Stand by Me

by S. D. Robertson

  Wendy hadn’t gone into detail about why they’d split up. But after overhearing her side of their heated final phone conversation, he had a good idea that Dr Nesbit had been cheating on her. This left Elliot conflicted. On the one hand, he was glad. It justified his lack of enthusiasm and meant he had her back to himself. And yet he could tell how much she’d enjoyed dating and having a life of her own again. The brief relationship had made her happy while it had lasted. Days like today served to remind him what a great parent she was – and how she deserved the best from him.

  ‘How are you doing, Mum?’ he asked her at the breakfast table while tucking into the bacon, sausage and eggs she’d fried up for him as a birthday treat.

  ‘What do you mean? I’m fine.’

  ‘I’m talking about, um, Alistair,’ he said, forcing himself to use that name.

  Her eyes widened as she finished chewing a mouthful of bacon before replying. ‘I see. I didn’t think you liked him, anyway.’

  ‘I didn’t really know him well enough to form a proper opinion, Mum.’

  She nodded. ‘Fair enough. I suppose I tried to distance you from the whole thing, in case it went wrong. Turns out I was right to do so.’

  ‘This isn’t about me. I asked how you were doing.’

  ‘Yes, that’s true. You did. I, er, I’m feeling a lot better now.’

  Elliot dipped a chunk of sausage into his egg and chewed it slowly, not quite meeting Wendy’s eye. ‘That’s good. You deserve to be happy.’

  His mum choked up at this, which he hadn’t expected. She didn’t cry, nor did she say anything straight away in response, but the glistening of her eyes and her sharp, heavy breaths said enough.

  Elliot emptied his plate in silence.

  Eventually, Wendy dabbed the corners of her eyes with a tissue from her sleeve and, breathing more naturally again, reached across the table to take Elliot’s hand. ‘I love you so very much,’ she said, smiling. ‘No one makes me happy like you do. Your father would be so proud to see what a lovely young man you’ve grown into. You really remind me of him sometimes, you know, especially around your eyes and in your smile. I like to think he drops by to watch over us from time to time; that he’s somewhere nearby on important days like these.’

  ‘Thanks, Mum. I love you too.’

  ‘I know.’ She gave his hand a tender squeeze before letting go, took a deep breath, then clapped her palms together above the table. ‘Now back to more important matters. We’ve got several hours between now and when the others arrive for your bowling trip. What would you like to do? It’s your day.’

  ‘Well, first of all I need to finish setting up my amazing new hi-fi. Then I’d like to listen to my CD all the way through.’

  ‘And afterwards?’

  ‘Hmm. I’ll have to give that some thought. It’s not every day I get to decide these things.’

  As the words left his mouth, Elliot felt a wave of sadness crash over him at the thought that he wouldn’t spend the day with Lisa, as he had done his previous two birthdays.

  Her birthday, which fell in May, had been different this year too. She’d spent the day out clothes shopping with her mum, rather than with him; that evening she’d hired out a church hall in Westwich, down the road from their schools, and held a big disco.

  He’d barely spoken to her all night. She’d spent most of it dancing or sucking face with Sean. Luckily, she’d invited some of Elliot’s school friends too, so at least he’d not been alone. He’d even danced with a couple of girls, still chasing that elusive first snog, but unfortunately it hadn’t happened. He was so shy when it came to girls he didn’t know. He always ended up falling over his words and making a fool of himself. It made no sense, considering how easy he found it to talk to Lisa, or even Charlotte and Joanne on the bus.

  That worried him less, though, than what was happening with Lisa. Were they really starting to grow apart, as he feared? God, he hoped not. He prayed that her relationship with Sean wouldn’t go on too much longer. He wasn’t worthy of her. Why did she have such weird taste in boyfriends?

  At least she’d made the effort to come to see him this morning. That was something, wasn’t it? And she’d picked a great present. Things between them were bound to change a bit as they got older. That was to be expected.

  ‘We’ll be fine,’ he told his reflection in the bathroom mirror later, while squeezing an annoying spot that had appeared on his chin. ‘She’d have come this afternoon if she could. We’re Elliot and Lisa – friends for life. We’ll be fine.’

