A Voice in the Distance Read Free

desperate gasping, the
pounding in my head begins to recede and my lungs
cease to cry out for air. I lift my face from the dampsmelling
earth and prop myself up on my elbows,
looking across at a large shimmering expanse of water,
silver in the moonlight. The swans look ghostly, gliding
effortlessly by.
    Flynn has walked down to the water's edge and is
standing, hands in pockets, gazing out. I watch him for
a moment or two but he is completely still. I pull myself
up to a kneeling position and button the jacket around
me.
    'Flynn?' I say.
    He doesn't move.
    'Flynn?' I stand up slowly and walk towards him. At
the rim of the lake I take his hand and lean against him.
    'Isn't this better than a room full of people?' He
looks at me, his eyes bright.
    'I suppose.' I pull his arm around me. 'But colder.' I
look down at his feet and start to laugh. 'God, look at
your socks, they're soaked!'
    He ignores me and leans forwards and his mouth
meets mine. I teeter for a moment and try and pull him
back, away from the water's edge. 'Careful,' I say.
    He refuses to move back and tries to kiss me again.
    'If you fall in, don't think I'm going to rescue you,' I
warn. I pull him back towards me and we sit down on
the grass. 'Happy birthday, by the way.'
    He looks at me and smiles. My heart does a funny
fluttering thing in my chest. Even though it's been over
two years, it still feels so strange that we are together. I
have known Flynn since we were eleven, ever since I met
him and Harry at music camp and we started hanging
around as a threesome. I've fancied him for years.
Apparently he's fancied me for years. But it took us a
long time to get together.
    'Thank you for the party,' Flynn whispers in my ear.
    I start to laugh. 'Yes, well, I can see that you enjoyed
it.'
    He laughs too. Then kisses me again, so hard I can
feel my teeth digging into my lip. He pushes me backwards.
I wrap my arms around him and look up at the
stars. I wonder if it's possible to explode with happiness.
    He is kissing my neck with a familiar urgency. I ruffle
his hair and wriggle under the weight of his body.
'Ouch, your keys are cutting into my leg!'
    He props himself up on one elbow and digs the
bunch of keys out of his jeans pocket, tossing them away
onto the grass. His mouth descends back over mine. He
kisses me harder, his fingers in my hair. I close my eyes
but a sudden sharp pain from the side of my head forces
them open again. 'Ow – ow – Flynn, my hair . . .'
    He tries to disentangle the offending strand from the
clasp of his watch. His face is flushed, his breathing
laboured. I screw up my eyes in pain as I feel several
hairs being ripped straight out of my head.
    'Oh God, it's really hurting!'
    'I'm trying!' Flynn exclaims. He snaps open the clasp
of his watch, pulls it off his wrist and disengages the last
remaining hairs. The watch slips from his fingers and
smacks me on the forehead. 'Ouch!' I yell.
    'Sorry, sorry . . .' He tosses the watch into the grass
and lowers his face back to mine. I taste his lips, his
mouth, his tongue . . . There is something digging into
my back, just against my spine. I try to ignore it. Flynn
shifts against me and the pain intensifies. It feels like a
twig – a twig with a knobbly bit sticking out, jabbing into
my bone . . . Maybe it's not even a twig, maybe it's a
piece of glass—
    'For heaven's sake, what is it now?' Flynn shouts as I
wince with pain.
    'I'm lying on something – just get off me for one
second . . .'
    Flynn pulls himself up to a kneeling position, breathing
hard. 'I swear to God, Jennah, if you think this is
funny . . .'
    'I don't, I don't!' I sit up and feel behind me in the
grass. 'Look, it was a stone! Look how sharp—'
    Flynn tries to pull me back down onto the grass, but
there is a rustling sound coming from the path behind
us. I pull away and hold my breath. Between the trees I
can make out the figure of a late-night jogger. I motion
to Flynn to be quiet. He heaves a loud sigh and drops
back