The Fake Date

by Lynda Stacey

Another scream came from Ella and Will knew he had no choice but to get in. ‘Ella, I’m going to break the door down. If you’re near the door, cover your face.’ Again his hand went up and, without thinking, he punched the glass. ‘Ouch’ he screamed as the glass broke.

  Will studied the glass, pulled the shards out of the small panel, reached through, turned the Yale and slowly opened the door, peering around it as he did.

  ‘Ella, Ella … you okay? Where are you?’

  Ella whimpered, pulled her pyjama top down to cover her dignity with one hand and held tightly onto her ankle with the other. She could see Millie, the puppy, through the conservatory door. She was sitting with woeful eyes, waiting to be fussed.

  ‘Will …’ She sobbed. ‘In here … my ankle … oh my God, it hurts so much.’ She moved slightly to one side, screamed and then stretched her foot out before her.

  Ella’s whole body shook. She held onto the steps, hoping that she could save herself from the nauseous feeling that had begun to take over her body. ‘I heard the glass break. Did you really break the window on my door?’

  ‘I’m sorry. I heard you scream,’ Will explained, but the thought that someone had broken in so easily terrified her. She knew that Will had used minimal force, but still, within seconds, there he was making his way through the darkness of her lounge. There was a bang, the shrill noise of the telephone, followed by a curse, which indicated that Will had fallen over the coffee table and the telephone had now hit the floor. Then there was another noise, something else hit the floor and Ella guessed it would have been the wine glass that she’d left there the night before. She tried to remember if it’d had any wine left in it, but felt sure that she’d emptied the vessel, knowing that without it, she wouldn’t have slept at all.

  She waited. She knew she needed his help and felt grateful that he’d responded the way he had. She inched her way off the stairs and pulled herself towards the door behind which Millie sat.

  ‘Is it broken?’ she asked as Will fumbled his way through the kitchen. She caught sight of his face in the moonlight and just a fraction of a second later he landed in a heap beside her. Ella gasped as she noticed his partially naked body and blushed as she thought about looking away. ‘I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I woke you up.’ She tried to smile. ‘But you really could have got dressed; I kind of don’t think I was going anywhere.’

  ‘And I kind of didn’t know that, did I? The fall sounded quite dramatic. I was worried you’d, well … I knew that you’d hurt yourself, cause of the scream. But I didn’t know if you were alone … or whether you had company.’ Ella knew he was thinking of Bobby, of how terrified she’d been of him the last time Will had turned up to save her. ‘Look, never mind, I’m here now, aren’t I?’

  Ella cringed as pain once again tore through her ankle. ‘Well, as you can see, I’m sort of alone and still alive, just.’ She pointed to his bare chest and feet. ‘So if you’d like to go back next door and put some clothes on, I really don’t mind.’

  Ella watched as Will looked down at his bare feet and held out his arms in resignation. If she were honest with herself, she really didn’t mind the view, even though she’d never have admitted it to Will. His body was taut, he obviously worked out and she liked the way ginger curls randomly covered his chest.

  ‘Well, as you said, I just love to make a big entrance.’ He stood up and began tapping his hands across the wall in search of a light switch.

  ‘Did it break?’

  Will shook his head. ‘Sorry, I’ve no idea if you’ve broken your ankle or not, let me put a light on and I’ll take a better look.’

  Ella kept tight hold of her ankle. ‘No, silly, I meant the wine glass. I heard you fall in the lounge; the glass, it fell off the table. Did it break?’

  Will seemed to catch up with the conversation and Ella could just about make out his shape as he found the light switch. ‘Okay, light’s going on, watch your eyes.’ She waited for the intensity of light, but Will had caught the wrong switch and only the faint lights that shone out from under the kitchen units came on; a soft glow lit up the area. She’d moved herself off the stairs and into the small hallway that separated the stairs, the kitchen, the bathroom and the conservatory.

  Ella looked at her ankle and smiled. It looked red and swollen but didn’t look as though anything was pointing in the wrong direction, and she let out a sigh of relief. She looked up at where Will now stood over her, as a scream left her lips.

  Will screamed with her. ‘What … what now?’

