The Cottage: A gripping suspense perfect for fans of Louise Douglas by Paula Hillman

Author:Paula Hillman [Hillman, Paula]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloodhound Books
Published: 2023-06-18T16:00:00+00:00

Jay

There is a beauty to the morning, though the air is grey and damp. That anyone could want him, makes Jay’s heart sing. He is a small boy again, taking in the sights and smells of nature for no other reason than he wants to. Here is a day to rival those he had before Jamie died; even crossing the railway line doesn’t weigh him down. A memory comes, then: standing on the railway track and waiting for a train, thinking of how, if it hit him, it would break so many of his bones that he’d never have to go to Big School again. And the best part of this daydream was always that Mam and Dad would nurse him back to health; they’d touch him, cuddle him, bring him drinks and comics in hospital or on the sofa, and they’d be glad of him. But it never happened, in the end; he was always too careful, choosing instead to dart across the line in his flappy shoes, that crying feeling twisting sideways in his throat. He was not wanted at school, and not wanted at home.

Back at his house, he unloads his pockets and lays his latest finds out on the table he uses for a desk. Seeing the space where the painting of Tunnel Cottage had been, makes him smile again. Evie’s face when he’d given it as a gift is something he’ll not forget. Evie: so full of warmth and light and intelligence. This has been his problem; never having the kindness of human contact, never wanting it, nor trusting it.

He flicks through his pile of sketchbooks for his favourite: the one full of Jamie. He’s only ever had photographs and his imagination to work with, though his brother is well and truly alive on the pages. But when his dad had seen his work, he’d flung the book back at him and called him the sorts of names that come from the school playground.

Capturing Evie on the page is going to be Jay’s next job. So that when it’s all over, he’ll be able to look back and remember her. That thought makes him sick to his stomach, so he won’t dwell on it. Better to pretend that he’s in the first flush of a normal relationship and things can only get better.

He spends the rest of the day sitting by the window of his back room, making drawings and allowing the light to change them slightly as it moves position. When it eventually fades, he takes himself off for a bath and a change of clothing, then slips himself into his waterproof jacket and heads outside.

The evening air is still and smoky. Though it’s only six o’clock, the day feels ended and Jay just wants to be inside the cottage with Evie and her softness. Hope is something new, like the first day of spring, with air so clean, and greens so radiant. And he’s holding just a tiny bit of it in his heart.

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