  But as often as Elliot told himself this, a part of him remained unsure.

  CHAPTER 26

  NOW

  Tuesday, 24 July 2018

  ‘What was that all about?’

  Elliot jumped at the sound of Chloe’s voice behind him. He was still standing at the side of the main road following Ben’s sudden departure. ‘Hello,’ he said, turning around and offering her the best reassuring smile he could muster.

  ‘Hi. What’s up with Ben? That car only just missed him.’

  ‘I know.’ Elliot shook his head. ‘I was talking to him about what happened yesterday and then he darted off into the road.’

  ‘That’s weird. Was he worried you might tell Mum and Dad?’

  ‘Maybe. I don’t know why he’d think that, though. Has he said anything to you?’

  Chloe laughed. ‘You’re kidding, right? He’s barely said a word to me since we got back from Manchester. I’m surprised he came to Uncle Jamie’s barbecue, to be honest. It was probably to keep an eye on us; to make sure we didn’t blab.’

  ‘Are you heading home?’

  ‘Yeah. Holly wasn’t feeling well. I went back to Uncle Jamie’s, but Dad said that you two had just left. I thought I’d follow.’

  The sound of a loud cat meow made Elliot jump for a second time. It was only when he saw Chloe reach for her mobile that he realised what it was.

  ‘It’s a menace, that cat noise of yours,’ he told her with a grin.

  She frowned at her phone and shoved it back into the pocket of her shorts.

  ‘Everything all right?’ Elliot asked.

  ‘Yes, fine.’

  He knew she was lying. He’d have been able to tell that even if he wasn’t privy to extra information about her than he should have been. It was written all over her face. Maybe now was the time to talk to her rather than Ben. He’d spent more one-on-one time with Chloe, anyway, so perhaps he would be more successful. Mind you, he didn’t want her doing anything stupid like running out in front of a car. He’d have to be careful.

  ‘Come on,’ he said. ‘Let’s walk together.’

  ‘Are you not going back to your hotel?’

  ‘I was going to, but I think I’d better come to the house. I want to check on Ben.’

  Chloe scrunched her nose up at this. ‘How come?’

  ‘You saw what he did. I’d like to make sure he doesn’t do anything else stupid.’

  ‘Like what?’

  Elliot shrugged. ‘He’s your brother. You tell me.’ Turning to check the traffic situation, he added: ‘Come on. Let’s cross while there’s nothing coming.’

  As they continued on their way, Elliot was wondering how best to get Chloe to open up when she turned the tables on him. ‘Elliot, can I ask you a question?’ she said.

  ‘You just did,’ he replied, immediately regretting how much that answer made him sound like one of his old school teachers. ‘But no, seriously, fire away.’

  She hesitated. ‘It’s a bit, um, awkward.’

  ‘Okay.’

  ‘The thing is, I’ve noticed that … well, let me put it this way, I know what you did with the knife in the kitchen.’

  This immediately grabbed Elliot’s attention, although he did his best to remain poker-faced. ‘I’m not with you. Do you mean at Jamie’s house?’

  She shook her head, eyes wandering all over the place, refusing to meet his gaze.

  ‘No, the first night we met, when
we were emptying the dishwasher together and that sharp knife slipped out of my hand. It was heading straight for my foot and then, well, suddenly it wasn’t any more. It changed direction for no obvious reason – went flying to one side – and …’

  Her voice trailed away.

  Elliot fought to keep his breathing steady. ‘Sorry, I don’t understand.’

  Chloe took them down the same narrow ginnel Ben had used. It ran between the generous rear gardens of two large modern houses. It was too narrow for them to walk side by side, so Chloe continued ahead, talking as she went without looking back.

  ‘If it was only that once,’ she said, a new confidence in her voice, ‘I’d maybe forget about it. You know, strange stuff happens sometimes that you can’t explain. But it’s more than that. I’ve noticed several other weird things.’

  ‘I see.’

  Emerging from the other end of the zigzag alley into a quiet residential street, she strode ahead in a way that reminded him of her brother a few minutes earlier.

