Page 9

The black tarmac guides us along a serpentine path through densely populated woods, where scattered sunbeams pierce the thick tree canopy, dancing like fractals of light before being swallowed whole. Nature’s tranquillity has always captivated me—the way it stands resolute amidst our relentless march of progress, a silent observer to humanity’s ebb and flow. Though we strive for dominion, nature persistently reclaims what we’ve taken.

I extend my hand out the window, feeling the rush of air against my skin as my fingers trace through it, eyes drifting shut, enveloping me in darkness. A quiet hum escapes my lips, barely audible. My mind remains a jumble of fragmented thoughts, the events of last night slowly coalescing like layers of brush strokes, yet the picture remains obscured.

“She handles like a beaut,” Gale’s happiness is infectious, making my lips twitch even as my stomach rolls unsteadily.

“Mmhmm.”

“Honestly, she sticks to the road so well.” He snickers, dropping a gear allowing the backend to fishtail out and drifting us around a snaking s-bend as smoothly silk. “Think she’s better than your Aston.”

I scoff as my stomach starts to churn like a volcano on the verge of erupting. “Fuck no. Nothing handles like my baby.” I drum my fingers on my thigh as nerves skitter through my body. “Anyway, I got this for you.” I can feel the weight of his eyes boring into the side of my head before pinging back to the road. “You know so you’re not stuck in the cottage whilst I’m… at work.” I mean it could be true, I scratch my head, I have no idea, but knowing Gale is trying to go no contact with his father I figured the least I could do is allow him to have this surprise car.

“No shit!? You serious?”

“Yup.” I pop the p and sink deeper into the supple oxblood red leather and groan. “Fuck my head hurts. Nothing is touching it and if I drink anymore I’m going to have to lock myself in a toilet all day.”

“Ha! Serves you right for being a dick and mixing pills in with a bottle of booze. A. Whole. Fucking. Bottle. Of. Scotch.”

“Ugh, I know you’re right, but shit.” I massage my temples with my fingertips, the light pressure easing the jackhammer pounding against my skull. “At least we’re nearly there right?” I ask hopefully.

“Well… umm… just let me see…”

“Gale,” I snap. “Don’t be a dick. I need out of the damn car before my insides are outside again, thanks to all your bloody drifting.” Just as the watery contents of my stomach lurch up my throat as he swings us round the next bend.

“Awww, poor baby.” The twat laughs at my expense. “We’re five miles out… so not long.”

“Thank fuck,” I exhale, releasing all tension from my body as the air escapes my lips, providing a brief respite from the mounting sickness. The relief is fleeting. In the space of a split second, the car lurches to the side, throwing me against the passenger door with a jolt. My eyes snap wide open. One hand instinctively grasps the ‘oh shit handle’ while the other braces against the dashboard. Gale’s hands hover as the steering wheel spins between them veering us across the road.

“Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.” Gale chants as a bright white Discovery hurtles down the road right for us. My heart hammers against my chest working its way up my throat. I try to suck in a breath but it just gets stuck. Gale looks at me, eyes like saucers, pupils blown swallowing the hazel. “Hold tight,” he grits, hand grabbing the hand break and wrenching it up. “Here goes nothing.” The car stalls, tires screaming against the tarmac. The smell of burning rubber permeating the air as smoke billows around the back end of the car. We’re launched from our seats, momentum carrying us forward, held in place by the strength of our seatbelts as we move and slide flying out of the way of the wayward Discovery as it continues to advance straight for us.

“Fuck.”

“You got that right,” Gale grits, voice wobbling in time with his shaking hands as our car careens off the road down a small dip onto the grass verge setting us on a bearing right for a massive fucking tree trunk.

“Fucking, fuck!” I brace for the inevitable impact, squeezing my eyes tightly. Wide blue eyes and a crooked smile appear in the darkness as my mind reaches out for the only thing, the only person who has ever truly felt like home. Don’t let this be the end.

“OH. MY. GOOODDDD!” Gale screams as the car judders and rocks skidding across the ground. The engine hisses as we come to a bone rattling stop in front of the damn tree, my heart hammering its way up my throat stealing the air from my lungs.

“We’re okay.” I reach blindly towards him. My hand landing on his shoulder, patting down his trembling arm until I find his vibrating hand and lace his fingers with mine. I squeeze it hard, desperately trying to regulate my erratic breathing but my lungs seem to be refusing the oxygen I’m sucking in. The pain across my shoulder and chest is a searing white hot flame. “We’re okay.” My words stumble out of my lips, fragmented by my fear. My near death experience. “It’ll be alright. Just take a deep breath, yeah?” I rub Gale’s back as his head drops landing on the steering wheel.

