In The Shadows by Jane Isaac

Author:Jane Isaac [Isaac, Jane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-04-24T16:18:53+00:00

CHAPTER 38

The following morning, Ashleigh woke to the sound of distant voices. Blinking at the bright day streaming into her front room, she hauled herself forward. She’d been lying on the sofa wearing only Noah’s black Nike T-shirt, and her legs were bone cold.

She reached up, stretched out her back and rubbed her calves, her gaze resting on a creased throw pooled on the floor beside her. It must have slipped off when she was sleeping.

Where was Noah? She was about to look for him when she heard voices again. Louder this time, coming from outside. She put on her glasses.

At the window, she could see a commotion further up the road. People huddled together on the tarmac. Shocked, frightened faces, crowded around something. Ashleigh craned her neck, but the angle was tight, and she could only see the edge of the crowd, not the subject of their attention. A paramedic jogged across the park to join them.

Then she glimpsed it. A blue running jacket lying at the side of the road. Blue with yellow piping. She knew that jacket.

‘Noah!’ Ashleigh rushed into the bedroom, then checked the bathroom and the kitchen, a feeling of dread crashing through her. He must have woken early, gone for a run. Had he been involved in an accident? No! Not her sweet, kind Noah. She dashed back to the window, tried to prise it open, but however much she tried the catch was stiff and it wouldn’t move.

She ran to the bedroom, grabbed a pair of joggers, her fingernails snagging the thin fabric as she pulled them on. In the hallway, she slipped her feet into her trainers, leaving the laces untied.

She was almost at the door, gripping the handle, when a wave of nausea hit her. Blurring her vision. Stopping her in her tracks.

Heat rose to her face. Her feet were unsteady. Noah needed her. She couldn’t have a panic attack now.

She forced herself to breathe. Big, deep breaths. She had to beat this. But when she tried to lift a foot, it felt like it was immersed in glue.

Ashleigh wavered. Holding the handle tight. She could see the front door of Sadhika’s flat in front of her. She swallowed. Lifted her foot another inch, swayed. Felt the movement of the air as she lunged forward. And again. All happening in slow motion, as if she was underwater. She was almost through the doorway and onto the landing when she lost her balance. And felt herself tumble, down, down, down. Onto the floor with a crash.

‘Ash!’

A tugging sensation, like an anchor being dragged from the depths of the ocean. She pulled away from it, then jumped. Opening her eyes to find Noah’s face in hers, she jumped again.

Noah jolted back. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.’

Ashleigh stared at him, then glanced around. She was in their bedroom. Noah beside her. It was a dream. It was only a dream. Her head hurt, her teeth ached, but… relief flooded her bones. He was safe.

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