Stand by Me

by S. D. Robertson

  ‘El!’ she called at the top of her lungs. ‘Elliot, wake up, there’s a fire!’

  There was no reply. No indication that he’d heard her.

  Dammit. Should she go in or call for help?

  Where would she even get access to a phone?

  She’d have to bang on one of the neighbours’ doors – and then God knows how long it would take before the firefighters arrived. El could be trapped or dead by then.

  She could still see all the way through the hallway to the lounge, where she knew he was sleeping.

  She needed to get him out of there … while she still could.

  Her whole body was shaking, but she knew she had to do this.

  Her gut told her it was the right move. And yet another voice in her head was screaming not to deliberately enter a burning building.

  There’s not that much smoke yet, she told herself, coughing nonetheless. Just do it. Do it now. Every second counts.

  Spitting out every swear word she could think of, Lisa unzipped her coat and threw it to one side.

  She turned her spinning head away from the open door, sucked in a deep breath of cold air, pulled the bottom of her jumper up over her mouth and nose, and started running.

  She tore straight past the kitchen door, which was also open, glancing to see the cause of the smoke as she passed – and immediately wishing she hadn’t. Bright orange flames were licking out of the metal litter bin beneath the window; they were starting to spread to the curtain hanging above it. She considered shutting the door, but fearful of doing anything that might make matters worse, she ploughed on through the hall to the lounge.

  It was smokier than expected.

  Her eyes were already stinging and watery as she ran up to Elliot’s side, grabbing his shirt and shaking him, yelling his name.

  His head lolled to one side and his eyes opened slightly, but they were glazed and unfocused. ‘Wassgoinon?’ he slurred. ‘Tryintsleeep.’ Then he started coughing, which turned into him vomiting all over himself, some of it even splattering on to Lisa.

  ‘Bloody hell!’ she shouted, slapping him around the face in a desperate attempt to rouse him. ‘How pissed are you? There’s a fire. We need to get out.’

  But his eyes kept opening and shutting, rolling around with no sign of any comprehension behind them.

  At this point Lisa knew there was only one way she was getting him out of here alive – by force. Dragging him was likely to be too slow and thus too risky, so carrying him was the only option. There was a reason they called it a fireman’s lift, she thought, kneeling in front of the sofa, grabbing her friend under the armpits, pulling him towards her and over her shoulder, and then fighting to stand up.

  God, he felt heavy. Twice Lisa’s knees buckled as she tried to stand up with him, gasping for breath but finding only dirty air entering her lungs, which weakened rather than strengthened her, making her cough and splutter. But finally, with a determined, animalistic cry, she did it. She got to her feet, Elliot slumped over her right shoulder, and stumbled back to the hall, using her free left arm to steady herself against the wall.

  The smoke was thickening, but thankfully Lisa could still see her way through to the back door. She focused on the thought of that cold, clear air outside and, ignoring El’s drunken gurgling, she lumbered on.

  Passing the kitchen again was the really scary part, as the flames had spread right across the curtains now, which were well ablaze. The smoke was pumping out thick and fast, and the heat was rising to sauna levels.

  She couldn’t get past it and out of the back door quick enough, almost tripping in the process. But somehow she managed to stay upright.

  And then they were outside.

  The icy air felt amazing on her face.

  Her body was crying out to drop Elliot now, but she needed to get him to a safe distance first, while she had some momentum. So she kept going until she reached the pavement, and then into the next door neighbour’s front garden, where finally she let Elliot drop on to the frosty grass and took a moment to catch her breath.

  ‘Are you all right, El?’ she asked, kneeling over him and still panting from the exertion. Her shoulders and back felt light in the absence of her friend’s weight but ached from the strain she’d put them through.

  There was sick all over his clothes and in his hair. Barely conscious, he gurgled something she didn’t understand. At least he was outside.

  The smell of smoke was everywhere now. She looked up and could see it billowing out of the open back door. Shit. She had to raise the alarm before the whole house went up.

