Dear Laura by Gemma Amor

Author:Gemma Amor [Amor, Gemma]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781797875712
Published: 2019-07-02T04:00:00+00:00

18.

She was certain her nose was broken, but she didn’t go to the Doctor. Her fear of the outside world, where X lurked in the shadows, held her prisoner. The memory of the photos filed every space in her brain, and the idea that X had been inside her house, this time, walked into her bedroom while she slept, spurred her into a frenzy of activity. She pulled every curtain shut, stacked furniture against every window and door, stripped all the bedding, pulled all her clothes from her hangars, and slammed them into the washing machine, hoping to get rid of every single last particle of him. She pulled her mattress from the bed, and used it to block the bathroom door off, hoping that if X decided to break in again through the broken window, the temporary barrier would give her enough time to escape out the front door.

As the bundled clothes and sheets spun around in the washer, she found a hand held-mirror, and carefully stuffed a tampon up each nostril, watching, aghast, as two black eyes bloomed in her swollen face.

And then, another letter came. It slid under her front door like a snake, and Laura watched it, whimpering.

Dear Laura,

Now you know that I’m not lying, don’t you? I’m sorry about your face. I couldn’t let you take my photo to the Police. I thought we were building trust, Laura. Now it feels like we’ve gone back a step.

I was upset by your letter, Laura. The one you wrote when you moved out. Did you think I wouldn’t follow you? That is not how this works. You don’t get to write the letters, because I’m the one that has what you want. You don’t get to tell me what to do. Only I get to make the rules.

I’ve decided to forgive you for not trusting me, but in exchange for the next clue, and as a way of proving to me how sorry you are, I need something special.

Laura felt as if the power balance had tilted in his favour once again. He held the keys to her future, her happiness, and her peace of mind, and he knew it, fed off of her helplessness. Any attempt she made to go to the Police now could end in her death. And a photograph of her own, filled with red.

She continued reading, a cold sheen of sweat collecting on her brow.

A tooth, said the letter. A big tooth, a molar. Give me what I want, and I’ll give you a clue.

Deep down inside, you know you can’t live without me, don’t you? And I can’t live without you for much longer, Laura. If you don’t do as I say, I’m not sure I can hold myself back.

No cheating. I’ll know if it’s not your tooth.

Yours with respect,

X

Laura dropped the letter and watched as it glided to the floor.

And she realised something, as his words stared up at her from her feet.

This was no longer about Bobby. Maybe it never really had been.

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