Read Online The Runaway by Aritri Gupta - Free Book Online

and that too was because of fatigue. The first thought was to just dress and run down to James and get him to call Brooke. If he was lucky, it could be in a day or two that he would be heading back to London to finish what he had started 6 years ago. He couldn’t stop smiling at his stroke of luck – thank God he had gone back to fetch a flashlight. He didn’t mind being Josie for this.
    He showered, grabbed a bit of brunch from Martha and rushed off to meet James. It was a cloudy day – and the distant hills were shrouded in the thick covers of grey clouds. Good! Rains meant there was nothing outdoorsy to distract James, and he would be stuck inside. And Richard was always good company. This should give him ample time.
    The scene outside James’ house didn’t look good. An ambulance stood blocking the entrance to their lawn.
    “No. no... Is anyone hurt?!”
    The driver barely noticed him. He rushed in to find a dishevelled James making calls and a crying Sam over by the couch. Paramedics were carrying Bob on a stretcher.
    “Ohh! Rick... Look what happened!!” Sam wailed out. He hurried over to her and put his arm over her shoulder. She looked so aged overnight. Apparently, Bob had had a minor cardiac arrest sometime around dawn. The closest hospital sent over the ambulance as soon as they could, but it was still 3 hours later than what should have been ideal. Richard shuddered to think of any harm that could befall on the cheerful Bob.
    James came over and hugged his mother. He nodded at Rick – he followed him out.
    “Thanks for coming over!”
    “I would’ve in any case – but why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve come sooner!!”
    “Late riser, aren’t u?” James smiled, wanly.
    “Arse! The time wasn’t right to think of my sleeping habits before your father!!”
    “I’ll be gone for a few days – staying with my dad over at the hospital – get him checked and everything... Could you check in with my mum, now and then?!”
    “Yeah! Of course man! Whatever you need!”
    After a moment’s silence, He climbed into the ambulance. As the engine roared to life, James said, “Sorry I’ll miss your birthday!” With that they were gone. He went in to check on Sam – she had dozed off on the couch. He fetched a warm blanket and covered her with it. He wrote his temporary contact number on a card and placed it on the table next to the couch and left the house.
    He took a longer route back to Martha’s – enjoying the countryside. The cloud cover was clearing up a bit, but there was a light drizzle. He liked it – the cool slow trickle of rain drops down his back – soothing his tired and agitated self. He stopped by the highway – looking over the million acres of rocky land below him covered with moss and wild flowers. The roads were slippery and puddles of mud accumulated spuriously all over. He stood there for a while. Hoping James would return soon – and that Bob would get better soon. And he could meet Brooke.
    He didn’t have the right to c omplain about Bob’s unfortunate timing – no one had seen it coming. He tried saying this to himself repeatedly – that this also gave him time to prepare his way of approaching Brooke and a more plausible explanation. In the meantime, he could do a little digging, and find out more about Brooke, now that he was sure there was a Brooke in this town. But he just couldn’t shake the feeling of irritation at having to wait for a few more days. It was like Brooke was conspiring to stay just out of reach. He laughed at his imagination –and turned to go back to the lodge. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do that night. There was nothing to look forward to exactly. Surely, Paul would send in his letter, and the cake from Eve would arrive to an empty house. Followed by Cook with his usual curt call. He felt bad for him and his endless endeavours of winning Eve over. He wasn’t sure anything could win his sister’s affections, anything from Ronan at