Free Fix You by Carrie Elks

pulling her
along with him in an attempt to keep them together.
    Even his hands were perfect. His palm was warm and soft, and
his long, sculpted fingers curled around hers perfectly. His nails were cut
short, with a small crescent of white at the tips. Her own nails were still
ragged and bitten. She’d long since given up trying to keep any lacquer on
them.
    When they reached the top of the escalator, they fed their
tickets into the machine, walking through the metal barriers and out into the
waiting world. Ruby had been silent ever since they left the platform, and
Hanna started to worry. She was radiating nervousness; her face had turned
pale, her lips pulled together into a thin line.
    “Are you okay?” Hanna leaned down to whisper in Ruby’s ear,
trying not to let Richard or Nathan hear. “It’s fine to feel nervous, you know.
We’ve all been there, and I can promise your brothers were every bit as worried
as you are when they started high school.”
    “Not Nathan,” Ruby whispered back. “He beat a teacher up on
his second day there. By the end of the week he was on suspension.”
    Hanna bit back a laugh. The Nathan she had seen so far today
was like a gentle giant. She couldn’t imagine him beating anybody up, let alone
a teacher.
    “Why did he do it?”
    “The teacher was shouting at a girl he liked. He told me he
just saw red.”
    “I hope she was worth it.”
    “Nathan seems to think so. It was his girlfriend.”
    Hanna had never met Lucy, although Ruby had shown her some
photos, and Hanna had found herself feeling dull and dowdy in comparison to the
tall, blonde beauty.
    “We’re here, Squirt.”
    Ruby stopped suddenly, looking up at the large brick and
white stucco school building bordered on all sides by walls and a thick green
hedge. Her knees were shaking, and Hanna found herself reaching out to grab
Ruby’s hand.
    Dropping down to a crouching position, Hanna’s face reached
the same level as Ruby’s. Still holding her hand, she reached the other out to
stroke Ruby’s cheek.
    “Ruby, it’s going to be okay. You can do this. When you come
out tonight, I bet there’ll be a smile on your lips.”
    Ruby’s face crumpled, and tears welled in her eyes. “I don’t
think I can.” Her voice was very small. Hanna wished for all she was worth that
she could go in to the school in place of the tiny girl.
    “You’re stronger than you think. Remember how scared Harry
Potter was on his first day at Hogwarts?”
    “And then he met Malfoy and Snape,” Ruby replied.
    “But he met Ron and Hermione, too. And Neville Longbottom,
don’t forget him.”
    “How could I forget somebody with such a silly name?”
    Hanna watched as Ruby slowly walked through the main gate,
never once turning back to look at them. When she looked over, Richard’s face
was pulled down into a frown. Even Nathan looked glassy-eyed.
    “Do you fancy a coffee?” Hanna suggested, trying to find a
way to cheer them all up.
    “I’m meeting a couple of friends this morning, but you go
ahead.” Nathan leaned forward and gave Hanna a gentle squeeze. “It was a real
pleasure to meet you, Hanna. The way you look after Ruby is awesome.”
    “She’s an easy kid to love.”
    “Somebody should tell her that.” Nathan agreed, and then
gave Richard a slap on the back before walking up the street, back toward the
tube station.
    Hanna turned her gaze back to Richard. “Coffee?” she asked
again with a gentle voice.
    Richard turned to look at her. “That sounds good.” As he
stared down at her, she could see the good humor returning to his face, his
lips curling into a crooked smile.
    She reminded herself that it was
just a coffee. They would sit opposite each other and discuss inanities while
sipping lukewarm—rather mediocre—coffee, from a chipped, over-used mug. It
meant nothing; it was just two friends sharing some time together. She wouldn’t
be looking at him and wondering if he liked her. She wouldn’t be thinking