Above the Vaulted Sky - Page 94

Chapter Fourteen

            We re-enter the hayfield without a sound or even disturbing the ravens on perched on the bales. Elle and Yates march ahead, the mission in mind. What the  mission is, I’m still not sure, but at least I have people now. The feeling of loss that followed me after death is gone. I realise it was grief from the other side of the coin. I was grieving for my own life lost. But now I have a new one.

            I keep step with Graham, who massages his temple. When he notices me, his hand drops.

            ‘I never really did apologise, did I?’ he says.

            ‘For what?’

            ‘For that day by the smoking hut, the way I treated you with Penny. I was just jealous I guess.

            I wonder if he’s talking about being in love with me. I shake the thought from my head. Can people never just be friends without that lingering question?

            ‘I acted like a child and I shouldn’t have,’ he admits.

            ‘What’s brought this on?’ I ask. The Graham I knew was never a redeemer, he was talk first and ask questions later. It was his fatal flaw. But maybe he’s changed.

            ‘You think a lot when someone dies,’ he says. ‘You realise how big a part they were in your life. And we never got it back the way it was, before that day when I was a dick in the woods. So I need to apologise. I want things back.’

            ‘I like how you don’t let little things like me being dead hinder stuff,’ I say, smiling.

            He shrugs. ‘We’re scientists,’ he says. ‘Some people say dead, we say that matter shifts and exists in other states, what’s the difference?’

            ‘What about Yates’s great beyond?’

            ‘I think we all know Yates is a little cracked,’ he scoffs.

            There’s the old Graham. ‘He’s not cracked, he just needs a bit of help.’

            They’ve reached the door ahead of us. They open it so Graham can get in.

            ‘What about you and Elle?’ Graham raises his eyebrows.

            I shake my head. ‘Elle’s a friend,’ I say. ‘You know what I love about having a girlfriend, girls can be friends now. I’m not tied down by my own silly need to find a female so not every girl becomes a target of affection. Elle’s awesome, but she’s an awesome friend.’