She let out a whimper, and began to cry, softly, small, sad sobs. I wondered if this was the real Susie Gantry, lying before me, lost and lonely in the dark, with her sparky exterior stripped away. I felt desperately sorry for her.
‘Lie still for now,’ I murmured. ‘I know a bit of first aid. Relax, now; just let yourself go, and tell me whether anything hurts.’ Her right leg was bent at the knee, awkwardly up under the other. I touched it, gently. ‘How about there?’ I asked.
‘No,’ she whimpered. ‘That’s okay.’ I took her by the right ankle and straightened the leg, letting her lie more comfortably.
‘My shoulder, right shoulder. That’s sore.’
I felt my way from the joint along the collarbone, squeezing gently as I went. She didn’t scream and everything seemed in one piece.
‘I think that’s okay,’ I told her. I reached across and smoothed her hair back from her eyes. She winced as I touched her and I saw a vivid red mark on the right side of her forehead.
‘Sore,’ she whispered.
‘I think you banged it.’
‘Where am I?’ she asked.
‘At the foot of the stairs. It looks as if you fell down them.’
‘No!’ She looked more distressed than ever.
I pressed on with my injury check, trying to put her at her ease. ‘I want you to take a deep breath.’
She did as she was told, without showing any fresh signs of discomfort. ‘Okay, let it go.’ She gave a great sighing sound. ‘Good. If you had rib damage you’d have felt it there. Now, I want you to move your arms and legs one by one; lift them up and put them down again.’ I nodded approval as she checked each limb. ‘Now make a fist with each hand, then unclench it.’
By the time we had finished the fear had gone from her face. ‘Oz,’ she murmured, so softly that I had to bend over her to hear her, ‘can I ask you something?’
‘Sure.’
She smiled. Just a wee crack in her face, but a smile nonetheless. ‘Have I got any clothes on?’
I tried to stay matter of fact about it. ‘Not so’s you’d notice,’ I told her. ‘It’s probably just as well that you were too pissed to undo your bra. . even though it spoils the view. . otherwise you might have squashed your tits on the way downstairs.’
She started to laugh, then winced and put a hand to her forehead.
‘Lie there,’ I said, ‘I’ll get a sheet to put over you, then I’ll carry you back up to bed. It’s safe to move you now.’
‘Don’t bother with the sheet, just help me up.’ She grabbed my arm and tried to haul herself into a sitting position, but struggled. I got my arms underneath her and lifted her clear of the floor.
She put her arms round my neck as I rose carefully to my feet. ‘You’re stronger than you look,’ she said, with a degree of surprise which hurt my feelings.
I carried her upstairs back to her room. The door was ajar, and the light from the hall let me see the bed clearly enough; the duvet was turned back, almost neatly. I laid her down and pulled it up to cover her. At once she rolled over, putting her back to me. ‘Undo that for me,’ she asked. She meant her bra. ‘I don’t think I can reach the catch with my sore shoulder.’
I flicked it undone quickly, expertly even. She slipped out of it, awkwardly, tossed it out of the bed, then turned towards me again, pulling up the duvet to cover her chest as she did.
‘Thanks Oz,’ she murmured. ‘Can I have a drink?’
‘I think you had enough last night.’
‘Go on, just a wee one. I feel really shaky.’
I gave in. I went downstairs, poured her some Le Panto from the decanter and brought it to her. She looked at me gratefully and took a sip. I sat on the bed, beside her. ‘What happened?’ I asked her.
She frowned, then winced from the pain of the lump on her forehead. ‘I don’t know. I really don’t.’
‘What’s the last thing you remember?’ I asked.
She thought for a moment. ‘I remember you pulling my boots off, then I remember looking up at you downstairs. There’s nothing in between.’
‘You don’t remember getting up? I heard you in the hall.’
‘I don’t remember at all.’ Then she began to cry, for real this time. ‘Oz, I’m just so frightened. It’s so bloody diff icult.’
‘What is, love?’
‘Everything.’ She finished the brandy in a swallow. ‘Just everything.’
‘But you get through it.’
‘Do I? Do I really?’
I smoothed her hair again, and took the goblet from her. ‘You get some sleep now, kid. You’ve had a shock, that’s all; that and a bad fall. You’ll have a few bruises in the morning, but a few hours’ kip and you’ll feel better.’
I stood up, but she grabbed my hand. ‘Don’t go, Oz. I’m really scared; I think I must have been sleepwalking. What if I do it again?’
I had to admit that there was some logic behind that fear. So I sat down again. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, plaintively. ‘I’m a wimp, I know, and it’s a hell of a thing to ask, but stay here with me, eh?’
Call me daft if you will. . and you will, I know. . but there was something small and fragile in her expression that got to me. ‘Okay,’ I conceded, crossing my fingers in the hope that Prim would understand. I went out to the hall and switched off the light, then closed the door and slipped under the duvet, beside her.
‘Thanks,’ she whispered. I felt the warmth of her as I lay there awkwardly in the dark, practically hanging off the edge of the big bed to make sure I didn’t touch her, listening to her as her breathing softened, and grew slower, in time with my own.
20
I hadn’t intended to drop off, but I’d had a few drinks too. When I woke, it was daylight. The room was warm and one of us had thrown back the duvet during the night. Susie was still sound asleep: she was lying face down, with her bum half uncovered. Her right arm was thrown across me, and her hand was inside my boxers.
I gave some thought to this predicament. In fact I was still thinking about it when she stirred beside me, and her eyes flickered open, registering instant amazement as they met mine across the pillows. I watched her as she remembered where she was and what I was doing there. It only took a couple of seconds, but her expression was priceless while it lasted.
She had barely surfaced before Mr Bendy. . it’s always had a mind of its own, and absolutely no self-control. . stirred and began The Change, under her hand. She realised where it was and drew it back quickly, then rolled on to her side and looked at me.
‘We didn’t, did we?’ she asked.
‘Naw. I think you must have been wandering in your sleep again, that’s all.’
She shot me a mischievous look. ‘Pity,’ she drawled. ‘That’s another of your hidden assets.’
I propped myself up on an elbow and glanced down. The way she was lying, and the way that my boxers were arranged, I saw that there were absolutely no secrets left between Susie and me. I pulled the duvet up again, quick. Naturally, I considered getting up and out of there, but walking to the door would have been awkward, or embarrassing, or both.
‘Just something that happens to us chaps in the morning,’ I said, lightly.
‘Wish it happened to us girls,’ she shot back.
‘You’re feeling better, then?’
‘I don’t know what I’m feeling. Well I do, but that’s not what you’re asking, is it? About last night, I still have no idea. I know that I was drunk as a monkey, but I’ve never chucked myself down a flight of stairs while I’ve been under the influence.’
I began to wonder whether she still was under the influence, thanks to that medicinal brandy I’d given her after her fall.
‘I do act funny when I have a drink, though. I get very randy for a start; the real me comes out.’ Her voice was higher than normal. A corner of her mouth twitched, and she blinked, several times.
‘I’m a selfish, manipulative, wee bitch, you know,’ she exclaimed, sounding just a wee bit strident. ‘At least that’s what Mike told me once, and he should have known. He was all of that, the bastard, and in spades, wasn’t he just?’ Her mouth was set hard now, and her eyes were narrow; there were tears behind them.