“W-we s-should get out,” he stutters. His complexion a palid white, perspiration soaking his t-shirt. “I-I think I’m gonna hurl.” Shaking fingers release both our seatbelts and he kicks open his door. His jelly legs crumble as he falls from the car emptying the contents of his stomach just out of my view.

My head thumps on the headrest as I reach blindly for the door handle and fall out of the car in a liquid flesh suit. The stone and twigs on the forest floor bite into my skin as I flop onto my back, my hand clutching at my stomach as I roll onto my side in the foetal position and vomit spews from between my lips. The edges of my vision darken, as the world around me starts to swim and my eyelids become heavy. The sounds of the leaves rustling in the wind, the hissing of the engine begin to fade. “Just a minute. Just a second…”

* * *

We pullup to large metal gates as Gale leans out his window and presses the intercom, the loud burst of static making us both wince as our shoulders draw up to cover our ears. “H-Hi,” he clears his throat, voice still hoarse and drenched in fear. “I-I have Rhys Dixon to see J-Jenna.”

More static crackles getting louder with each second that passes. I drag my hand over my face, wishing I could just fall into my bed and for this fucking day to be over already. My mouth tastes like arse, and not the good kind.

“Drive up to the main house, follow the middle road at the intersection.” The voice cuts out a blessed silence replaces that eardrum bursting static.

“How long do you think it’ll take to get up there?” Gales asks, his eyes still wide and shocked.

I huff a small breath, “I don’t know for a couple of minutes.” I point to the gates in front of us. “Look, they’re opening.” He rolls his eyes so hard I’m worried they’ll get stuck.

“My eyes still work dickhead.”

“Sure, sure.”

About half a mile or so up the gravel driveway it forks in three directions. A tarmac road veers off either side of the main driveway that stretches ahead of us. Each one has a little picket sign with a symbol on it but we are too far away to see what they say. “This place is kinda beautiful,” Gale says almost whimsically as we continue on through the trees that are interspersed with brilliant pockets of lush green grass dotted with pale pink Hellebores, bright yellow Winter Aconite and even the odd Snowdrop.

He is right, it is beautiful, inspiring almost. It calls to some part of me I haven’t felt since the day I woke up with my mum’s cold, lifeless body in my arms. It makes me feel alive in ways I haven’t for months. Not since K disappeared from my life. Something akin to hope flickers inside me, and that scares me more than anything. I’m not ready to let go of him, and this hope makes me feel guilty.

A gorgeous white Georgia mansion house glows above perfectly manicured lawns as we break through the tree line. The sun’s rays shroud it in a golden haze that makes the building seem like it is touched by magic and my heart flutters. The symmetrical architecture, characteristic of the Georgian style, exudes a sense of balance and harmony that calms the nerves that are sipping through my body. Tall, imposing columns adorn the entrance, supporting a portico that commands attention with its timeless grace.

As we continue up the sweeping driveway, lined with ancient oak trees, it becomes clear someone is waiting at the bottom of the steps to meet us. Gale drives round the large fountain and comes to a stop about twenty feet from the entrance and the waiting lady. Gale opens my door before I’ve even undone my seatbelt making me chuckle.

No sooner have I stepped out of the car he envelops me in his arms, pulling me close to him. His body is vibrating, still a mess of nervous energy. I wrap my arms around his shoulders and rub one hand up and down his back in a soothing motion. The tension in his shoulders releases a bit as a stuttering sigh brushes my skin as he buries his head in the crook of my neck “It’s okay. You’re okay,” I whisper against his head.

He pulls back, glistening hazel eyes flickering between mine as if he’s searching for something. “I’m so fucking sorry,” he says, his voice hitching, tight with emotion.

“Shhh. It’s okay, honestly.” A single tear trickles down his cheek and I wipe it away with my thumb. “It’s that twat in the Discovery that should be apologising to you. You did nothing wrong. Fuck, you saved us from a damn accident.” He sniffs a look of disbelief on his face. “You gonna be alright, while I’m here for the next few hours?” Gale nods unconvincingly, his hands slide down my arms and squeeze my hands.

“Yeah,” he swallows. “I’ll be fine.” I didn’t believe his words and neither did he that much is clear.

A throat clearing behind us makes me step away. I turn holding my hand out to a beautiful auburn haired lady in a fitted deep purple silk shirt and black pencil skirt. A brilliant white smile graces her face as she holds her hand out to me. “Hi. Rhys? Welcome to Horizon House –wellbeing for your mind, body and soul. I’m Amy, lovely to meet you.”

I take her hand in both of mine giving it a gentle squeeze. “Yes, that’s me. This is my friend Gale.” I say releasing her hand so Gale can shake it. “Sorry. We’re both a little shaken up. We were run off the road by a white Discovery a few miles back.” I shrug, slipping my hands in my pockets as Gale fiddles with the keys in his hand. “That’s why I’m a little late.”

