The Things That Matter. Andrea Michael

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      The Things That Matter

      Andrea Michael

      

      One More Chapter

      a division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

      1 London Bridge Street

      London SE1 9GF

       www.harpercollins.co.uk

      First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2021

      Copyright © Andrea Michael 2021

      Cover design by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2021

      Cover photographs © Adrian Muttitt / Arcangel Images (main image) and Shutterstock.com (flowers)

      Andrea Michael asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

      A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

      This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

      All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

      Source ISBN: 9780008370237

      Ebook Edition © May 2021 ISBN: 9780008370220

      Version: 2021-04-23

      Content notice: miscarriage

      Contents

       Prologue

       Chapter 1

       Chapter 2

       Chapter 3

       Chapter 4

       Chapter 5

       Chapter 6

       Chapter 7

       Chapter 8

       Chapter 9

       Chapter 10

       Chapter 11

       Chapter 12

       Chapter 13

       Epilogue

       Acknowledgments

       Thank you for reading…

       You will also love…

       About the Author

       Also by Andrea Michael

       One More Chapter...

       About the Publisher

      For my husband:

       Above all else, adventures.

      Damaged people love you like you are a crime scene before a crime has even been committed.

      They keep their running shoes beside their souls every night, one eye open in case things change whilst they sleep.

      — Nikita Gill

      Prologue

      2006

       Aylesbury Prison and Young Offenders Institute

      He looks different.

      That’s all I can think as I see him walk out of the prison and into the fresh air. His dark brown hair is cut short, and he’s muscled, like he’s a troubled American teen from the movies, returning from military school.

      He holds himself differently, taking up space. Squared shoulders, like he’s daring anyone to bump into him or look at him the wrong way.

      The Dan I knew before was lithe, his sixteen-year-old body showing only the faintest muscle beneath pale skin. Now, even though it’s only been a few months, he looks… he looks like a man.

      It’s happened so gradually, I shouldn’t be shocked. But it’s different seeing him out here in the world.

      I’ve been visiting every week since he was sent here, bunking off lessons whenever I needed to. School have been pretty understanding about ‘everything that went on’ and if I’ve learnt anything from my mother, it’s that you’ve got to take advantage of that kindness when it comes along. People don’t give it often. It’s reserved for when something really bad happens.

      The journey from Luton took me about СКАЧАТЬ