Deep Down by Elouise East

Author:Elouise East
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Elouise East
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

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AFTER

Chapter 16

Craig

Craig sauntered along the corridor to the lift after finishing his session with Amanda, eyes on the patterned floor tiles. Emotionally drained, he wheeled around, startled, when a voice called his name.

Craig cleared his throat. “Hey.”

“Long time, no see. How have you been?” Alex’s familiar cadence washed over Craig, and his shoulders relaxed.

“Good, thanks.”

“How’s the shoulder healing?”

Craig rotated his shoulder a couple of times before answering, “It’s good. Barely hurts now. Only when I twist wrong.”

Alex nodded. “Glad to hear it.”

“How are you?” Craig asked because it was socially acceptable to echo the question back.

“Good. Work’s crazy as usual. I’ve been covering for a doctor in A&E for a few days. Today is my first day back on the wards.” Alex hesitated, darting his gaze to Craig and around the space, frowning. “I’m heading for lunch. Would you like to join me?”

Craig’s initial reaction was “Hell, yes!” but figured out he was not at all bothered about being alone with Alex. That single reason had him tensing and declining.

“Maybe another time. Is everything okay?” Alex asked.

“Yep.”

Craig felt like he needed to speak with Amanda again. He was all kinds of jumbled up, worse than several minutes ago when he’d left Amanda’s office after trying to dissect his time with his parents. He said a brief goodbye to Alex and left, striding towards his parked car.

He’d come straight here from his parents’ house and hadn’t been home. He’d felt the need to speak with Amanda about it all before attempting to set foot in his own home. Was he going to be able to stay there on his own? He wasn’t sure, but he’d soon find out.

Craig parked on his driveway and stared up at the house, everything appeared the same. Four weeks seemed like a lifetime since he was last there. His heartbeat didn’t increase with anxiety like Amanda said it might, but he wasn’t empty either, which she said could be one emotion he experienced. Craig sighed. This was his. Regardless of what happened here, this was his home. No one could take that away from him.

Craig stalked to the front door, unlocking and opening it and stepped across the threshold. He closed the door behind him and stood, gazing around from his position, listening for any hint of movement. Satisfied he was alone, he wandered around, acknowledging small differences in his surroundings to what he was used to.

The large glass cabinet, containing his glass paperweights, had disappeared, along with its contents, as had the table by the wall and the coffee table which had been replaced with another. Scratches and gouges on the walls told stories of Darren’s violence, which hadn’t been covered up.

Drifting down the hallway towards the other rooms of the house, Craig catalogued the changes made. In his bedroom, there was an unknown duvet cover gracing the bed, new bedside lamps and a blank space where the wall-fitted TV used to be. He continued to his office, preparing to reacquaint himself with whatever items were left behind and was surprised to see it was mainly untouched.

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