  ‘Stay here,’ she told Elliot, who clearly wasn’t going anywhere. ‘I’ll be back for you in a minute.’

  She raced to the neighbour’s front door and frantically rang the bell, thumping her fist against the wood and shouting for help.

  Finally the outside light came on and then the door opened. They were both there – the elderly couple that Lisa recognised from retrieving balls and so on from their garden. Their faces were angry until their eyes landed on her and they saw that something was seriously wrong.

  ‘Next door’s on fire,’ she said. ‘I got Elliot out, but he’s in a state. There’s flames and smoke and I don’t know what to do. Please get help.’

  As she said this, in one long garbled breath, the man dashed to the phone to call the fire brigade.

  His wide-eyed wife started asking Lisa questions, but it was too much for her to handle. Her legs gave way and she crumbled on to the doorstep, erupting into a coughing fit.

  Kneeling down and helping her into a sitting position against the door, the woman said: ‘You poor thing. You’re shattered. Come on, we need to get you inside.’

  ‘No,’ Lisa panted, trying but failing to stand up again. ‘First Elliot.’

  In desperation, she pointed at her friend’s body slumped in the garden; the woman, noticing him for the first time, held her hand up to her mouth and gasped.

  ‘Don’t panic. I think … he’s just drunk,’ Lisa said, hoping she was right. And then, without warning, the tears started to flow. ‘I couldn’t wake him up,’ she sobbed. ‘I was so scared, I—’

  ‘The fire brigade’s on the way,’ the husband said. ‘Any idea how it started?’

  ‘I’m not sure,’ Lisa replied. ‘I just turned up, saw all the smoke and ran in there to get my friend out.’ She remembered seeing the kitchen bin well ablaze and had a bad feeling it might have been something to do with El smoking and leaving a fag butt in there, but the last thing she wanted to do was point the finger of blame.

  All of a sudden, Lisa felt dizzy and nauseous. ‘I think I’m going to …’

  Everything went black.

  CHAPTER 37

  NOW

  Wednesday, 25 July 2018

  ‘So Lisa carried you out of a burning building?’ Mike asked Elliot for a second time, shaking his head in disbelief.

  ‘Yep,’ Elliot replied. ‘Right here. I was overweight then too. It was some feat.’

  He’d intended to speak to the new owners, hoping for a quick look around his old house, but he’d knocked on the door and there was no one home. Probably as well, seeing as Mike stank of booze. But he would have liked to see what it looked like inside now: especially his bedroom.

  He had at least got a peek through the front windows, although this had drawn the attention of a curtain twitcher next door, where Lisa had carried him all those years ago. Elliot didn’t have the energy to speak to them, knowing that the neighbours he remembered had long since moved away, so he’d retreated to the pavement to avoid looking like a burglar.

  ‘I can’t believe Lisa’s never mentioned it,’ Mike said. ‘A big thing like that: you’d think she would have told me.’

  ‘It was a long time ago – and it really shook her up. Me too, of course, but less so since I don’t remember any of it. It wasn’t until the next morning that I grasped what had happened. And all of it was my fault. If I hadn’t got so wasted and flicke
d a fag butt in the kitchen bin without stubbing it out first, there wouldn’t have been any fire. I never smoked again after that.’

  Still on the pavement in front of his old house, Elliot looked over at Mike, who was staring into the distance. ‘Sometimes it feels like I don’t know Lisa at all, even though we’ve been married sixteen years.’

  Elliot frowned. This wasn’t what he was trying to achieve by telling Mike the story. He wanted to bring them closer together, not further apart. ‘Listen,’ he said. ‘If it’s any consolation, she’s barely spoken about it to me. Back then she said it was so traumatic and terrifying that she wanted to forget it had ever happened. She was a true hero that day. She’s always brushed that off, saying she did what any friend would do, but she risked her life to save mine. The firefighters reckoned I’d have been a goner without her. The place was in a terrible state. We never lived there again.’

  ‘Where did you go?’

