He grabbed the key for the mobile x-ray unit and some image plates. Heading

quickly into the staff room he told Diane, who was stirring her coffee, where he was going. “Do you need a hand?” “No thanks, Diane, I’m good” “Well if you change your mind, you know where I am” With that, he made off down the corridor to see what he was going to be dealing with, for experience had taught him that it could literally be anything. ************************ After a long, painstaking search for a parking space Marie arrived at the hospital. Next job was to find Adrian. As she walked in her attention was drawn to the ambulance bay a few metres away. Out of the ambulance came two paramedics and a woman on a stretcher. She was covered in a red blanket and her face obscured by oxygen mask, but from what Marie could see she was a young blonde woman. Marie wondered what plans her accident had disrupted, she thought about the people waiting for her at home. Were there anyone waiting for her? Marie figured she would never know and carried on her way, she saw the team of professionals all convened in the resuscitation area waiting for the woman. All of them waiting to make their individual contributions of their expertise to try and save the patient’s life. Marie found the x-ray department a short way up the corridor. She crossed the empty waiting room and stood at the small reception desk. There was no receptionist present but in an equally small room just off the reception desk a woman wearing a clinical uniform came out to greet her. “Hi, can I take you’re name?” Said Diane. “Actually” Started Marie “I’m looking for Adrian Callaghan, is he here?” “He’s dealing with a patient at the moment, he’s not in the department” “Oh, right” “If you take a seat in here” Diane said, showing her to the sofa in the staff room “He’ll be back in a moment, hopefully” Marie sat down and glanced at her surrounding, a notice board was on the wall it was bursting with details of courses and meetings as well as a staff rota. Marie found herself impressed when she spotted Adrian’s name on it. Diane sauntered back in, opened a tin of biscuits and offered Marie one. Marie hesitated, but then took a chocolate covered one. Diane was a pretty woman, she had an accent that sounded like her origins were somewhere like South Africa. “Adrian’s a bit of a dark horse, isn’t he? He didn’t mention a new girlfriend” Laughed Diane. “Well...it’s a bit complicated” “I’m not going to get into trouble with him for letting you wait for him am I?” Asked Diane a little more seriously. The guilty look on Marie’s face answered Diane’s question, but before she could verbally reply, Diane was called away by a porter who had arrived with a patient from a ward. If she thought Diane would not tell Adrian of her arrival Marie would have considered sneaking off, with no one the wiser. Marie considered that to be an unlikely eventuality and sat tight, nerves eating away at her from the inside. She played the conversation she may have with him when she finally faced him again. She imagined the best scenario and the worst.

Chapter 3 Marie was staring at the floor when Adrian came in, her gaze along with her thoughts were disturbed when he spoke. “Marie. What can I do for you?” He asked “I went to your home, your father told me how much you hate getting the train so I thought it was a good opportunity to make up for what happened the other night”

“Honesty, I suppose” Mused Adrian “Are you here to give me a lift home then?” Marie nodded “If you want one” “Well, I do hate trains and it is cold outside” He replied “This is easier than I imagined, Adrian” She said “I thought you hated my guts” She stood up, standing a little closer to him than she intended to. “I’m not going to let you drive all the way here just to turn you away, and hate is such a strong word” Adrian grabbed his things and said a quick goodbye to Diane, he and Marie walked out of the hospital and down to her silver BMW. The concrete floor beneath his feet was beginning to get slippery underfoot where the moisture on the floor was freezing. “I’m surprised, I didn’t expect you to make any effort to make things up to me let alone this” He said as he sat down in the passenger seat. Marie turned the key in the ignition and the first thing she did was turn on the heater. She trembled with the cold, while Adrian could visibly see his breath. “I’m surprising myself” She said hoping beyond hope she would be able make him understand her. “It’s true I liked Matthew, I told you that everyone I ever like in that way sees me as ‘good old Marie’, their pal. Facing reality Matthew never would have looked at me in that way. But you did.” “So....” Said Adrian, unsure of her point “So, I really care about you, I could see myself with you, we’re a good match. I made a mistake the other night, I just need another chance. No one has ever kissed me like you did, Adrian, and I feel so easy around you, it’s effortless” Adrian hesitated for a second, trying to make sense of the situation he was in, he tried to think of a suitable reply. “Marie, you can’t have just lost all the feelings you had for Matthew...” “Facing the truth, it was lust , not feelings I had for your brother. Since you kissed me it’s different, it’s not lust between you and I, I just know its not” She pleaded, wishing he’d just understand her. “So what now?” He asked. Marie could think of only one answer to that question. She hooked her left arm around his neck and pulled him towards her. She kissed him with even more emotion and sentiment than when they had kissed opposite the London Eye. When they broke apart, he stared into her eyes and said: “That was a good answer. On that note, maybe I should swallow my pride and stubbornness and ask you out on another date” She smiled a smile that radiated all of the happiness and relief she was bursting with. “On one condition” He said “What’s that?” Her heart sank again with his serious tone “That you start driving and we get out of this God forsaken car park!” She laughed, and an inner warm sensation filled her from the core, despite the weather. “No objections here!” She giggled “Let’s go” Gillian took a quick look at the theatre’s crowd. Normally when she performed in a large theatre she bunched individual audience members together and simply saw one mass of people. No-one knew her, no-one was going to criticise her. Well, not to her face anyway. Though tonight was different. Gillian had worked tirelessly to get her boyfriend Paul to come and see her perform in ‘Canterbury Tales’. “It’s going to look weird, me sitting there all alone!” He complained. “Do you love me?” She said “You know I do, I don’t love your family, but I definitely love you” She kissed him. “Well, I got you to come here, next job is to get you to like my dad and my brothers” “It‘s not your dad, it‘s Matthew and Adrian I‘ve got a problem with” He said sourly.