  She continued: ‘So at the train station in Manchester I remember how you knew where Ben was even before he came out of the toilet. Like you were psychic or something. Then there was that trick in the car park where you convinced the woman working there that you didn’t need to pay when you did. And look at the way you saved Ben when he was choking. How did you react so quickly? You were at his side, helping him, before the rest of us even knew what was going on.’

  Chloe stopped in her tracks and turned to face him, almost leading them to collide with each other. ‘You turned up out of nowhere. I’ve never seen you with a mobile or a wallet. There’s something strange going on, I’m sure of it. And it’s not just me. That weird woman who got into the car in Manchester saw it too. Then you did something – you stopped her somehow. How can you explain all that?’

  Elliot nodded at Chloe and smiled, as if unfazed. He’d feared a moment like this ever since he’d arrived here. However, until a few minutes ago, he hadn’t expected Chloe to be the instigator. She was a lovely, bright little thing, so similar to Lisa at that age, although he hadn’t pegged her as being quite so feisty. This direct challenge of an adult she’d only known for a few days said otherwise. He was impressed. It made him feel bad about the way he’d have to respond – and yet there was really no choice at this stage.

  The shrill sound of a panicked female voice cut through the air. ‘Somebody help!’

  Saved by the bell. ‘Where did that come from?’ Elliot asked Chloe. ‘Sounds serious.’

  ‘The park maybe?’ She pointed to her left, where the road curved around to what Elliot remembered as a small green between the houses. It was just out of sight – and to call it a park was going a bit far – but he knew where she meant.

  ‘Help! I think he’s going to jump.’

  Elliot and Chloe looked at each other in horror and ran towards the voice.

  Turning the corner, they saw a pasty-skinned young mum with a pram standing on the pavement next to the green, staring up at a large tree. She was holding a mobile phone to her ear and said: ‘Yes, it’s an emergency. There’s a boy at the top of a big tree, threatening to jump … I’m in Aldham.’

  ‘Oh my God, it’s Ben!’ Chloe cried out, running ahead to the foot of the tree.

  ‘Do you know him?’ The woman looked at Elliot, mobile still to her ear.

  ‘Yes, I’m a family friend. Why do you think he’s going to jump?’

  ‘Wait,’ she told the person on the other end of the phone. ‘There’s someone here who knows the lad.’

  She looked back at Elliot. ‘Because he told me so. I was walking past when I saw him climbing that tree. I told him to be careful – and he said it didn’t matter, because he’d be jumping off in a minute.’

  Elliot waved a hand in front of her face and, looking her in the eye, spoke in a level voice. ‘It’s fine. He’s not going to jump. Tell them you made a mistake, then go straight home and forget this ever happened.’

  Her eyes glazed over, which Elliot knew was a good sign. Leaving her to do exactly as he’d instructed, he continued after Chloe, who he could hear shouting at her brother. ‘What’s going on? Why are you up there? Why is she saying you’re going to jump?’

  ‘Go away, Chloe,’ Ben replied. ‘This is nothing to do with you.’

  Elliot held his palm up towards Ben in the tree and commanded: ‘Don’t move a muscle.’

  Then, before Chloe could say anything else, Elliot waved the same hand in her direction, leaning into her ear and whispering: ‘Everything’s fine. You’re going to turn and walk home now. You’ve got a key, right?’

  She nodded.

  ‘Let yourself in and stick on the TV. None of this ever happened, okay?’

  ‘Okay.’

  ‘Good. You met me by the main road; we spoke for a few minutes and then we went our separate ways. You asked me some questions: things that have been bothering you about me. I answered them to your full satisfaction. You no longer have any concerns about me. I’m a normal guy. Got it?’

  ‘Got it.’

  ‘Off you go.’

  Elliot watched her walk back in the direction they’d come from as he gathered his thoughts. What he’d just had to do saddened him, but what other option was there?

  He sighed and looked up at Ben, who literally hadn’t moved a muscle. Then he did something he hadn’t done in many years: he climbed the tree. This wasn’t one he’d scaled much as a kid, as it hadn’t been particularly big then. But it had grown a lot in the last two decades. When he joined Ben at the top, the hairs on his arms standing up in the cool breeze, he discovered a nice panoramic view of the village.

