Josh sat on the sofa, staring at the opposite wall without seeing it. His father was in the kitchen, boiling the kettle again. A plastic bottle of milk stood on the bench.
His father had arrived just as the helicopter landed in the Piha Domain. When the helicopter had left with Hayden and his mother on board, the ambulance officers had taken Josh to the back of the ambulance to check him out. They put dressings on his grazes and examined him for other injuries. Then his father drove them back to the bach in Penny’s car, which was now parked in their driveway, a reminder that it hadn’t been a dream.
His father walked over with a mug in his hand and put it down beside Josh who reached for it before noticing how badly his hand was trembling. The blanket around his shoulders slipped a little and his father pulled it back up. Josh held the cup in both hands and the liquid in it quivered like there was an earthquake under it. He took a sip of the hot sweet liquid and took a shuddering breath. He could fell the warmth travel down his gullet.
A police car pulled up alongside Penny’s car and a policeman got out. His father went to the door to let him in.
“Do you want a coffee?” he asked him as the man entered and took off his hat.
“No, thank you. I’ll just have a quick word with Josh.”
He sat down in an armchair and pulled out a notebook and pen.
“Good to see you again, Josh.” It was the same policeman who had been first on the scene after Bevan had beaten him up. “Constable Woodward,” the man reminded him.
Josh grunted. He didn’t know if he could speak.
“Do you do the patrols out here?” Josh’s father asked, seeing that Josh couldn’t answer.
“Yes, I’m with the Henderson office, which does patrols out here. It was lucky that we were on the Anawhata Road when the call came through. We caught up with the ambulance just as it got to the top of the hill.” He looked down at his notes and then at Josh. “I’ve got statements from witnesses at the scene, but what can you tell me?”
“It shouldn’t have happened,” Josh said. “It’s all my fault. I didn’t listen. He was trying to tell me, trying to stop me. I wouldn’t listen. Just stupid, stupid, stupid.” The words gushed from his mouth like a broken dam. His hands shook as he spoke and spilled some of the coffee from the cup onto the blanket. Tears again pricked at his eyes.
“Whoa, Josh,” the constable said. “Let’s start this from the beginning. Where were you going?”
Josh took a deep breath and started again. “I was going to the store. Dad sent me to get a bottle of milk.”
“And Hayden was with you?”
“We were walking together. I was in a bad mood. I didn’t want him to come, but he came anyway.”
He had to take a breath. He sipped at the coffee.
“We had an argument. I just wanted to get away. I didn’t hear the car. I think Hayden did. He tried to stop me. He grabbed my arm, but I pulled away. Then I stepped onto the road. There was a car coming straight for me. He pushed me out of the way. It hit … it hit Hayden instead.” The tears were flowing freely now. His father stood up, took the mug from Josh’s hand and placed it on the coffee table in front of him.
“Did the driver try to stop?” the policeman asked.
“Yes, he did. The wheels were squealing, it hurt my ears. But he couldn’t stop in time.”
“He didn’t try to swerve?”
“I don’t know if he could. We both froze, I guess. I couldn’t move. I remember looking straight into his face. That was about when Hayden pushed me. Why’d he do that? He must have known he’d get hit instead.” He was beginning to jabber again.
“I don’t know, Josh,” the constable said. “But that corroborates with what the witnesses saw. The driver of the car admitted that he was going a bit too fast. We have witnesses who estimate he was travelling at over sixty kilometres an hour when he went past the store. He’d come down the hill and when he got to the bottom, he took his foot off the brake and put it on the accelerator. He was going too fast in an area where there are a lot of people crossing. It’s not all your fault, Josh.”
“But if I hadn’t stepped out–”
“If he had been going slower, he might not have hit anyone at all,” Tim interrupted. “He would have been able to stop in time, might have been able to swerve away, might have had time to react.”
“But …” Josh started to say.
“You can’t blame yourself, Josh,” the constable said.
“I didn’t deserve it,” Josh muttered.
“Deserve what?” the constable asked.
“What he did. He asked me to teach him to surf and I didn’t. He just wanted a friend and I ignored him. I wasn’t a good friend at all. I wasn’t a nice person. I shouted at him and I shouldn’t have.” He looked at the policeman but tears blurred his vision. “Is he going to be alright?”
“I haven’t heard yet, Josh, I’m sorry.” The constable said. “Our job is to report on the accident and press charges if necessary.”
“What about the driver?” his father asked.
“They’ve taken him to Henderson to be processed. At this stage he’s being charged with reckless driving causing injury. His licence was in order and the car was fully warranted so there are no other charges at this stage. We’ll have to see how Hayden does. All in all not a good start to New Year’s Eve,” he added ruefully.
He stood up, pulled a card from his pocket and wrote on it. “Here’s my number and I’ve also put down the number for Victim Support. Just phone them if you need someone to talk to.”
He put the card down on the coffee table and turned to face Josh’s father. “Thank you, Mr Talbot. What I’ve got from Josh will do for now, but he’ll have to come into the station to make a full statement. I’ll be in touch.”
“Thank you, Constable,” his father said walking with him to the door.
Josh reached for the cup of coffee and sipped from it. His hands still shook but he needed the warm liquid. Outside he could hear his father talking with the constable, heard his name mentioned and then the police car leave.
His father returned. “The guys from the ambulance said you should rest today and no strenuous physical activity, so I guess that means no surfing. I’ll phone your mum.”
Josh nodded and finished off the tea. He was beginning to feel warmer now. He lay down on the sofa with a cushion under his head and listened as his father explained to his mother what had happened. His father put down the phone and looked over at Josh.
“She’s going to the hospital to see Penny. She’ll phone us back if she hears anything about Hayden.”
“Is she coming back here?”
“No, she made sure that you were okay and said that Penny might need her. She’s going to leave Cyndi there with your nana and see if there’s anything she can do.”
She doesn’t care about us,” Josh said.
“She thinks she would be more useful to Penny. It’s a women thing I think, to go to the aid of another woman in distress. Us men are better keeping out of it. Don’t worry, I’ll look after you, you’ll be all right.”
He ruffled Josh’s hair and, for once, Josh didn’t mind. He smiled. His old man wasn’t so bad after all.