Page 11 of The Fall I Fell

The walk from Granny and Grandad’s to Hope farm wasn’t too far, but since the road out the front had no pavement or streetlights to guide us, and Granny wasn’t too stable on her feet, we had to take the longer route through the fields. Everyone else walked too slow for my liking, so I skipped on ahead, following the way I’d watched Jacob leave. Passing a row of trees and leaping over a dyke, I quickly found myself in the gardens of Hope Farm.

A pony grazed on the lawn, chewing on the long grass at the foot of a trampoline in the space that the lawnmower couldn’t quite reach. Beside the flower bed, a trowel and a heap of soil lay as though forgotten in a hurry, along with various other garden tools dotted around the place. The Thorogoods must have been having a hard time trying to make their new house a home between running the farm and keeping track of their three children.

I’d never seen their farmhouse before then. Even from the back, it was a place of grandeur. Windows lined the brick on three different floors, their panes teasing a glimpse inside, and each room wore a different wallpaper that caught the evening sun in a rainbow of colour. Some of the old brick was crumbling, shadows of old climbing ivy still lingered around a few of the sills. It was clear that old Mr Dixon never gave it much attention. A little section of scaffolding was wrapped around the corner of the house, and at the very top board, a pair of spindly legs were swinging back and forth over the ledge, at the same height as some of Grandad’s oldest apple trees.

Jacob noticed me at the bottom of the garden and waved from the top of his tower. He looked so natural at the same heights that made my stomach ache just thinking about, as though he was born to live in the wild like Tarzan or Mowgli, and he only lived like a normal boy to appease his family. Sliding down the scaffold with skill, he met me at the bottom, and though I never told him, I was glad he didn’t expect me to climb up.

‘Did you come by yourself?’ he asked when he got close to me. I noticed the rips in his shorts and the grazes on his knees.

‘No, they’re just slow. When did you fall over?’ I frowned at him. He was much more balanced on his feet than I was at that age, and his scarred knees even then were so tough it took a lot to tear the skin.

‘There’s a kitten that’s been abandoned in the barn,’ he started excitedly. ‘And I was trying to catch it to feed it, but it was faster than me.’ He shrugged as though the scratches were nothing.

‘A kitten?’ My concern for Jacob’s injuries vanished at the mention of a furry friend in need.

‘Yeah. One of the farm cats must have given birth and forgotten about it. I’ve been leaving food out for her, but I need to catch her to get a good look and make sure she’s okay,’ Jacob said casually.

‘Can I see her?’ I grasped him by the arm in anticipation. Jacob didn’t answer me, only stared wide-eyed, and I realised maybe my tight grip on his forearm was cutting off a little of his circulation. ‘Sorry,’ I murmured, releasing him with hot cheeks. He was blushing too. ‘It’s just Mum and Dad say we can’t have a cat in our house back in London,’ I continued, ‘but they’re my absolute favourite. They’re wild, grumpy, and so unbothered by people, unless they choose you. And if you’re their person, it’s like being the queen – you’re the most special thing in the world. I’d love to be someone’s special person like that.’

‘You’d be lucky getting this one anywhere near you.’ Jacob didn’t look at me when he spoke. I reminded myself to not get too physical when I was excited. ‘But I’ll show you.’

I threw my arms around his neck and drew him into the tightest hug I could muster.

‘Jacob? Are the neighbours here yet? Dinner’s almost ready.’ Jacob’s mum’s voice came from behind a screen door. It startled us both, and I pulled away quickly.

A beautiful woman emerged from the back door and spotted us. I’m sure now she was trying to contain her grin. Sian’s dark hair was long, but swept away from her face in a pony tail. Jacob must have gotten his freckles from her, because they decorated her nose and cheeks like fairy dust. ‘Oh, hello. You must be Ava.’

‘Hello, Mrs Thorogood.’ I felt like my whole skull was on fire, but she didn’t seem to notice.

‘Please, call me Sian. Are your granny and grandad on the way too?’ At the mention of them, they rounded the corner of the hedge and came into sight with Callum in tow. ‘Perfect, just in time. You kids come on in, and get your hands washed and ready for dinner.’

Even though dinner was at the top of my list of excitement only minutes ago, I felt a little deflated. I hesitated for a moment, but started following her in.

Clearly, the disappointment was evident on my face, because Jacob leaned in close and whispered, ‘Don’t worry, we can sneak off after pudding. Mum always talks too much to notice that we’re gone.’

So, with that promise, I strode into the Thorogood farmhouse with my heart on fire.

When all of the pleasantries were out of the way, we sat down for dinner. I didn’t think I’d ever seen Jacob without dirt under his nails or his hair in his face, but, that night, he sat beside me, scrubbed within an inch of his life. Callum sat on the other side. Our plates were only placed in front of us less than five minutes ago, but already, the peas were the only things that remained on my brother’s. Alfie had promised him a look at his stick sword collection in his bedroom after dinner, and I’m sure Callum had been too impatient to chew properly.

‘You’re lucky we have all three boys here tonight.’ Mr Thorogood chuckled to himself. ‘Getting all three of them in one room at once is a mammoth task these days.’

‘Even just getting Jacob inside is the hardest task. I reckon I’d have better luck teaching the pony sign language most days,’ Sian added.

Jacob only stared at his plate, and I felt his knee bounce on his chair beside me.

‘I don’t blame the lad,’ Grandad said. ‘Bit of fresh air in his lungs, there’s no better place to be than outside.’ He winked across the table at Jacob in support and my best friend lifted one corner of his lips in thanks.

‘Harry has always been the same,’ Granny added. ‘Only comes home for feeding, just like one of the animals.’

‘Exactly!’ Sian swigged her glass of wine. ‘Some days, I even have to wrestle clothes onto him.’

‘Or hose him down in the garden when he comes home like The Creature From the Black Lagoon.’ Mr Thorogood clapped Jacob on the shoulder with a wide palm. I realised then that Jacob never had much to say when there’s a crowd of people. He was staying silent.

‘He’s like a dog,’ Alfie said with a mouthful of mashed potatoes that padded out his cheeks like a hamster stocking up for hibernation.

The Thorogoods actually had a dog: a fat Labrador that moved so little when it was lying down that I had actually thought he was a rug when I walked in. Jacob wasn’t anything like that.

‘Maybe he’s a wolf.’ I shrugged. ‘They don’t need to wear clothes, or have baths. They have a double coat and the outer layer is waterproof.’