No Kiss Goodbye Read Free

me. Like now.
    ‘So the guy in the room next to you kicked the bucket a few hours ago,’ Ava announced as if she was reading the news on National Television .
    A little vomit swirls around in the bottom of my near-empty stomach. The man was a stranger to me, but his death affects me now in a way I don’t fully understand. He was someone’s son, a husband, perhaps even a father. And now he is gone, leaving a hole in his loved one's hearts where his smile once was. I’m still here, still clinging to life, but I feel that hole. That little cavity I’m burrowing into the hearts of everyone I love.
    ‘Seriously, Laura, this place is depressing as hell. You really need to wake up soon. I mean, I know you like your sleep and all, but don’t you think it’s time to flutter an eyelid or something. C’mon, hun. Give us a sign you’re still in there. I miss you,’ Ava says.
    If I could roll my eyes and laugh, then I would. Sarcasm is Ava’s middle name, and the familiarity of one of her terrible jokes sets me at ease.
    I can tell Ava is fidgeting nervously and moving around the room quite a lot. It’s a little embarrassing that the situation is making her so uncomfortable. I wonder if my cheeks are flushed. I wish she would sit down and relax. Her voice is jumping all over the place and making me dizzy.
    ‘Laura, you’ve been out of it for ages now. I have the biggest news of my life to tell you, and you’re not even listening.’
    Ava pulls a chair close to my bedside and leans in. I can feel her breath falling rough and heavy on my pillow. Even with my eyes closed, I know Ava is bouncing on the spot. God, I really wish she hadn’t had garlic for lunch.
    ‘Okay,’ Ava stammers. ‘I’m just going to spit it out.’
    I wonder what the massive earth-shattering news is now. Maybe Ava snapped a stiletto and will be admitted to the bed next to me suffering from shock or even more seriously perhaps she has lost her Prada purse somewhere in the waiting room. That kind of thing could cause a coronary.
    I don’t like this version of myself. A good gossip with Ava is usually one of my favourite things but not today. Today it reminds me how life goes on for everyone else while I’m trapped in here.
    Ava slurps in a huge gulp of air and blurts out, ‘I’m getting married.’
    A long pause follows and I wonder when Ava is going to start laughing and tell me that she’s joking. I know her hands are twitching at the edge of my bed, and I guess she’s spinning a ring on her wedding finger.
    ‘Now, I know what you’re going to say. Or at least I know what you would say…you know, if you could and all that…’ Another awkward pause follows and then a loud clearing of Ava’s throat. ‘But Adam loves me. He’s completely over his commitment issues. His proposal was so romantic. Much better than Mark’s attempt. Blurting out, ‘let’s get hitched’ between mouthfuls of Coke and a bite of double cheeseburger is never the romantic gesture you make it out to be, Laura.’
    Ava was right. Mark’s first proposal was laughable, and I couldn’t take him seriously, even if he was generous enough to offer me a bite of his burger while I thought my answer over. But we were only eighteen at the time, and although it was a bit of a whirlwind, I always knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. I did have to wait a few years for the big sweep-me-off-my-feet proposal of my dreams. A romantic proposal by candlelight meant I had almost said yes before he’d had a chance to ask the question.
    The atmosphere is stagnant as Ava hovers over me. I can’t figure out what she is waiting for. Does she think I’m suddenly going to spring to life and congratulate her on a ridiculous decision? I’ve always kept my opinion of Adam to myself. But Ava can read me like a book, and I know I didn’t have to actually say anything. Their relationship dramas are more intense than all the episodes of daytime soaps added