“Well at least they’ve been to see the show already, which is more than I can say for you. You’ll learn to love them” She said. She stepped close to him, breathing in his scent, she rested her head against his shoulder. “Well, I know I’ve been whining about this, but you’re going to be amazing, I know you are” She kissed him again, and said. “I’ve got to go, I’ll see you after the performance” With that she left him to find his seat and wandered off to her dressing room. Adrian rested his head back against the seat and closed his sleepy eyes. Marie drove thorough the country roads of the greenbelt that stopped Kent from being merged with the continuing sprawl of the capital. “Why are you taking the scenic route? The motorway would be much quicker” Observed Adrian “I like the countryside at night, it’s peaceful, plus we miss the Friday night traffic this way” “Fair enough” He said “At least I‘m not freezing my backside off on a train station platform” He opened his eyes and fleetingly looked across at her. She quickly flashed him a smile and then her attention returned to the road. “So, are you going to ask me out then?” “Yes, I am. How does tomorrow afternoon at the Rugby sound?” “Who’s playing?” She enquired, with a grin. “Me, and Matthew” He said, then added “And the rest of the team. Obviously” Marie giggled. Adrian looked out of the window, specks of something clung to the glass. It was snowing. He watched as they silently melted away only to be replaced with new ones. Snow was alright he thought, until it froze, which was definitely going to happen in temperatures like these. He remembered back to a time in his student days. In similar weather conditions when the floor outside was like a sheet of glass, walking had been impossible. Adrian grinned to himself at the memory of he and his companion attempting to achieve the impossible, and remain on their feet. Every step was an effort, futile attempts were made by both not to walk on the extra slippery parts but that didn’t work. He had never laughed so much in his life though. Suddenly, Adrian’s ribs broke. His diaphragm tore. His spleen ruptured. His left hip shattered through his pelvis. The shot of pain struck him first, then Marie. Last thing Adrian was aware of was a blinding beam of headlights coming closer. And closer. The van should have given way at the T-junction. Instead, it came careering into his side of the car. A deafening crunch of bending metal filled the air. An explosion of debris rained down onto the snowy ground. Marie let out a high-pitched scream. She felt like a rag-doll being thrown around. Then unconsciousness swallowed her too like a dreamless sleep. Blood trickled from her temple where it collided with the window beside her. Compared to Adrian and Marie, Roger barely registered the impact. The sharp, abrupt halt and the fact that he dropped his phone mid-conversation were quite a wake-up call, though. He shielded his face from the window. The silver BMW he’d just collided with and demolished spun across to the grass verge, and went careering down a bank. It came to rest, rear bumper just visible from the road. None of the windows in Roger’s Transit van were even cracked but he was afraid that the debris still raining down would smash through the glass. No amount of adrenaline could hide that his neck was now beginning to hurt. Roger heard a faint, disembodied voice in his vicinity. It took him several seconds to realise that despite every thing the mobile phone he dropped had remained connected. He scrambled around by his feet to find it. “Jesus, Roger, what happened” Said the voice at the end of the line

“I just smashed into something, didn’t I!” He yelled, his voice and entire body still trembling. “Are you alright, is the van alright?” Said Steve on the other end of the phone. “Shit, it’s because I was on the phone. The police are going to eat me up and spit me out!” Steve took his friend’s panicked ranting that he was physically fine, and uninjured. “What about the other car?” “It’s over in the grass verge, down a ditch, no one’s come out yet” He reported. “Is the van drivable?” The engine was still running and despite a dented bumper and damaged paint work it was miraculously drivable. “What?” Said Roger. “You need to get out of there, if you stick around police, ambulance and God knows who else is going to want you. You could go down for this” “I can’t just leave!” Protested Roger “Just bring the van here, I’ll sort it out, no one will know what’s happened” “Shit, Shit, Shit” He cursed, and ended the call. Roger took a look at the roads, no signs of headlights or anyone who could identify his vehicle. He glanced at what he could see of the car. It was just a written off car, nothing more, he told himself. The snow was settling on it’s roof and there were no other signs of life. “God, forgive me” He muttered and drove away. It was bitterly cold when Marie opened her eyes. In the strange surroundings, it took her a while to work out where she was. Moving her knee made her almost pass out again. Her unbelievable headache made her want to close her eyes. The part of her mind still functioning on a logical level told her not to. If she did, she may freeze to death before someone found her. She still couldn’t quite recall what had happened. Suddenly from the depths of her memory came the random, but highly useful, fact that she kept a torch in the glove compartment. Swallowing the pain and the nausea that came with moving, she retrieved the torch. Praying it had enough battery, she switched it on and shone it on Adrian. She said his name. And again. Too much longer and he’d be dead, she was sure of it. “Damn it” She cursed “We need help” She couldn’t quite remember where she’d put her phone. She searched Adrian, as carefully as she could, hoping to find his. “We haven’t got time for this” She muttered to herself. She reached for her side door, relieved when it opened with a click. She ungracefully fell out onto her side, in the crunchy, snow-covered grass. Grabbing her torch she pulled herself up the bank, with her arms and one good leg. She only realised the seriousness of her situation when she saw no houses or buildings for miles. Totally isolated, her love of the peaceful countryside was coming back to haunt her. Letting out her pain, despair, frustration and fear in an audible moan she curled up in a ball on the ground. The only sure and comforting thing was the ground beneath her. It was solid and steady, going nowhere and supported her no matter what. Unlike the car she was just in. Shivering, unsure if it was shock, hypothermia or both she closed her eyes and hoped a passing vehicle would spot the wreckage and see her torchlight shining out into the darkness.