Free Even Angels Fall by Fay Darbyshire

garden wall and drops onto the driveway, looking back at the house one last time as she dusts herself off and dashes out into the street. There is still a part of her that can’t believe what she is doing but she won’t turn back now.
    Lucy, Nathan and Liam are waiting for her outside the co-op down the road and their expressions flit between shock and admiration as she approaches.
    “We didn’t know if you’d make it…!” Lucy shouts, as Abbey crosses the road towards them.
    “I said I was coming didn’t I?!” She greets Lucy with a hug; followed by Liam and Nathan - instantly forgetting about her worries and the huge amount of trouble she could potentially be in.
    “I got some booze already… you like vodka right?”
    “Sure, vodka’s fine…” Abbey isn’t much of a drinker so she can’t really say what alcohol she does like. She had turned 18 in February - two weeks before the move to Leeds - and needless to say there wasn’t much celebration involved. It was a milestone birthday but it was also a stark reminder of what Ryan would never experience. He would never drink, never drive, never vote. He had died 4 days shy of their 17th birthday, so the last two have passed by with no real festivities at all. They have become a more sombre occasion, and in a way Abbey feels as though she is betraying Ryan by getting older, almost as if she is leaving him behind. She is moving forward, while he is frozen… forever sweet sixteen.
    After a 15 minute taxi drive through Leeds, past the train station and out towards the bottom end of town, they stop at a modern, high rise building on the outskirts of the city next to the water of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal. They pay the driver and approach the main door, where Liam presses a button for flat 38. There is a pause, then a click.
    “Yeah…?”
    Liam leans forward, putting his mouth right up to the speaker as he shouts in a stupid voice.
    “EASY BRUVVAAAA…!” Whoever’s on the other end of the intercom responds in exactly the same way, and the buzzer sounds, releasing the door. Lucy rolls her eyes as the four of them make their way inside.
    They ride the elevator up to the 9 th floor and walk down a long narrow corridor that is painted and carpeted in neutral colours. Various pieces of modern art hang on the walls and large free standing vases are placed sporadically along the passage way.
    “Wow, this is really nice…” Abbey wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but it definitely wasn’t something this up market.
    “Yeah, Alex has a pretty high paying job…” Liam laughs and the three of them glance at each other as if sharing a private joke. Once again Abbey feels a little left out, but at least she is here with them. They have included her by bringing her along tonight and she reminds herself that she should be grateful for that. As the four friends approach the very end of the hallway and flat number 38, Lucy reaches up to knock, but before she has a chance, the handle turns and the door swings open unexpectedly. Abbey stares, wide eyed and breathless, as everything around her fades into the back ground. Time seems to stand still and in that fraction of a second, her whole entire universe shifts. “What time do you call this…?!” The man standing in the doorway asks his question in a deep Irish accent that flows so beautifully, it is almost surreal. He is tall, with dark brown hair that is styled into a slight quiff at the front. He is wearing faded jeans, a grey v neck t-shirt and a set of silver rosary beads that hang just past his chest. He is incredibly lean and toned, with the muscles in his arms standing out in stark contrast to his slender frame. He has incredibly chiselled features with a few days’ worth of stubble and the most piercing, electric blue eyes that Abbey has ever seen.
    “We’re not that late! We just had to go pick Abbey up…!” Lucy kisses him on the cheek as she enters the flat and Abbey follows behind, smiling timidly.