  ‘We moved in with Ian. He was renting a house nearby at the time and there was more than enough room for all of us. Soon after, he surprised everyone by proposing to Mum and inviting us to return to Australia with him after my A-levels.’

  ‘Weren’t you bothered about leaving your friends behind and stuff?’ Mike asked.

  ‘I was hesitant at first. Mum too, but like I said, Ian’s very persuasive. He convinced us what a great opportunity it was. Plus most people were heading off to university, anyway. I had a place at Durham to study Computer Science, but I managed to get it deferred for a year, in case. Then once I was over there, I got accepted for uni in Sydney. I’d fallen in love with the city by then – and Mum was the happiest I’d ever seen her.’

  ‘What about family?’

  ‘That wasn’t much of an issue. Mum was an only child and her parents were both dead. My dad, also an only child, had died when I was little and his parents had turned on Mum afterwards, like it was her fault, so they weren’t in our lives either. Plus our house was a wreck, thanks to me, so it was a no-brainer.’

  Noticing the curtain twitcher watching them again, Elliot suggested they should continue on their walk.

  ‘We’re not going back yet?’ Mike asked, crestfallen.

  ‘Soon. If you could humour me a little longer, I have one more place I’d like to visit. You know Vicky Lane, right?’

  ‘Of course.’

  Elliot led the way along the rough, moss-laden tarmac of Victoria Street, to use its correct name, where time appeared to have stood still. It was just as he remembered it: the wild plants and bushes; the tall trees; the occasional dog walker; and children laughing somewhere out of sight.

  He scoured the opposite side of the stream as they walked along, making occasional small talk but holding back on the important stuff until they reached their destination.

  ‘Right, I think this is it,’ Elliot announced. ‘Yes, I’m pretty sure. How are you feeling, Mike? Sobering up?’

  ‘I’m fine.’

  ‘Good. So you’re up for jumping over the stream and having a sit down?’

  Mike looked at him like he was crazy. ‘I guess so. Can I go home after that?’

  ‘Sure.’

  Elliot found a grassy spot on the other side. It was dry despite the earlier rain, thanks to tree cover; he sat down cross-legged and, with a smile, gestured for Mike to join him.

  ‘I need to tell you some important things. But no need to look so concerned.’

  He started with Lisa. ‘I love her, Mike, but not romantically. It’s never been like that between us. Did I fancy her when I was a boy? Sure, for a time, when my hormones got the better of me. But then I grew up and saw things clearly. Lisa’s like the sister I never had. It’s been amazing to reconnect with her – to meet you and the kids – but … ow!’

  Damn. That pain again, stabbing into his chest. He doubled up, gritting his teeth and doing his best to supress the desire to yelp.

  ‘Are you all right?’ Mike asked, leaning towards him, his brow furrowed with concern.

  ‘Give me a minute,’ Elliot whispered, willing this latest attack to pass quickly.

  ‘Is there anything I can do?’

  ‘No.’

  Once it was over, Elliot wiped away the sheen of sweat on his forehead and exhaled. ‘Sorry about that.’

  ‘It looked painful. What’s going on?’

  ‘Listen, Mike, I can’t tell you everything, but I’m going to tell you as much as I can. More than I’ve told anyone else, as long as you do something for me.’

  ‘Of course. But what—’

  ‘I have to leave, Mike. It’s going to be soon and, well, I won’t be coming back. Not because I don’t want to; it won’t be possible.’

  ‘You’re sick?’

  Elliot nodded slowly.

  ‘How bad is it?’

  ‘As bad as it gets.’

  ‘But you look so healthy.’

  ‘Looks can be deceiving. Anyway, the reason I brought you to this spot is because it’s where Lisa and I met. We were both aged eleven. Some bullies had stolen my clothes and my glasses. I was in my underwear, struggling to see anything; scared and embarrassed; hiding behind that bush there.

  ‘Then along came Lisa. She was new in the village and we’d never met before, but she rescued me. She ran home to get me clothes to wear and, afterwards, she made sure the boys who’d done that to me never did it again.

