"the more that you say, the less I know. wherever you stray, i follow. i'm begging for you to take my hand, wreck my plans..."
In which a young woman with precognitive abilities discovers her future may lie with a mysterious Time Lord.
BOOK ONE OF T...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
***
The walk home was composed of shock and silence. She couldn't deal with the impact of a vision and a disaster within the span of a minute. Willow didn't know how Rose felt, but despite everything, she kept hold of that plastic arm. Her grip was firm, her muscles tensing.
When they got home, Jackie was already gossiping on the phone. Sure, she was glad to see them alive. But when there was an incident -- Jackie couldn't resist chatting with all her friends about it.
"I know. It's on the telly. It's everywhere. They're lucky to be alive." The girls sat on their ageing, leather sofa as Jackie handed them both cups of tea, tilting her head to keep the phone on her shoulder. "Honestly, it's aged them -- skin like an old bible." Rose returned a surprised glare, but her mother was unaffected. "Walking in now you'd think I was Rose's daughter."
Willow leaned her head back, staring at the ceiling. "Jackie, it would be so great if you could stop gossiping for one moment and comfort your kids."
"You're twenty-three -- you're old enough to comfort yourself!" she retorted, though Willow knew it was only an act for her friends. The front door opened and Mickey raced inside. "Oh, and here's himself."
She smiled at him. "Hey, Mickey."
He ignored her, heading straight for his girlfriend. "I've been phoning your mobile. You could've been dead. It's on the news and everything. I can't believe that your shop went up!"
Mickey gave her an awkward squeeze, which made her cringe and recoil. "I'm all right, honestly, I'm fine! Don't make a fuss."
Willow huffed, drawing her cup of tea to her lips. "Yeah, don't worry about me, Mick. I'm fine, too. Thanks for asking."
"Well, what happened?" He squeezed between the two ladies, his focus on Rose.
"It exploded." Unclean footage of the building was displayed on the television again, showing firefighters attempting to quell the flames.
He faced Willow, asking. "What was it though? What caused it?"
"Don't look at me -- I wasn't in the shop." She shrugged, cupping her hands around her mug. "I only saw it explode outside.
Mickey turned back to his girlfriend. "What about you? Where were you when it happened?"
"I just left the building." At first, she stared ahead, trying to ignore Willow and Mickey's prying glances. Her body slumped, shifting awkwardly on the sofa. "But that doesn't mean I know anything."
The girls had known Mickey since they were kids. For Willow, it was since she was three. They met at their park, their mums' got chatting, and then they were inseparable. Until, of course, Mickey fell head over heels for Rose, and their friendship twisted into something Willow didn't recognise anymore.
