Shopaholic and Sister (Shopaholic #4)(110)
Author: Sophie Kinsella

No. Forget the singing.

Oh God. I can’t climb anymore. I just can’t do it.

I must have been walking for hours and I feel sick and dizzy. My face is sweaty, my lungs are burning, my hands are numb. My legs are covered in mud, my shoes are unidentifiable, I’ve gashed my knee and torn my skirt, and I don’t know where I’m supposed to go next.

I stumble over a cluster of rocks and grab on to a bush for support, wincing as it pricks me. OK. I’ve got to stop for a rest. I sit down on a flat stone and fumble for the Evian facial mister.

I’m desperate for a drink. I spray the very last drops of Evian into my mouth, until it’s all gone. I wipe my face with a tissue from my bag and look around the empty mountainside. There is no one in sight. No one.

What am I going to do?

Deep down I feel a spasm of fear, which I ignore. It’ll be fine. The important thing is to think positive. I’ll just keep climbing. I can do it!

No, I can’t, comes a small voice inside.

Stop it. Think positive. I can do anything I set my mind to.

My legs are all shaky, but somehow I force myself to my feet, wincing in pain as my shoes dig into my blisters again. Right. Just keep going. I’ll get to the top — and maybe that’s where the welcoming party is. And those hot drinks they were talking about. Yes. It’ll be fine—

Suddenly there’s a distant rumble of thunder. Oh God. Please, no. I look up, and the sky has darkened to a menacing gray.

A raindrop hits me in the eye. Then another.

I swallow, trying to stay calm. But inside I’m a mush of panic. What do I do now? Do I keep going up? Do I go down?

“Hi!” I call out. “Is anyone there?” My voice echoes round the rocks, but there’s no reply.

More raindrops land on my head.

I don’t have anything waterproof. I look around the stark landscape, hollow with fear. What if I can’t get down? What if I’m stuck up here in a storm? I was so desperate to tell Jess we were sisters. Now I just feel like a fool. I should have waited. Luke’s right. Why can’t I wait for anything in life? It’s all my own fault.

There’s another distant rumble of thunder, and I flinch in fright. What if I get struck by lightning? I don’t even know what the rules are for being outside in a storm. It’s something like Stand under a tree. Or maybe Don’t stand under a tree. But which? What if I get it wrong?

Suddenly, through my agitation, I’m aware of a kind of chirping noise. Is it… an animal?

Oh my God.

Oh my God. It’s my mobile. There’s a signal up here! There’s a bloody signal!

With shaking fingers I unzip my Angel bag and grab my flashing mobile. Weak with relief, I see the word luke on the little display. I jab frantically at the green button.

“Luke!” I say. “It’s Becky!”

“Becky? Is anyone there?” The line is crackling, and he sounds all fuzzy and distant.

“Yes!” I shout, as raindrops start falling harder on my head. “Luke, it’s me! I’m lost! I need help!”

“Hello?” comes his puzzled voice again. “Can anyone hear me?”

“Yes! I can hear you! I’m here!” With no warning, tears start streaming down my face. “I’m stuck on this awful mountain and I don’t know what to do. Luke, I’m so sorry—”

“The line’s not working,” I can hear him saying to someone else. “I can’t hear a bloody thing.”

“Luke!” I yell. “Luke, I’m here! I’m right here! Don’t go!”

I bang the phone frantically, and the words battery low flash at me.

“Hello?” comes Luke’s voice again. “Becky?”

“Luke, please hear me!” I cry in desperation. “Please hear me! Please…”

But the light in the little screen is already fading. And a moment later the phone goes dead.

He’s gone.

I look around the desolate mountainside. I have never felt more alone in my life.

A gust of wind blows a flurry of rain into my face and I realize I can’t just stand here. I have to find some kind of shelter.

About six feet above me is a kind of ledge sticking out, with a cluster of rocks on top. One of them has an overhanging bit which maybe I can crouch under. The mud is all wet and slithery, but I dig in my heels and grab on to anything I can find, and somehow scrabble up there, grazing my other knee as I climb.

God, it’s quite high up. I feel a bit precarious. But never mind. If I don’t look down I’ll be fine. I firmly take hold of the overhanging bit of rock and am trying to edge underneath without slipping over… when suddenly I glimpse a flash of yellow.