Me-Before-You-by-Jojo-Moyes

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‘Did you try to call me, Louisa? I’m sorry – I didn’t hear a thing. I suspect thatintercom’s on the blink. There have been a few occasions lately where I’vemissed it. And I wasn’t feeling too good myself last night. Out like a light.’I was still wearing Will’s socks. I stared at them, wondering if Mrs Traynorwas going to judge me for that too.But she seemed distracted. ‘It’s been a long journey home. I think … I’ll leaveyou to it. But if anything like this happens again, you call me immediately. Doyou understand?’I didn’t want to look at Mr Traynor. ‘Yes,’ I said, and disappeared into thekitchen.
7Spring arrived overnight, as if winter, like some unwanted guest, had abruptlyshrugged its way into its coat and vanished, without saying goodbye. Everythingbecame greener, the roads bathed in watery sunshine, the air suddenly balmy.There were hints of something floral and welcoming in the air, birdsong thegentle backdrop to the day.I didn’t notice any of it. I had stayed at Patrick’s house the evening before. Itwas the first time I had seen him for almost a week due to his enhanced trainingschedule, but having spent forty minutes in the bath with half a pack of bathsalts, he was so exhausted he could barely talk to me. I had begun stroking hisback, in a rare attempt at seduction, and he had murmured that he was really tootired, his hand flicking as if he were swatting me away. I was still awake andstaring at his ceiling discontentedly four hours later.Patrick and I had met while I was doing the only other job I have ever held,that of trainee at The Cutting Edge, Hailsbury’s only unisex hairdresser’s. Hewalked in while Samantha, the proprietor, was busy, asking for a number four. Igave him what he described afterwards as the worst haircut not only that he hadever had, but the worst haircut in the history of mankind. Three months later,realizing that a love of fiddling with my own hair did not necessarily mean that Iwas cut out to do anyone else’s, I left and got the job at the cafe with Frank.When we started going out, Patrick had been working in sales and hisfavourite things could have been listed as beer, garage chocolate, talking aboutsport and sex (doing, not talking about), in that order. A good night out for uswould probably comprise all four. He was ordinary-looking rather thanhandsome, and his bum was podgier than mine, but I liked it. I liked the solidityof him, the way he felt when I wrapped myself around him. His dad was deadand I liked the way he acted towards his mother; protective and solicitous. And
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JOJO MOYESMe Before YouPENGUIN BOOK
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Chapter 22Chapter 23Chapter 24Chapt
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To Charles, with love
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‘Right,’ he says. ‘Got to go.
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‘I didn’t catch that.’The tax
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‘Yup.’ I hung my jacket on the
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My mother’s hand stilled. Her gaz
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‘Bernard.’ Mum shot him a warni
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sure they do a grant for people lik
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He shrugged. ‘You said you liked
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‘I’ll ring them to confirm the
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I was twenty-six years old and I wa
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old days you wouldn’t have dreamt
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‘Frank - the owner - sold the caf
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the French windows. Finally, she tu
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Treena made a face. ‘I think it w
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3‘This is the annexe. It used to
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‘Then let’s go and introduce yo
Page 39 and 40: mostly my bag, but you do need to k
Page 41 and 42: ‘Will it help?’I blinked, my mo
Page 43 and 44: hum of the television in the living
Page 45 and 46: His head had sunk into his shoulder
Page 47 and 48: ‘Oh.’I could feel her watching
Page 49 and 50: with him, so I’d usually go and s
Page 51 and 52: I got the feeling that this was in
Page 53 and 54: Sasha? I’ve been doing a lot of w
Page 55 and 56: for you and I hope you do want to s
Page 57 and 58: Diet Cokes. When they, finally, ord
Page 59 and 60: to stick with them? To help them th
Page 61 and 62: I blinked. ‘Well … I think some
Page 63 and 64: 5The thing about being catapulted i
Page 65 and 66: You said that you were hiring me fo
Page 67 and 68: ‘He says you’re trying to poiso
Page 69 and 70: By the time Hunchback Man died, I w
Page 71 and 72: divided into ‘transport’, ‘in
Page 73 and 74: to lose patience. Then, finally, I
Page 75 and 76: drew closer, I could see the consul
Page 77 and 78: I took a step backwards, closed the
Page 79 and 80: I left.I read my magazine, lifting
Page 81 and 82: Nathan was crosser than I’d ever
Page 83 and 84: I could hear my father’s exclamat
Page 85 and 86: ‘I suspect you’re going to.’
Page 87 and 88: lucky. And she said from the day sh
Page 89: ‘Will … ’ I said, quietly.
Page 93 and 94: It’s not that I was some kind of
Page 95 and 96: ‘What does she have to be insecur
Page 97 and 98: There were all sorts of things that
Page 99 and 100: I twisted his straw round so that h
Page 101 and 102: dehumanized briskness that characte
Page 103 and 104: ‘Please. Georgina.’ Mrs Traynor
Page 105 and 106: another long silence. And then Geor
Page 107 and 108: 8CamillaI never set out to help kil
Page 109 and 110: It was that I could suddenly see no
Page 111 and 112: When Will first told me what he wan
Page 113 and 114: 9I didn’t sleep that night. I lay
Page 115 and 116: I had been tidying the living room.