  ‘Your wrist, Will, you’re bleeding!’ Her eyes searched around the faint light of the kitchen. She could see bloodstains all over the wooden floor where he’d crawled through from the lounge on his hands and knees. ‘Quick, there … on the unit, there’s a tea towel.’

  Will did as he was told, grabbed the tea towel and wrapped it around his wound. Ella propped herself up against the bottom step, watching as Will clicked on a second light, which lit up the whole kitchen while he tried to clean the blood from the walls with damp kitchen towel.

  ‘You need to go to hospital.’ She lifted herself up to perch on the bottom step and yelped. Pain had seared through her foot, yet she tried her best to put on her brave face. It was the face she’d learnt to use almost every day while she’d lived with her parents. It had been the same face that she’d used for reporters, doctors and physiotherapists when they too had told her to try harder, walk further and to pull against the huge elastic bands that they’d issued her with to help with the exercises. A loud howl came from inside the conservatory and Ella began to laugh at the way Will spun around on the spot. His eyes locked with Ella’s as he stared at her and she knew he was waiting for her to make the noise again.

  ‘That wasn’t me.’ She giggled and moved across the floor on her bottom. She turned onto her belly to look through the glass door of the conservatory. ‘I think you need to meet Millie.’

  Ella noticed Will take a huge step back. He tried to look around casually, walked into the lounge and picked up the glass that had fallen from the table. Luckily, it had remained intact, which was more than could be said for the telephone, which now lay in two pieces on the floor. Finally, he spoke. ‘Okay, Ella. Now I’m worried. You’re talking to or about imaginary people and I really do think we need to get you to a hospital.’

  Ella began to laugh uncontrollably. ‘Will, seriously. Do you really think I have an imaginary friend?’

  She pointed at the door and to a puppy who now jumped up and down at the glass waiting to be let in. ‘Look, Millie is a puppy. My parents bought her for me.’

  ‘Oh, oh wow.’ He looked relieved and knelt down beside Ella. ‘She’s so beautiful.’ He stopped for a moment, his hand held to the glass door. ‘I really want to cuddle her, but first I need to look at your ankle. I need to see how badly you’ve hurt it.’

  She smiled, sat back upright and moved her leg. She gave out another moan as Will moved to put her foot on his knee. ‘Ella, let me see.’

  ‘It’ll hurt, won’t it?’

  ‘Ella, I promise you, I won’t hurt you, but I do need to know what we’re dealing with.’ Will placed his hands on hers. Her whole body trembled and she physically held her breath. ‘Ella, please believe me. I promise I won’t hurt you,’ Will whispered the words for a second time and Ella noticed how he looked directly into her face as he spoke. She caught his eye. It sparkled in back at her, and it occurred to her that it was the first time she’d noticed how blue his eyes really were. A blue that was so beautiful, so very pure. She tried to think of a comparison and the only thing she could think of was her mother’s sapphire ring. She remembered the day that her father had bought it and placed it on her mother’s hand. It was exactly six months after their twenty-second anniversary. He’d known how much she’d loved the stone but had never been able to afford to buy her one before. When they had got engaged they’d bought the cheapest ring they could find and, for once, her father had wanted her to have the best. He’d
given her the ring exactly halfway to their forty-fifth, halfway to their sapphire anniversary; he thought it best that she should wear it for the next twenty-two years and six months, rather than wait until they got there.

  ‘Ella, can I?’ The words interrupted her thoughts and she reluctantly moved her hands, lifted them up and held them over her eyes as though afraid to look at the damage she’d done.

  ‘It’s the same ankle I hurt before.’ Her voice shook and she held her breath. Will hesitated before carefully rolling up the leg of Ella’s pyjama bottoms. He looked at the ankle from what appeared to be every direction and then reached out gently to pick her foot up from the floor.

  ‘Sorry, my hands are cold,’ he said as he manoeuvred her ankle gently from side to side, up and down. ‘Can you feel this?’ He pressed her toe and watched her face for a reaction.

  Ella nodded. ‘That’s fine.’

  ‘Okay, press your foot down against my hand.’

  Ella pressed down and once again yelped. ‘Yes, yes that hurts. You promised it wouldn’t.’

