The Lake by Lotte Hammer

Author:Lotte Hammer [Søren Hammer, Lotte]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781408870693
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2016-12-26T09:21:36+00:00

CHAPTER 46

After Benedikte Lerche-Larsen had undergone her second and final punishment, she drove to Ishøj to see Henrik Krag. He had made coffee and they were sitting with it on the table in front of them.

‘So, how did it go?’ he asked. ‘Why don’t you tell me what you had to do?’

‘All I had to do was take part in an audition. It was nothing special.’

‘What kind of audition? Did you get through to the next round?’

She replied as casually as she could:

‘It was just some sex stuff. It was OK. Now I can say I’ve tried that as well, even though it was actually pretty dull.’

Henrik Krag felt uncomfortably as if someone had punched his stomach and struggled to steady his voice:

‘You auditioned for a porn movie? Is that what you’re telling me?’

Benedikte Lerche-Larsen evaded his gaze, and shrugged.

‘Wondering if I made it to the next round?’

She laughed in an affected manner, like an amateur actress, then suddenly sneered:

‘It doesn’t matter. What’s the big deal? And besides, it wasn’t really me.’

She hesitated over her words as she continued:

‘. . . it was as if I weren’t there. Not really . . . well, it’s hard to explain. But it made it bearable at the time. Also now that it’s over. Waking up with a hangover next to a man you should never have slept with, where it takes weeks to get over your sense of self-loathing, is much worse. I’ll take an audition any time, much more straightforward.’

Henrik Krag asked in a monotone:

‘But what happened?’

His stomach dreaded the answer, but not knowing was even worse.

‘Well, what do you think happened? Do you want details? It’s not important, it doesn’t bother me. Tomorrow it’ll be forgotten . . . over and gone. I’ve done my bit, and now it’s your turn.’

She touched her ear quickly as if she had a headache. One eye narrowed as she pressed the palm of her hand hard against the ear, and repeated to herself:

‘It doesn’t bother me all. Not at all! Not at all!’

Then she started to slap her temples, Small, hard blows, silent-movie gestures.

He grabbed her wrist and locked her arm.

‘What are you doing, you idiot? Let go of me!’

He held her until they both calmed down. A few tears trickled down her cheeks, and yet her voice was steady when she spoke again.

‘I’ll get through it. It’s just a bit crap right now.’

He let go of her arm, and sat down on the coffee table facing her. She immediately snatched up his hand and clutched it in her lap as though she were drowning. He tried to be helpful.

‘Don’t you have a girlfriend you can call?’

She didn’t reply immediately, and he could feel her shivering from time to time, as though she were cold. At length she said ironically, but without the usual sting in her voice:

‘And what would I tell my girlfriend? That she can visit youngwannabes.sex.com.filthy and there she can look for horny little Louise, or whatever those bastards were going to market me as? It’s bound to get a lot of likes among my friends.

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