Emily stubbornly declined the call, but Daniel kept ringing again and again.
“Emily, answer me. How long is this going to go on?” Marina peeked into the room. “Or just turn your phone off if you don’t want to talk.” She slammed the door shut.
Emily switched off her phone and tossed it to the other end of the sofa. She would’ve done it sooner, but she’d been waiting for a call from Andrew. He promised to ring, but two days had passed without a word. As for Daniel, she didn’t want to speak to him—let alone see him. She’d come out of her shell for him after the death of her parents, and he’d betrayed her so coldly…
***
The streets had been slick with black ice. Her parents were returning from her grandmother’s when a drunk driver lost control of his SUV on the icy road, swerving straight into their car. Her mother died on impact, and her father passed away in the hospital.
A full year had passed. Emily used to love New Year’s Eve, counting down the days. Now the thought of it made her shudder. It had become a reminder of loss and unending grief.
She couldn’t remember how she’d made it through her first year at university, how she’d survived the pain. Her aunt Marina—her father’s sister—had moved in after her divorce. She’d left her husband because she couldn’t have children, a consequence of a botched abortion in her teens.
“Just call me Marina. ‘Aunt’ makes me feel ancient,” she’d said right away.
But Marina wasn’t a replacement for her parents, and they never became close. Marina was too preoccupied with rebuilding her own life—dating, searching for someone new.
Emily had no intention of celebrating New Year’s Eve. She planned to sleep through it. But Daniel convinced her to go to his friend’s birthday party two nights before.
“I’ve got a girlfriend, but I never go anywhere with her. What’ll I do there alone? Everyone’s coming as couples. Come on, it’s just a birthday—not New Year’s. You need to start living again. Your mum wouldn’t have wanted you hiding away,” he’d argued.
That last point broke her resistance. She put on the very dress she and her mother had bought for last year’s celebrations—one she’d never had the chance to wear.
“You’ll be the most beautiful girl there,” her mother had said.
The dress suited her perfectly.
Marina gave her a critical once-over.
“No one will look at me with you around. Who’d want an old hag next to a pretty young thing?” She sighed. “Isn’t it a bit revealing? Hold on.” She ducked into her room and returned with a delicate scarf—slightly darker than the dress, complementing it perfectly.
*Mum would have liked this*, Emily thought.
“Much better,” Marina approved. “You can drape it over your shoulders if it gets chilly.”
The taxi ride to the party was long. By the time they arrived, the celebration was in full swing. The birthday boy whistled when he saw Emily.
“Now I see why you’ve been keeping her to yourself. Hands off—friend or not, I’ll steal her,” he joked, wagging a finger at Daniel.
Emily didn’t know anyone but Daniel. She was fine as long as he was near, but then someone asked her to dance. When the music stopped, Daniel was gone.
She felt out of place among strangers. Wandering through the flat, she noticed the front door ajar. Stepping outside, she spotted Daniel on the landing below, locked in an intense kiss with another girl, as if they’d been starved of each other. They didn’t even notice her.
The sight made her physically ill. She couldn’t stay. Back inside, she grabbed her boots and coat, then hesitated at the door—she couldn’t pass them. Instead, she climbed to the next floor, waiting for them to disappear. But their whispers still drifted up.
Deciding to go higher, she found herself on an open balcony connecting the upper floors. She leaned against the railing, letting the cold air cool her flushed cheeks. The cars below looked like snowdrifts.
*Would it hurt to jump?* The thought flickered through her mind. *Stop it!* She jerked back—whether by her own will or something else, she wasn’t sure. But then she leaned forward again, peering down.
“Don’t even think about it! Step away from the railing!” A sharp voice cut through the air before strong hands yanked her back.
Her scarf snagged on something, slipped free, and fluttered over the edge. She gasped, reaching for it, but the wind caught it, sending it spiralling down.
“Let go of me!” Emily snapped at the stranger still holding her. “That scarf! Marina will kill me!”
“Sorry, I thought—” The guy looked sheepish.
“You thought what? I was just looking! I wasn’t going to jump!”
“Come on, let’s find your scarf.” He pulled her inside. By the time they reached the landing, Daniel and the girl were gone. It stung that he hadn’t even looked for her.
The scarf was tangled in a tree below. The guy grabbed a low branch, hoisted himself up, and strained to reach it—just as the wood cracked. He managed to snag a corner before falling, but a sizeable strip of fabric remained tangled above.
“Sorry,” he said, handing her the torn scarf. “Will you get in trouble? Was it expensive?”
“No. Marina gave it to me. What do I even do with this now?” She crumpled it into her coat pocket.
“Leaving the party already?” he asked.
“Why do you care?”
“It’s dark. This area’s rough. I’ll walk you.”
She gave in. He flagged a taxi and slid in beside her.
“I could’ve managed alone,” she muttered.
“Where to, love?” the driver chimed.
She gave her address.
They rode in silence until the guy finally asked, “You really weren’t going to jump?”
“And if I was? Who even are you?”
“Andrew.”
“Who—*Angel*?”
“You could say that. My mum named me. There was a folk-rock band in the ’80s—*Andrew & Eliza*.”
She studied him. “I’m Emily.”
“Brilliant! Mum always said I’d meet my Eliza one day. Fate, don’t you think?”
She thought he was mocking her, but he seemed sincere.
“Why do you talk about your mum in the past tense? Is she…?”
“What? No, she’s fine. Remarried, living abroad. I stayed here with my dad. He was the one into the band.”
Before she knew it, they’d reached her building.
“Give me your number. It’d be unfair if I found you just to lose you again.” He pulled out his phone.
She recited it.
“I’ll ring you tomorrow,” he promised.
***
Two days passed without a call. Emily couldn’t stop thinking about the strange boy with the odd name. She still didn’t understand how he’d appeared so silently on that balcony. *Maybe he really was an angel.* Just then, the doorbell rang.
“Emily, get that—my hands are covered in flour!” Marina called from the kitchen.
Another suitor was coming over. Marina had decided to impress him with her cooking—especially since it was New Year’s Eve. Emily planned to stay in her room, out of the way.
She opened the door, expecting a middle-aged man. Instead, Andrew stood there.
“Why were you ignoring my calls? Why’d you turn your phone off?” he asked, slightly hurt.
“I thought—” She’d rejected every call without checking.
“Your boyfriend bothering you? The one who made you want to jump?” Now he *was* mocking her. “I decided to come myself. Besides, I’ve got an excuse. You left your shoes in the cab.” He held out a small bag.
“How did you even find me?”
“I didn’t leave right away. Watched which window lit up. The rest was easy.”
“Emily, who is it?” Marina called.
“He’s here for me!”
“Your mum?” Andrew asked.
“No. Marina.”
“Get dressed. I’ll wait on the stairs. We’re short on time,” he said suddenly.
“I’m not going anywhere. You don’t understand. I can’t celebrate New Year’s, because—” Between joy at seeing him and the grief she’d carried all year, her voice cracked.
“Just a small gathering at a club. Live music. Close friends.” His gaze was knowing, as if he understood everything.
“What should I wear?”
“Whatever you like. Be comfortable.”
She changed into jeans and a peach-coloured jumper—simple, but she knew she looked good.
“Marina, I’m leaving. Don’t know when I’ll be back,” she called, stepping out.
The club was intimate, with three lads playing guitars and drums by the far wall. They brightened when they sawAs the clock struck midnight and the first fireworks lit up the sky, Andrew leaned in and whispered, “Happy New Year, Emily,” and for the first time in years, she truly believed it would be.
