The Night Out: A nail-biting and completely unputdownable psychological thriller by Wendy Clarke

Author:Wendy Clarke [Clarke, Wendy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781837904631
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2023-06-07T16:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-SIX

ELISE

Then

There’s no point in dwelling on what happened next. What Alex said in the car. What he did after he shoved me through the front door of the flat.

All I know is that from that moment on, I lost all hope. This would be my life now… Alex would make sure of that. The refuge had been my one and only chance to get away from the power he wielded over me, but he’d found me. He would always find me. It’s what he’d told me time and time again, and now I believed it totally. He didn’t care about me. He didn’t even care about you, Megan. All he cared about was maintaining the control he had over us. That and his reputation.

How dare I challenge the first.

How dare I threaten the second.

Every day he checked my phone: my messages, the calls I’d made – not that there were many as I had no friends. Was estranged now from my mother. Even a call to the dentist warranted an explanation. A trip to the park with you questioned. I was a disgrace and could no longer be trusted. It’s what he told me every morning when I woke up. Every night when I went to bed.

Alex had segued from partner to gaoler in one simple move, and there was nothing I could do about it. All I could do was be the best mother to you that I could. Make sure you knew you were loved. Treasured. It was my job to keep you safe because I’d seen the look of irritation in his eyes when you cried. Seen how the muscles of his cheek worked when you were hungry or tired and needed to let me know. Taking my attention from him. Becoming my first priority. Shifting him down the pecking order.

It had been two weeks since I’d tried to leave, and the days had taken on a familiar pattern. If Alex was on an early shift, I’d listen to him as he showered and dressed, only letting out my breath once I’d heard the door click shut. If he was on a late, I’d lie in the darkness hoping he’d believe I was asleep. Praying he’d had a good day, that nothing had happened to make him drag me from my bed. Clip the cold metal around my wrist and tighten it. In between those times I carried on. Cleaned and cooked and looked after you. My mind numb. All actions automatic and functional.

I was just ironing one of Alex’s shirts, when the door buzzer made my head jerk up. The only people who came to our door were delivery drivers and as far as I knew we weren’t expecting anything.

It buzzed again and I put the iron down, checked you were all right in your seat, then I went to open the door. Whoever had pressed the buzzer had got through the front door that led to the communal entrance hall. Was it one of Alex’s colleagues? Was this a trick of some sort? I’d come to mistrust everything.

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