Me-Before-You-by-Jojo-Moyes

26
In other circumstances I suppose it might have seemed strange that I, Lou Clark,
a girl who had rarely been more than a bus ride from her home town in twenty
years, was now flying to her third country in less than a week. But I packed an
overnight case with the swift efficiency of an air stewardess, rejecting all but the
barest necessities. Treena ran around silently fetching any other things she
thought I might need, and then we headed downstairs. We stopped halfway
down. Mum and Dad were already in the hall, standing side by side in the
ominous way they used to do when we sneaked back late from a night out.
‘What’s going on?’ Mum was staring at my case.
Treena had stopped in front of me.
‘Lou’s going to Switzerland,’ she said. ‘And she needs to leave now. There’s
only one flight left today.’
We were about to move when Mum stepped forward.
‘No.’ Her mouth was set into an unfamiliar line, her arms folded awkwardly in
front of her. ‘Really. I don’t want you involved. If this is what I think it is, then
no.’
‘But –’ Treena began, glancing behind at me.
‘No,’ said Mum, and her voice held an unusually steely quality. ‘No buts. I’ve
been thinking about this, about everything you told us. It’s wrong. Morally
wrong. And if you get embroiled in it and you’re seen to be helping a man kill
himself, then you could end up in all sorts of trouble.’
‘Your mum’s right,’ Dad said.
‘We’ve seen it in the news. This could affect your whole life, Lou. This
college interview, everything. If you get a criminal record, you will never get a
college degree or a good job or anything –’
‘He’s asked for her to come. She can’t just ignore him,’ Treena interrupted.