The House on Fever Street by Grace Celina

Author:Grace, Celina [Grace, Celina]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2012-04-17T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

He kissed her goodbye, bending over her, a tall shadow in the dimness of the living room. Bella pulled the rug tighter about her neck and coughed.

“You going to be okay?” Jake put a hand on her forehead. “You feel a bit clammy.”

“I’ll be okay. I’ll just rest.”

“Okay babe. I’ll cook something tonight, yeah? Whatever you fancy. Have you called work?”

“No, I’ll wait until nine. Don’t worry about me.”

“Okay.”

Jake stroked her head again gently. Bella was suddenly reminded of Veronica doing the same thing and of her reaction. She felt a hot jab of shame.

“Go on,” she said to Jake. “You’ll be late.”

She lay still until she heard the front door close behind him, the crash reverberating up through the house. Veronica and Carl had already left – Bella had heard them arguing softly as they passed the living room door. She lay for a moment longer, breathing deeply. The enormity of what she was about to do struck her. Inescapably, she recalled how wonderful Jake had been these last few days; how kind and considerate and affectionate. And now she was going to do something terrible. Why can’t I just leave it? she asked herself. But the answer was too quick in coming back. Because I just can’t.

Bella made her call to her workplace, telling them she wasn’t well and wouldn’t be in. She didn’t have to fake the tremor in her voice. When she put the phone back in its rest, she stood for a moment in the hallway. Why can’t I just trust him? She began to walk up the stairs, dragging her feet, letting one hand trail slowly up the slippery banister. Because I just can’t.

In the bedroom, she pushed back her sleeves and tucked her hair behind her ears. Then, finally, she began to search. She lifted stacks of paper from the desk, sorting through sheet by sheet. She found the photograph again and forced herself to look at it. Carl, Jake, Veronica – and that girl. It was the girl who was driving her to do this. The identity of this strange woman was tormenting Bella. Was she a previous girlfriend of Jake’s? Of Carl’s? Of Veronica’s? Who was she?

Bella looked at the four of them on the bed. She even took the photograph over to the window to look at it in daylight. In the harsher light, she could see small details that she’d missed before. There was a glint of metal from one of the girl’s nipples – she had one of them pierced. Bella felt her mouth turn down. She looked, grimly fascinated, at Carl’s penis. He was big; bigger than Jake, she thought disloyally and felt herself go hot at the thought. She wondered again how it would feel to be naked, naked and erect, in front of a family member. To see your own brother touching your girlfriend. Fucking your girlfriend. She looked at Jake’s hand, resting on Veronica’s hip. Veronica’s breasts were shallow, her nipples almost colourless. Her eyes shone red in the flash from the camera.

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