Only Lies Remain: A Psychological Thriller by Val Collins

Author:Val Collins [Collins, Val]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: VCB Publishing
Published: 2020-02-18T16:00:00+00:00

THIRTY-ONE

Aoife arrived home to find Jason sprawled on the couch watching TV. He hit the mute button when she came into the room.

‘Jason, what are you doing here? Why aren’t you at work?’

He sneezed. ‘I’ve got a cold. I’m not well. Can you hand me that box of tissues?’

The tissues were barely an arm’s length away. Aoife handed them to him.

‘Any chance you could make me a cup of tea?’

‘I just popped in to get my phone. I forgot it this morning. Can you make yourself tea? I have to collect Amy from the crèche.’

Jason sighed. ‘Okay, the tea can wait until you get back.’

*

‘Aoife!’

Aoife gritted her teeth. If he asked her for a drink one more time, she was going to pour it all over him. He had a cold for God’s sake. People went to work with a cold. They got up, did housework and took care of their kids. Jason was perfectly capable of making himself a cup of tea. It wasn’t like he had a terminal illness, or even a broken bone.

She opened the door. ‘Yes.’

‘My head is killing me. Could you take Amy out of the room? She’s making far too much noise.’

Amy was sitting at Jason’s feet, chatting quietly to her toy elephant.

‘She’s not making any noise, Jason.’

‘It’s too much for my head.’

‘Amy’s making far less noise than the TV and your head doesn’t seem to have a problem with that.’

Jason sat up. ‘I’m sorry, Aoife. Am I causing too much fuss? I’ll go upstairs and lie down. Do you mind if I make myself a cup of tea first? I’ll be very quick, and don’t worry about lunch. I don’t have much of an appetite.’ He stood up, put his hand on his forehead and sat down again. ‘I just got up too fast. I’m fine, really.’

Was she being unreasonable? Colds could develop into flu. Maybe Jason was sicker than she realised. She supposed Amy’s chatter could get annoying if you were in pain. And, well, really, how many times had she watched TV herself when she wasn’t feeling a hundred percent?

‘I’m sorry, Jason. I’m just tired. Stay where you are and I’ll bring you another cup of tea. Come on, Amy. Daddy needs to rest.’

Amy looked at her. She dropped her elephant and wrapped both arms around her father’s leg. ‘No!’

‘Would you like to play bubbles, Amy? Let’s turn on the bubble machine.’

‘Bubble! Bubble!’ Amy squealed. She grabbed her elephant and ran out of the room.

‘Thanks, love,’ Jason said and turned back to his TV programme.

*

At 8:15 on Monday morning, Aoife pulled up outside Cian’s house. She felt guilty dropping Amy at the crèche so early, but she had to get out of the house. An entire weekend of Jason lounging on the couch and calling her every thirty seconds was more than enough.

The kitchen table was covered in paintings. Cian had his back to her and didn’t hear her entering. She watched him place one painting carefully into the frame and then cover it with another.

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