  Will rolled her pyjama leg back down. ‘I didn’t promise it wouldn’t hurt. I promised that I wouldn’t hurt you. There’s a difference.’ He laughed. ‘I think it’s a bad sprain, but I’m no expert and, after what happened before, I think I’d better drive you to the hospital. Get them to check us both out properly,’ he said as he held up his wrist, just as Millie once again let out a howl. ‘But first, I need to clean up the broken glass, and then I’m going to take a look at your new buddy.’

  Chapter Fifteen

  Will unloaded the last of the turf and began the laborious task of carrying it from the front to the back of his house. There were fifty rolls, all of which needed laying that day. The garden had been prepared, the bushes had all taken root and the whole lawn area had been levelled with the precision of a flat iron. It was all ready for the lawn.

  ‘No, Millie. You do it out here. I won’t tell you again, you don’t pee in the house. Peeing in the house is bad. Peeing out here is good, do you get it?’ She paused. ‘Of course you don’t get it, but you will.’

  Will listened intently as he heard Ella’s voice go from normal to high pitched in one sentence and then back to normal again. ‘That’s it. Yeah. Good girl. Clever, Millie moo, now you get a treat.’

  Crouching by the fence he peered through. From his position he could see Ella as she balanced precariously on the crutches. Her auburn hair was tied back in a simple band and after the night before, her normal pristine look appeared slightly dishevelled. Millie was totally unfazed by the situation. She raced around the garden and looked up in hope that Ella would chase her.

  ‘Hey, Ella. How’s it going? You need a hand?’

  He saw Ella’s face light up as her eyes turned in the direction of the fence. ‘That’d be great. Do you have time?’

  Will climbed onto the bench and leaned on the top of the fence. ‘Of course, I can make time,’ he lied as he looked behind him at the rolls of turf. ‘Besides, I’d love to come see the puppy; I mean it is a whole six hours since I last saw her.’

  He watched as Ella perched on the bench, putting the crutches beside her; the worried look on her face told Will that she was fully expecting him to vault the fence.

  ‘Okay, you’re allowed. So long as you use the gate and don’t, you know, fly over the fence like a banshee,’ she shouted as Will jumped down, ignored the pile of turf and for the second time in twenty-four hours, ran from his house to Ella’s.

  ‘I don’t know what my parents were thinking. Don’t get me wrong, I love her, but I have no idea what to do,’ Ella explained as she watched Will pick Millie up, place her on his knee and stroke her until she flopped into a deep sleep. ‘I mean, how am I supposed to know what she needs?’ Ella shrugged. ‘Good job I know what I need.’ She looked back at the house. ‘Do you want a coffee? I’m sure I could manage to make some.’

  ‘I’d love a coffee, but I’ll make it. You sit there.’ He pointed to the bench on which she was already sitting. ‘Besides, the hospital said to rest.’ He walked into the kitchen expecting to see the bloodstains all over the walls, but every mark had gone. The kitchen was pristine. He shook his head, wondering how she’d managed to clean it all on crutches and with a puppy underfoot. He put the kettle on to boil. ‘Now then, without moving, shout and tell me which cupboard the sugar is in and … I take it that one of these cupboard doors will be the fridge.’

  Ella laughed. ‘The fridge freezer is under the stairs,’ she shouted.

  ‘Okay, okay, I should have seen that,’ he retorted as he opened the fridge door, pulled out the milk and then turned to make the coffee, pouring milk into each mug. ‘I could have done with a mug or two of this at the hospital this morning,’ he said as he walked back to the fridge and replaced the milk. ‘I don’t know about you, but those waiting rooms really don’t have any added comfort, do they?’

  Ella thought of the waiting room and the hours they’d sat waiting to be seen. The whole night had dragged and she’d been terrified of what the doctor might say, as her ankle had been badly injured during the attack and the last thing she’d needed was to damage it further. But Will had been there. He’d sat with her, talked to her and helped her in and out of the hospital, even though he’d been hurt himself. She remembered glancing across to his bandaged wrist and seeing how the over-attentive nurse had looked after him while cleaning and gluing the cut. The nurse had continually smiled at him and had made the longest job of bandaging the wrist. But Will had shrugged off the attention, and had ignored the advances.

