Shopaholic and Sister

“What?”

“I heard something—”

I break off as a dim light flashes through the rain. It’s a distant torch beam. And I can hear the sound of movement down the mountain.

Oh my God. It’s people. At last.

“It’s the mountain rescue! They’ve come!” I yell. “Here! We need help!”

“Here!” Jess calls, and flashes her torch in the air. “We’re here!”

The other torchlight disappears briefly, then reappears.

“Help!” shouts Jess. “We’re here!”

There’s no reply. Where have they gone? Have they missed us?

“Heeelp!” I scream desperately. “Please help! Over here! Can you hear us?”

“Bex?”

A familiar high-pitched voice comes thinly over the sound of the storm. I freeze.

What?

Am I… hallucinating? That sounded just like—

“Bex?” comes the voice again. “Bex, where are you?”

“Suze?”

As I stare upward, a figure appears at the edge of the ridge, wearing an ancient Barbour. Her hair is plastered down on her head with the rain, and she’s flashing a torch about, shielding her eyes and looking around, her brow creased in anxiety.

“Bex?” she screams. “Bex! Where are you?”

I have to be hallucinating. It’s like a mirage. I’m looking at a tree waving in the wind, and thinking it’s Suze.

“Bex?” Her eyes have lighted on us. “Oh my God! Bex!” She shouts over her shoulder, “I’ve found her! Over here!” She starts scrambling down the ridge toward us, sending rocks flying. “Bex!”

“Do you know her?” says Jess, looking bewildered.

“It’s Suze.” I swallow. “It’s… my best friend.”

Something hard is blocking my throat. Suze came to find me. She came all this way to find me.

“Bex! Thank God!” Suze arrives in a final flurry of stones and earth, her face all mud-stained, her blue eyes huge with concern. “Oh my God. You’re hurt. I knew it. I knew it—”

“I’m OK,” I manage. “Except my ankle.”

“She’s here, but she’s injured!” she says into her mobile, and listens for a moment. “Tarkie’s coming down with a stretcher.”

“Tarquin?” My head is too dazed to take this all in. “Tarquin’s here?”

“With his friend from the RAF. The stupid mountain rescue team said it was too early. But I knew you were in trouble. I knew we had to come. I was so worried.” Suze’s face suddenly crumples. “Oh God. I was so worried. No one knew where you were… You just disappeared. We all thought… We didn’t know what to think… We were trying to track your mobile signal, but there wasn’t one… then suddenly it appeared… And now here you are, all… all beaten up.” She looks on the verge of tears. “Bex, I’m so sorry I never called back. I’m so sorry.”

She flings her arms tightly round me. And for a few moments we just stand there, clinging to each other, the rain lashing down on us.

“I’m fine,” I say at last, gulping. “Really. I fell down the mountain. But I was with my sister. She took care of me.”

“Your sister.” Suze loosens her grip and slowly turns to Jess, who’s standing, watching awkwardly, her hands stuffed in her pockets.

“This is Jess,” I say. “Jess… this is Suze.”

The two look at each other through the driving rain. I can’t tell what each of them is thinking.

“Hi, Becky’s sister,” Suze says at last, and holds out her hand.

“Hi, Becky’s best friend,” Jess replies, and takes it.

There’s a crashing sound, and we all look up to see Tarquin making his way toward us down the slope, in some amazingly cool-looking army gear, including a hat with a headlamp on it.

“Tarquin,” I say. “Hi.”

“Jeremy’s coming down with the fold-up stretcher,” he says cheerfully. “Nasty fright you gave us all, Becky.” Into his mobile phone he says, “Luke? We’ve found her.”

The mountain seems to wobble. Suze quickly sticks out an arm for me to lean on.

Luke?

“How come…” My lips are suddenly trembling so much I can hardly form the words. “How come Luke…”

“He’s stuck in Cyprus because of bad weather,” says Suze, “but he’s been on the other end of the line the whole time. God, he’s been in a state.”

“Here you are, Becky,” Tarquin says, holding out the phone to me.