Now I See You by Lauren Trevan

Author:Lauren Trevan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lauren Trevan
Published: 2022-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

A knock at the door distracted my scrambled brain. Anxiety flooded me. I was scared to face Julian. When I saw Carrie through the peep hole, I untensed. As I pulled the door open, she tilted her head, sympathy clear in her eyes. She pulled me into a strong embrace.

“Come in.” My voice husky.

She held a bottle of wine and followed me into the kitchen.

“Where are the kids?” she asked, grabbing herself a glass from the cupboard. I poured hers and topped up mine.

“On the couch. I’ll put them to bed soon.”

She nodded and followed me through to the sitting room.

“Hey!” Carrie smiled widely, her arms outstretched. “There’s my two favourite little munchkins.”

“Carrie!” Poppy jumped from the couch and Ricky tripped on the corner of the rug following her. They hugged Carrie and were immediately drawn back to the television as an attack was launched on the main cartoon character.

Carrie followed me onto the balcony. The afternoon breeze had dropped off. It was still and quiet, but for some distant sounds of life continuing as normal around the neighbourhood. Cars on streets, kids laughing down the road. The overcast sky grew dimmer by the moment. No beautiful sunset tonight. Even the elements were downcast today.

We sat next to each other, facing the view, and I threw a plush blanket over our legs. The stem of my glass gripped firm with both hands on my lap. I sipped slowly.

“This is enough to leave him … right?”

Carrie’s hand landed just above my knee. “Yes.” Her voice barely above a whisper.

The kids laughed hysterically at cartoons through the glass door. Carrie’s hand was firm; my cherished constant for so many years. I took another sip. The cool dusk air waking my senses. Pulling me up a degree from complete numbness.

“How could he write those things?” I asked, blinking my heavy, swollen lids.

Carrie squeezed my knee again. Her eyes searching the distant river.

“I mean, it’s bad right?” I said.

Another squeeze. Her gaze was thoughtful. She nodded slowly, “Those messages made me feel sick.”

“He’s going to make it so hard to leave him. Do you know that?”

She looked at me, face determined. “Jess, we’re here for you. We’ll help you through this.”

We sat in silence, watching a swarm of teenagers race past on bikes on the street below.

“I wonder if he’s ever told me the whole truth about anything.”

Her brows rose. “Probably not.”

“I wonder if everything he ever told me was just half-truths. He’s always so pushy in his rightness all the time. If I ever bring anything up about how he treats me, he turns it around on me. I can’t let him do that now.”

“I’ll help you.”

“I just can’t believe he could write those things.” My chin dropped and tears flowed. With the children distracted, I let them fall freely. Carrie’s arm wrapped around my shoulder, and she tugged me nearer.

After some time, we moved inside and Carrie helped me get the children to bed. The night chill had beaten us. She sat with me for a long time before saying that she had to go.

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