Withered Hill by David Barnett

Author:David Barnett
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Canelo
Published: 2024-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

‘I hadn’t forgotten,’ said Sophie down the phone to her gran, though it burned her cheeks with guilt to realise that she had.

‘Will you go to their grave?’ said Gran.

‘Perhaps next weekend,’ said Sophie. ‘I scattered some of their ashes here, remember. I’ll go and put some flowers down.’

‘I could go with you if you come up here,’ pressed Gran. ‘We could visit Emily’s grave as well. You never go to Emily’s grave. She was your sister.’

‘I’ll call you in the week, Gran.’ Sophie killed the call.

Sophie ran a bath and luxuriated in the bubbles for an hour, topping up the hot water when it cooled. She lay back and covered her face with a flannel. She did not want to think about her parents, or Emily, or that girl at university. So instead she elected to think about Tom Gisburn. He would be expecting to sleep with her again, now. After they had on the first date. She wanted to. She was hungry for it again. But she had to be sure of something first.

When her fingertips had shrivelled like prunes, she got out of the bath and dried herself off, then spent another hour getting ready. She studied herself critically in the full-length mirror in just her new black underwear, before stepping into the dress and zipping it up. She wished she’d bought new shoes as well. Sophie opened her wardrobe and regarded the piles of shoes there. Maybe three dozen pairs. Maybe more. Half of them black. She didn’t need new shoes. She wanted new shoes, though.

Tom was picking her up at seven. At six thirty, she poured herself a large glass of wine and sat on the couch, waiting with butterflies in her stomach until, right on the dot of seven, her phone buzzed with a text from Tom saying Outside now if you’re ready.

Quick change of plan, she texted back. Can you come up for a minute?

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