  ‘This reminds me of my childhood,’ he said. ‘I used to climb trees all the time. Your mum and I went up quite a few together. Luckily, I haven’t forgotten how. I didn’t know it was your thing.’

  He looked at Ben, on the branch above him, and wondered why he wasn’t saying anything in response. Then he remembered the whole ‘don’t move a muscle’ thing.

  Waving his hand in front of Ben’s face, he said: ‘You can talk again now, but I want you to stay where you are on the tree until I say otherwise. Definitely no jumping off. Oh yes, and you’ll have no memory of not being able to move.’

  Elliot hoped that would be that in terms of having to use his powers of persuasion. It wasn’t something he enjoyed doing, especially with those he was here to help. On this occasion there was no choice, but for his mission here to be a genuine success, he needed them to do things of their own volition – not because he told them to.

  Ben blinked. ‘What the hell? How did you get up here?’

  ‘More to the point, what are you doing up here, telling people you’re going to jump?’

  ‘I only said that because I was angry. I came here to think – to get away from everything – and she started moaning about how I shouldn’t be climbing this tree; that I could fall off.’

  ‘Not a smart move, Ben. She nearly had the emergency services out.’

  ‘Really? God, that would have been embarrassing.’

  ‘Sure would. Anyway, mate, what’s going on? First you run away from me, darting across a main road, nearly getting hit. Now this. And don’t get me started on that grooming nonsense you were spouting.’

  ‘Where’s Chloe gone?’

  ‘Home.’

  ‘What about Mum and Dad?’

  ‘Still at your uncle’s, as far as I know. Listen, how about you stop asking me questions and answer mine. Why did you run away?’

  Ben looked at the ground below. He let out a long sigh and closed his eyes. ‘Because of what you said. That you knew the truth about what happened in Manchester. And the rest.’

  ‘The rest?’

  ‘That stuff you made up about a friend with a secret. That was you, right? I’m not stupid. I presume Mum knows. How come she’s never mentioned it?’

  ‘Sorry. Knows what?’

  ‘That you’re gay. I guess that’s how you knew about
me. Gaydar and all that. But I’m scratching my head to see how you can really know what happened in Manchester. Was that bit bullshit? Were you guessing that it had something to do with meeting a guy?’

  Elliot weighed up how best to answer. The clumsy, spur of the moment story about his fictional friend had backfired. He hadn’t been talking about himself.

  He’d been called gay on plenty of occasions over the years – particularly at school, when it had been a stock insult for someone who didn’t behave like everyone else. But the simple fact was that he found women, not men, attractive.

  All the same, as a man who took care of himself physically and was in touch with his feminine side, people had genuinely made that mistake before. He’d been approached in bars and clubs; some of his gay friends in Australia had wondered before getting to know him. So it made sense why Ben might believe this. But Elliot knew he had to tread carefully, particularly in light of the fact that the teenager had just confirmed that he was gay.

  ‘I can see why you might think that,’ he said, ‘but the truth is I’m not gay. I know lots of people who are. Sydney is very gay-friendly.’

  Ben’s face turned beetroot red. ‘But I thought … shit, I can’t believe I—’

  ‘Listen, I think it’s fantastic that you said it out loud. I’ll be honest with you, I was tempted to go along with it and say that you were right about me. That would have been the easy thing to do, but it wouldn’t have been fair on you, and it wouldn’t have been the truth.’

  Ben fell quiet.

  ‘So you came up here to think,’ Elliot said. ‘I get that. It was one of the reasons I used to climb trees a lot. There’s something powerful about being high up, with the world spread before you in miniature. It’s liberating and helps put things into perspective.’

  ‘I guess.’

  ‘Is it something you do often?’

  ‘Not really.’

  Elliot patted the wide trunk with one hand, enjoying the feel of the rough bark against his palm. Would this be the last time he ever climbed a tree? If so, he wanted to remember it. He took a deep breath, sucking in the fresh evening air, and relished the silence that had fallen between him and Ben, instead of being daunted by it.