Here For You: A gripping psychological thriller by Nora Valters

Author:Nora Valters [Valters, Nora]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Inkubator Books
Published: 2022-01-09T00:00:00+00:00

18

The next morning, a soft tapping at my bedroom door stirs me from a deep slumber.

“Jess, are you awake?” I hear Ashley say from the other side. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah,” I reply groggily. I went to bed yesterday after the panic attack and haven’t left it since.

The door is pushed opened gently, and Ashley sticks her head around, sees I’m up, and then comes in. I prop myself up in bed.

She puts a steaming mug on my bedside cabinet. “I’ve brought you a cup of tea.”

“Thanks.” I pick it up and blow on the hot liquid before taking a sip. It’s just what I fancied.

“How are you doing this morning?”

How am I doing? I take a moment to ponder this. I feel anxious, angry, frustrated and powerless all at once, like I’m on a late train and know that I’m going to miss my connection but can’t do anything about it. “Not great,” I reply.

“Do you feel up to coming to The Hive today?”

I barely have enough energy to pick up the mug; the thought of getting out of bed is too much for me to comprehend. It feels overwhelming. “No, I think I’ll have a duvet day. I can’t face moving from here.”

Ashley smiles sympathetically. “I think you’ve taken a bit of a knocking, and you just need to rest.”

I notice then that Ashley is dressed and has make-up on. My nerves turn into a jangling mass. “Will you and Kevin be leaving?” I ask her wide-eyed, my breath already coming in shorter, shallower bursts. I can’t be left alone in this house. The idea terrifies me. Vulnerable in my bedroom, in my bed.

“Please don’t leave me on my own,” I beg.

She reaches out a hand and places it gently on the duvet on top of my foot. “Well, I was going to head to The Hive, and Kevin was going to go back to the flat… but we can stay right here with you. No problem. We can both work remotely. Kevin works in IT. He’ll just need to pop back to the flat to get his laptop and a few things, but then he’ll be right back, and I’ll be just downstairs.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

There’s another tap on the door. “Can Kevin come in?” Ashley asks.

I nod. Ashley stands and beckons him in.

“I’ve brought you some breakfast,” Kevin says, almost proudly, and gives the tray to Ashley, who puts it on my lap.

It’s a perfectly presented full English with bacon, scrambled eggs, tomato, sausages, mushrooms, hash browns and buttered toast. And a little pot of baked beans on the side. There’s bottles of ketchup and brown sauce and a glass of orange juice too.

“Wow,” I say, and my stomach grumbles appreciatively. “This looks delicious.”

Ashley smiles and kisses Kevin on the cheek. “That looks so good,” she says to him.

Kevin beams at the praise and then turns to me. “We were worried that you hadn’t eaten properly. I don’t think I saw you eat anything yesterday.

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