  ‘For years after that, right through secondary school, she was like my guardian angel, up to the point when she actually did save my life by rescuing me from that fire. Now … the shoe is on the other foot. I’m desperately trying to return the favour.’

  Mike interrupted. ‘But I don’t understand. Lisa’s fine. She doesn’t need saving.’

  ‘So she’d have everyone believe. But she’s not fine, Mike, because she lives for her family and you’re not fine; neither are Ben and Chloe.’

  ‘Wait, what are you on about? Who are you to talk like that about my—’

  ‘Stop.’

  Instinctively, Elliot reached forward and placed a hand on Mike’s forehead, causing him to instantly fall silent.

  ‘Be calm,’ he said, feeling Mike’s frown disappear from beneath his palm. Up until this moment, Elliot’s plan had simply been to talk to him, to try to help him overcome his issues.

  But now, somehow, he knew that he was able to do much more: that he had the ability to relieve Mike of his burden once and for all. However, he sensed that this was a higher-level power than the other tricks, skills, or whatever they were, which he’d performed so far. It would require more of him than he’d given previously. This would drain him – accelerate things – bringing on the start of the end. It had to be worth it. He had to trust that he’d already done enough for Ben, Chloe and Lisa.

  Elliot looked inwards and the answer was clear: this was the right move. Fixing Mike was the key.

  When Elliot had set out to find Mike earlier, this had partly been to check he was okay. But there was more to it than that. He needed to stop him rolling home drunk at the wrong moment. Because when Elliot and Lisa had got back from their trip down memory lane, things at the house hadn’t exactly been calm.

  They’d already known about Chloe being upset. That and Mike’s disappearance had been the two main reasons for cutting short their trip out. But even Elliot hadn’t foreseen Ben’s issues also coming to a head today.

  That particular drama had unfolded while he’d been with Chloe in her bedroom, talking through her problems. Lisa had tried speaking to her first, while Elliot rescued Mike’s screenplay file. However, she’d refused to talk to her mum, requesting him instead.

  ‘I’m not being funny, but why does she want to talk to you?’ Lisa asked. ‘She barely knows you. What’s wrong with me?’

  ‘We’ve had a couple of chats before, Lise.’

  ‘When?’

  ‘I ran into her on the way back from the barbecue yesterday, for instance.’

  ‘What about? Was she upset then?’

  ‘N
ot that she said, but I got the feeling something was bothering her. Listen, why don’t I go and see her? It’s good that she wants to talk, right? Sometimes people find it easier speaking to an outsider than a close family member.’

  ‘Fine. Seeing as it’s you, El. But I wish you’d said something sooner and I do find it weird. I didn’t even know that you two had had a proper conversation until now.’

  He leaned towards his old friend and planted a kiss on her forehead. ‘Trust me.’

  So Chloe told him all about what had being going on with the nasty texts – and how she now believed them to be coming from Holly, her supposed best friend.

  ‘Do you have any proof Holly sent these?’ he asked, having read through the messages on Chloe’s phone.

  ‘No, not as such. Only what Saima told me. But it makes sense.’

  ‘So Saima claimed that Holly had been saying nasty things about you behind your back? Is that right?’

  ‘Yes. She said she overheard her several times at school. Holly was slagging me off to some other girls and saying she had a plan to get her own back. It was all to do with me supposedly trying it on with Kyle, this boy she likes. He’s in my History class and we were partners on a project, so we had to spend some time together, but nothing happened. I told Holly that. I don’t understand why she’s never said anything to me, or why she’d do something so nasty. We’re supposed to be best friends.’

  ‘How do you know that Saima’s telling the truth? You suspected her first, didn’t you?’

  ‘I did, yeah, but I’ve known her for years and it’s not her style to do something like that. She’d even discussed the situation with her mum.’

  ‘And Holly is the kind of person who’d do such a thing?’

  Chloe started crying again, which made Elliot fidgety. He didn’t feel that it would be appropriate to give her a hug, although she looked like she needed one. Instead he handed her a box of tissues from her bedside table.