Page 117 and 118: probably ask why I couldn’t be mo
Page 119 and 120: I slid out from the porch and was d
Page 121 and 122: ‘No. That’s not it.’‘Which
Page 123 and 124: whatever it is you’re going to th
Page 125 and 126: I looked at my sister hard. ‘You
Page 127 and 128: 10They looked a bit surprised. Actu
Page 129 and 130: We all stared at our cups of tea.
Page 131 and 132: ‘You’re probably going to have
Page 133 and 134: ‘Can quadriplegics get drunk?’
Page 135 and 136: ‘Would you jump in my grave so qu
Page 137 and 138: Four hours later I had the beginnin
Page 139 and 140: ‘You look cheerful,’ Will said,
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I backed Will’s chair down carefu
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We watched the Sisterwood Cup, and
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fears at all that I was going to or
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Will his posh lunch in a restaurant
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‘It’s not going to happen,’ s
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Nathan was staring at the cans of l
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badges we might have had a nice lun
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And I had ideas. Things I wanted to
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‘You’ve never been to a concert
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‘And it’s incredibly tedious,
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Nathan went to pack Will’s bag. I
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Will looked sideways at me, his fac
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‘Are you all right?’ I found my
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13Patrick stood on the edge of the
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‘Yeah? Well it’s still better t
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‘I get nervous when a girl says s
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‘So … ’ Dad opened the fridge
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‘If you do that,’ Will observed
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it’s like a brain synapse - it ca
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‘It does, Mum.’ My eyes had fil
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‘Good to meet you, Patrick,’ Wi
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I stared at it. Will’s card. I ha
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I looked up the same piece at the l
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Perhaps it was something to do with
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Like it was some kind of contest.I
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Will was silent for a moment. I wat
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He swallowed. ‘The day we go and
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Mrs Traynor had waited until Nathan
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She and Leo’s father had been int
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television?’‘No,’ said Will.
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‘I’d be finding out what I coul
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him twice, bringing him music and n
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I scanned down to the next one.Dear
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their lift was out of order. Others
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‘Because your boyfriend says no.
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‘Nathan will enjoy it. Oh, come o
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and Dad decided it would be best if
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my problems. They seemed embarrassi
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‘Was he with someone?’I put the
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‘Oh, well. Here’s my stop.’ D
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‘Are you okay getting your own te
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His voice, when it came, was carefu
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he could not live without his girlf
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In the afternoon, there was a knock
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‘The Regent Street? Nice.’‘Ye
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And then, as he left to go running,
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She blinked hard, as if trying to t
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‘How dare you suggest I would do
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‘Come on. It’s finally stopped
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moving on with their lives. I made
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to work out where I was. The tall h
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minutes, perhaps talking, and then
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world, the warmth of Will’s hand
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‘Um … nothing. Patrick’s away
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The morning of the wedding dawned b
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ground. Across the road from us in
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I just wanted to make it better.‘
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tense. They were like two dogs circ
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Will looked as if he were about to
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Something happened that evening. Th
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‘Come on. Let’s give these fuck
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19NathanThey thought we couldn’t
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propped him up, placing his legs ov
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I couldn’t really blame the guy.
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20‘You what?’We were on the hil
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‘But Will Traynor seems to take p
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Ritchie, had remembered my previous
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She glanced through it all in silen
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‘I could apply for a grant. Or ma
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‘All that said, the college idea
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sure that I didn’t lose sight of
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‘But I -’‘Nearly seven years,
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We never got to the bottom of what
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and that wretched Alicia running of
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22I ran into Accident and Emergency
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sure his own passport was still val
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I took his fingers gently in mine a
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‘How does he look?’‘Bit bette
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We sat holding our mugs. From the c
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‘I can’t.’I stared at my pass
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moved from his power chair until we
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cover of a blanket. The airline sta
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The hotel had, as promised, come up
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worked out that if he gave Will the
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I walked to the window and pulled b
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Two things happened on the last day
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‘It’s a hard place to leave.’
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Will’s mouth closed on his words.
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I … I can’t live with that know
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24There is nothing more disconcerti
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So although I looked childish - alt
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My voice broke into the conversatio
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25KatrinaLouisa didn’t come out o
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Her voice was small, like Thomas’
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‘Just leave me alone, Treen. Okay
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‘Oh, that.’ She looked distract
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goodness’ sake. You’d think a m
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her umbrella and smiled, reaching r
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Twenty-six. Twenty-six of the bugge
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26In other circumstances I suppose
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knowing what … what he’s …
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I didn’t look back. I ran all the
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things being better for him, then I
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‘I know.’And there it was. He k
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‘You look absolutely beautiful.
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Mr Traynor some questions may be as
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EpilogueI was just following instru
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You’re going to feel uncomfortabl
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Q&A with Jojo1. Tell us a little ab
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highest or lowest, or be the most t
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purpose. I sat upright in bed, drag
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shaven, impassive. Even in the dark
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terrify two women and brutalize an
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as she crouched to hug her daughter
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PENGUIN BOOKSPublished by the Pengu
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