Page 25 of The Girlfriend’s Secret

LIANE

I stand open-mouthed as I watch the man running away from me, unable to believe that he has chosen to run. But if I didn’t think something very strange was going on with Haven, I sure do now, which is why I don’t hesitate a second longer.

I start running too.

Going in pursuit of the mysterious man who clearly does not want to talk to me, I seriously doubt I’ll be able to keep up with him, let alone catch him, considering he looks to be at least twenty years my junior. But I have to try because if I lose him now then I’ll never get another chance to talk to him again. He’ll never reply to any more messages I might send him, not now he knows I’m not really Haven, so I’ll never have the opportunity to get any information on her if he gets away from me. So I keep running, as fast and as hard as I can, praying that I can reach him before he gets out of this park and disappears into whatever crowd there might be on the streets beyond. But it’s not easy with stiff knees, and as I rapidly run out of breath, I am regretting even trying to chase this man down in the first place. But I can’t give up. I can’t just quit like I used to in all those PE classes back when I was a schoolgirl. This isn’t just some silly test from a teacher. This is important adult stuff, so I have to keep going and tap into reserves I didn’t even know I possessed.

‘Hey! Come back!’ I call after the fleeing man, but it’s a waste of my diminishing oxygen levels because the man ignores me. He doesn’t even turn back to check if I am chasing him, or how close I might be, which suggests he isn’t too worried about being able to outpace me if he has to.

I’m already aware I’m not going to catch up to him without some stroke of fortune going my way, but as the man darts through one of the park exits, I’m prepared to give up on any such luck coming my way. That’s until I hear the loud screeching of tyres. As I exit the park, I’m shocked to see the man lying on the ground in front of a car.

I see the driver of the car sat behind the wheel looking stunned, as if he did not expect to have somebody run right in front of his vehicle. For a second, I wonder if the injuries to the man I was pursuing might have been fatal. But then I see him trying to get back to his feet and I realise he isn’t hurt badly at all, meaning he’s likely to start running again any second now.

Seizing my chance, I reach him and stand over him, making it harder for him to get up. I’m not just doing it because I need to question him again, but because he might genuinely be hurt and I’d feel terrible if he got hurt because of me. But he does look okay and when the driver of the car calls out of the window, I realise this incident wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

‘What are you doing running into the road? I almost hit you!’ the driver cries, telling me that the man lying by my feet was not impacted by the vehicle, so he must have just tripped in front of the car. That’s a relief, and it means I can concentrate on getting this guy to talk rather than getting him to a hospital.

‘Get away from me,’ the man in the road says as he gets to his feet, looking a little unsteady, although maybe it’s his pride that is hurt more than his body. I would be embarrassed too if I’d lost in a foot race with someone older than me.

‘Are you okay? Do you need to sit down?’ I ask, offering help. I would offer him some water if I had any on me, but I don’t, so words are all I can give.

‘Just get away from me,’ the man says before grimacing, and I figure he injured some part of his lower body during his fall.

‘Just tell me who you are, please,’ I beg, trying not to be too forceful because this guy did just experience a potential near-death experience.

As the driver gets back behind the wheel to leave, I look to the man in front of me to talk. Thankfully, he does.

‘My name is Calvin,’ he says. ‘I’m Haven’s brother.’

‘Her brother?’ I repeat, processing this as something that I hadn’t even considered to be an option.

‘Yes, her brother,’ Calvin replies. ‘That’s why I came here to meet her, but all I got was you instead.’

‘But why didn’t you just tell me that in the park? Why did you run?’

‘I don’t know, I guess I panicked.’

‘Why would you panic?’

‘Because I was worried for Haven and wanted to find another way to contact her to check she was okay.’

‘I told you she was fine,’ I repeat.

‘Yes, but you also pretended to be my sister, so how can I trust you?’

He has a point there.

‘I told you why I was doing it. I’m just trying to make sure my son is okay and isn’t being used by your sister.’

‘Haven would never use anybody.’

‘You know that for sure?’

‘Yes, I do.’

‘Then why did you leave a note for her saying to contact you if she was ever in trouble? What kind of trouble has she been in in the past?’

‘It’s none of your business,’ Calvin says, and he tries to move past me.