  ‘Wow, how long does it take to make coffee?’ Ella asked as she made her way into the kitchen. ‘’Come on, we should sit in here.’ She used a crutch to point into the lounge.

  ‘Come on then, Mrs, go sit down,’ he joked, and Ella hobbled into the lounge and smiled as she sat on the settee. She liked having him around, liked the attention, and loved the fact that someone was there for her. What’s more she really appreciated the fact that Will had promised he wouldn’t phone her mother. Ella knew she’d have rushed over at breakneck speed and, right now, it was the last thing she needed.

  Millie had crawled up and had snuggled herself into a comfy position on Will’s knee.

  ‘She certainly loves you. She’s not fallen asleep on me like that yet. All she’s done since she arrived here yesterday morning is run around like a lunatic, squeak her toys and pee in my house.’ Ella’s hand reached out and stroked the sleeping puppy. ‘As I said earlier, I have no idea how to look after a dog.’

  ‘Well, I’d get used to the peeing.’ Will laughed as his hand continued to stroke Millie, who now lay inverted on his knee. ‘It’s simple. Make sure she has enough food in her dish, enough water in the other and then give her lots of love. She needs to feel content and wanted. Dogs are part of a pack.’

  ‘Pack, a pack of what?’

  ‘She’s a part of your pack, silly. A dog is a pack animal. They hate to be alone.’ Once again, Ella’s hand reached out to the puppy. Her hand momentarily rested on his and he felt a sudden rush of warmth. He caught her eye. He wanted to kiss her so much. Wanted to hold her, but didn’t dare. For some reason, he still thought it just a little too soon. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her off. He purposely turned his attention to the front door and jumped up. ‘Right, I’m going to pop to the glaziers, get some glass and repair that door. I’ll be back soon.’

  Will leaned against the spade, looked at the huge pile of turf that was now lit up by his floodlights, pulled on a long yellow rubber glove to cover his bandage and, one by one, began laying the strips of grass down the length of his garden.

  It was late and dark. He’d spent the whole day with Ella. He’d repaired the door and played with Millie for what seemed like hours, and it wasn’t until he returned home that he’d remembered that he had a pile of turf that he still needed to lay. Now, to spoil what had been a great day, it began to rain. Not just a pitter-patter of tiny drops, but giant butt
on sized drops that fell repeatedly, drenching him within minutes of it starting. But it didn’t matter. He began to laugh at the irony, looking up at where Ella’s spare bedroom window lit up at the back of her house and saw the shape of her silhouette through the closed curtains. He thought of being up there with her, of holding her in his arms, but then shook the thought from his mind.

  ‘Oh boy, it’s time you did some work,’ he whispered to himself as he turned away, pushed all thoughts of Ella from his mind and patted the first roll of turf into place.

  Chapter Sixteen

  ‘Josh, it’ll be fine,’ Will said into his phone. ‘I’m just going in for an induction. Pretending to be a customer and all of that. People do it every day.’ Will locked the car and walked towards the gym. ‘And no, I don’t need back up. It’s the middle of the day, what the hell do you think is going to happen?’ He pushed the car keys into his pocket. ‘I know,’ he responded to Josh. ‘But Ella sure as hell thought there was something going on here and …’ He paused and tried to look through the frosted glass. ‘… well, I want to find out what it is.’

  Will stood listening as Josh ran through the names of the people who worked at the gym, what their relationships were to Rick Greaves and how long each of them appeared to have known him. ‘So, you think the brother-in-law is up to something, do you?’ He nodded in agreement to what Josh was saying. ‘Okay. I’ll call you back later, give you an update.’ He went to push open the door. ‘And, Josh, go look into that story in Filey I told you about. Find that fisherman and let’s see if we can get him some publicity.’ He clicked the phone off, pushed it into his pocket and walked into the gym.

  ‘Hi there, how are you doing? I’m Michelle,’ said a woman with short blonde hair as Will dropped his gym bag to the floor.

  ‘Yeah, I’m good, thanks.’ His eyes were scanning the room. ‘I’m here for my induction and I’d be up for a bit of a work out.’ He smiled, but then held up his wrist. ‘Except, I might have to take it a bit easy.’