I take a moment to recalibrate myself taking a deep inhale calming the nerves jangling inside me. I cast a surreptitious glance over the grounds to the front of the house. Rolling green lawns lead away from the circular driveway as dew drops glimmer like diamonds in the sunbeams that materialise between breaks in the clouds. Large cedar and oak trees stand like monoliths casting dappled shade across the grass. A prickling sense of unease washes over me as my eyes wander over the grounds, as the cool breeze makes goosebumps flow over my skin.

She waves her hand dismissively. “It’s no problem. Glad you’re both okay. You are, aren’t you?” She smiles again and gestures towards the house. “How about we get you set with Jenna, Rhys. And I make you a cup of tea Gale before you head off? I’m assuming you’ll be picking him up later?”

“Yessum.” Gale mumbles, cheeks pinking up.

“Alright then. Follow me in and I’ll get you both sorted. There’s a lovely little village about twenty minutes away, Gale, that might help you pass the next few hours.” Amy says over her shoulder as we follow her up the stone steps and into Horizon House.

“That sounds good.” I give his arm a quick squeeze. My eyes are drawn to the high ceilings adorned with intricate mouldings and crystal chandeliers that cast a soft, ethereal light. Marble floors gleam around carefully positioned rugs that mute out footfalls, the walls are covered with gilt framed landscapes of the local flora and fauna that stand side by side with magnificent animal portraits.

“This place is beautiful.” Amy looks up at me as she slips around the desk, her nails clacking on her keyboard.

“It really is. This main house is decorated in keeping with its architectural history as much as possible. Obviously all safety precautions have been taken where our residents are considered but the communal areas are something out of an Austen novel,” she sighs. “Right, Jenna will be here in just a sec. Rhys? Could you stand over there for me?” She points to a white door to the right of her desk, I raise a quizzical eyebrow making her chuckle. “I need your photo for your ID, which will be ready when you arrive tomorrow and have your hours for the next week.”

“Sure, no problem.” Once in position, I stand still as Amy seems to take a million photos, Gale does appallingly at hiding his snickers behind a bad cough making Amy laugh too.

“All done,” she smiles up at me. “Why don’t you take a seat here till Jenna is ready. Gale, do you want to come with me to the kitchen? I’ll get you a drink and give you directions to the village.”

“Oh, yeah. Sounds good.” I roll my eyes at his awkwardness and Amy hands me my temporary visitor’s pass before ushering Gale through the white door. I hear the kettle click on just as the sound of clicking footsteps reach my ears and a small woman with a dark bob that shimmers almost purple in the light rounds the corner heading straight for me with a wide smile on her face.

“It’s lovely to finally meet you Rhys.” She takes my hand in a firm grasp and shakes it. “Dr Grey has spoken very highly of you and after your telephone interview last night,” What the fuck?! “I’m positive you will fit right in here and our residents will love you.”

“Thank you.” I swallow down the nervousness clogging up my throat. “To be honest I’m very surprised. Dr Grey knows I want to get into paediatric surgery as my specialty but he said this experience would give me a great understanding of how to effectively communicate with emotional parents.”

Jenna nods along, her eyes alight. “Yes. Very different fields but communication is key in all areas of medicine and therapy.”

The hairs on the back of my neck feel electrified, they have since the moment I got out of the car. The way they do when someone is watching you from some unseen place. I run my eyes over the entrance hall we’re standing in but don’t see anyone, even as my heart stutters in my chest. “This place is amazing.”

“Thank you.” Jenna starts to walk back the way she came and I fall into step alongside her. “I don’t know how much you remember from our brief chat last night so I’ll give you a quick recap. The main house—which we’re in—is for the elite members of society who are struggling mentally or with addiction. It’s the grandest of the three properties on the grounds and the one that helps fund everything. You’ll have noticed the driveway forked at the midpoint—” I nod as she glances over her shoulder at me. “—those lead to our two other facilities; one houses those who have been sectioned under court order for a variety of reasons and the other leads to our secure building. That houses people who are deemed a danger to themselves and society at large.”

We turn down another long hallway, sunlight streaming in through the large ornate windows that look out over the landscaped gardens at the back of the house where residents and staff mingle, some strolling on the lawns others congregated in picturesque seating areas. “Where will I be working while I’m here?”

“You’ll be in the main house. We unfortunately lost a member of staff today, so it’s serendipitous that Dr Grey recommended you.” Her lips quirk as she holds open a door for me and ushers me through. “How about a quick tour before we talk over the specifics of your role?”

“Sounds good to me.”