“I just do, okay? I’m not going to let anything bad happen to us.”
“Okay,” said Pen. “Let’s just move on, then. We should put it all behind us.” She looked at Andrew and grinned. “I think we’re still owed an evening of fish and chips, though, so I think I’ll walk over to the shops.”
Andrew stood up from the armchair. “Don’t be silly. I’ll go.”
“You sure?”
Andrew nodded emphatically. “Yes, of course. There’s nothing to worry about. Last thing I thought you’d fancy is fish and chips, though, after last night.”
“Like I said, we should just move on. Besides, I don’t feel like cooking tonight. You sure you don’t want me to go fetch them.”
Andrew nodded. “Certain as can be.”
He left the living room and went to get his jacket from the porch. It was chillier now, with night falling, so he decided on a scarf also. Once he checked for his wallet and keys, Andrew left the porch and started down the front path.
The sight of the empty road ahead was comforting, the soft buzzing of the streetlights the only sound he could hear. Right now, the memory of being attacked by a gang of bloody-minded yobbos seemed impossible – a nightmare he had woken from long ago. Still, it would be smart to remain alert and Andrew wasn’t entirely confident as he ambled down the street. At least for now it seemed like things would be okay, that events would soon blow over.
What a day. Just when life seems to be routine and unexciting, something crazy can happen and turn everything on its head. It’s over now, though. A little grovelling at work and things will soon be back to normal.
Andrew didn’t notice the ambulance straight away. He saw the flashing lights at the edge of his vision, but was too lost in his own thoughts to recognise their immediate connotation. When he came to realise that someone was injured, Andrew hastened his steps towards the gathering crowd.
The ambulance was parked outside the small group of shops that served the estate. When Andrew realised the emergency vehicle was parked directly outside of the chip shop, his stomach twisted into knots. A sense of dread enveloped him like a shroud.
He rushed forward and looked for the nearest paramedic. There was a young, blond-haired man in a white shirt beneath a green jacket. He was carrying a large holdall, and blue and white NHS emblems adorned his clothing in several places.
Andrew approached the man. “What’s happened? Who’s hurt?”
The paramedic pushed past him, not making eye-contact. “Please move aside, sir.”
Andrew grabbed out at the man’s sleeve but missed. The medical worker hurried away before there was any opportunity to stop him. Several spectators stood around in various corners of the shopping area car park. Andrew examined them one after the other, eventually spotting a young girl wearing the same chip shop uniform that Charlie wore during her shifts.
He sighed with relief.
Thank God. That girl is obviously working tonight, not Charlie. This is probably all down to some poor person having a heart attack or a funny turn.
“What happened?” Andrew asked the chip shop girl as he closed the distance between them.
The girl’s eyes pointed at him and were moist with recently-shed tears. It was obvious she’d witnessed whatever accident had befallen the poor soul in the ambulance.
Andrew put a hand on the girl’s shoulder and seemed to snap her out of a trance. “I said what happened?”
For a brief moment it looked like the girl was going to faint, but she managed to refocus herself and look Andrew in the eye. “She…she got burned.”
“Who got burned?”
“Cha…Charlie.”
Andrew’s knees threatened to fold beneath him. His stomach felt light and somehow heavy at the same time. “Charlie is the one that got hurt?” he said.
The grief-stricken girl nodded.
Andrew shook his head, hoping she was mistaken. “W-What happened?”
The girl gave no answer, just stared into space.