Woman in the Water by Katerina Diamond

Author:Katerina Diamond
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2019-09-06T17:00:00+00:00

Chapter Forty-Eight

It was early evening and the sun had already started to fade when Adrian woke again. The street outside was washed with grey light. He didn’t feel rested. His sleep had been plagued with voices and with the ever-present pain in his body. In his dreams, he could feel himself clinging onto sleep, trying to stay inside the dream.

He was thirsty again when he finally opened his eyes. He got up slowly, his bones creaking into action, trying to ignore the places where it hurt most. His body jarred as he walked down the stairs. With every breath, his lungs pressed against his sore ribs, a sharp pain shooting through him.

He walked past a mirror but was too afraid to look, as though it would be written on his face, what he had been part of. Inside the fridge the smell of leftover Indian made his stomach turn again. He looked at the beer, but he didn’t want alcohol. As much as he wanted to be drunk, he also wanted to be sober, to keep his wits about him. He pulled out a carton of juice and opened it, his lip stinging as the citric acid infiltrated his cuts.

The doorbell rang and Adrian felt his whole body tense. Was it them? Were they back? They knew where he lived, he knew that much. Struggling to breathe, he grabbed a knife from the block on the kitchen worktop and held it out in front of him, unsure of who he was planning to use it on if anyone burst through the door. He half thought he might just cut his own throat if it was them.

The bell rang again, followed by hard thumping. Adrian’s heart beat faster. He backed against the wall with the knife pointed at the front door as the banging continued, the handle slipping around as his palms got sweatier.

‘Adrian,’ Imogen called. ‘I know you’re in there; I can see the lights on!’

He took a deep breath at the sound of her voice, wanting nothing more than to hold her right now, but he was still frozen in place, his body taking time to catch up to the fact that his attackers weren’t back.

She banged on the door again.

‘Coming,’ he said before he had time to think.

His primary concern right now was making sure she didn’t get suspicious. If he didn’t open the door there would be questions he didn’t want to answer. He put the knife on the counter and walked to the front door, wiping his wet cheeks before touching the handle. He pushed past every feeling inside that wanted to keep the door closed and stay locked in here for ever.

He opened the door.

Imogen took one look at him and a flash of annoyance passed across her face.

‘One of those nights, was it?’ she asked as she took in his appearance. ‘You could have answered your phone. I’ve been worried sick.’

She had obviously assumed that he had got into a fight on purpose; it wouldn’t be the first time.

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