Page 64 of Washed Up

‘Your brother, yes.’

‘How did you know?’

‘He introduced himself before we got on. Bobby, right? He seems great.’

Frankie mumbled something in reply.

Jake lifted his eyebrows. ‘You don’t seem all that happy about him being back, if you don’t mind me saying.’

‘I do, actually,’ said Frankie, but she gave him a little nudge. It wasn’t his fault, after all.

Jake laughed. ‘Sorry.’

Frankie sighed. ‘You’re right, that’s the thing. I feel like an absolute cow for even saying it. I should be delighted to see him.’

‘But…?’

‘But… it’s just hard. It’s not easy to see everyone fawning all over him when he was the one who caused so much hurt. That’s the thing. He walked out on us. He bloody up and left and he never saw the aftermath. Not that he would have cared. We’ve had a handful of letters in twelve years. Lily has never been the same.’

‘That explains a lot.’

Frankie glanced at him. ‘Right? And somehow, I don’t know. I guess having him here again makes Herm seem tiny, suddenly. He always makes it feel tiny.’

‘It is tiny,’ Jake said, his voice filled with amusement.

‘I know. But I’d got used to it, you know?’

‘Got used to being stuck here, you mean?’

Don’t say it, don’t say it. ‘Yes.’ Damn. ‘Stuck is the right word. When he went…’

‘Don’t tell me, it meant you couldn’t leave?’ said Jake.

‘What are you, anyway? Some kind of mind reader?’

He laughed again. It was a lovely sound, she had to admit. ‘It’s obvious. When he left your mum and dad were so devastated you thought it meant you could never go.’

‘I didn’t think it. It’s the truth. How could I do that to them?’

She shivered. The night was cooling fast. Jake moved a little closer.

‘Have you ever actually asked them? I mean, did they ever expect that you’d stay on the island your whole life? Or are you just assuming?’

Frankie’s heart thumped. ‘No, I’ve never actually asked them,’ she said in a small voice.

‘Because he left suddenly, right? He left without telling them or whatever?’

She blinked at him.

‘I’ve heard the stories,’ he went on. ‘But that’s what made it so bad. That’s why they were so upset. If you left, you’d never do that to them. You’d make the arrangements. You’d keep in touch with them. You’d come back and visit. You’d do it properly.’

‘You have a lot of faith in me,’ said Frankie, feeling weirdly emotional.

‘I do,’ said Jake, then coughed as if embarrassed. ‘Anyway, the point is, it’s not about Bobby, it’s about you. It never occurred to me you might want to leave Herm, I’ll be honest. Do you want to leave?’

‘I never did before,’ she admitted.

‘So why now? Oh…’ said Jake, his voice flat.