The Night Out by Wendy Clarke

Author:Wendy Clarke [Wendy Clarke]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781837904655
Google: s9_uzwEACAAJ
Publisher: Storyfire Limited
Published: 2023-06-07T23:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-FOUR

ELISE

Then

‘This is where you and your baby will sleep, Elise.’

The woman, who had told me her name was Louise, stepped back so I could go through.

I felt numb. My body functioning without my brain being a part of the decision-making. Limbs moving on autopilot. I was still in shock. Still stunned that I’d gone through with it: filled just one small rucksack and left the flat while Alex was at work. As I’d driven here, the car’s temperature gauge slowly dropping, I’d almost turned back – knowing it wouldn’t be long before he discovered what I’d done. Terrified he’d find me, even though the woman on the end of the phone had told me he wouldn’t look for me here. First, he’d try my mum’s. Phoebe’s. Other people I’d left behind from a past I could barely remember.

I had you in the sling now, bound to me tightly, and as I pressed my lips to your head, hoping the smell of you would calm me, I took in the room. It was medium-sized, with a sink at one end and a single bed under a window that looked out over a small courtyard filled with children’s play equipment that had seen better days.

‘You’ll be safe here.’ Louise touched a hand to my arm. ‘You and your baby… you need to know that.’

‘Thank you.’

How I wanted to believe her.

I stared at the magnolia walls. They looked newly painted, the patterned carpet freshly hoovered. Sunlight shone through a window framed by cheerful curtains – bright sunflowers against a dark background. Someone had made an effort to make the room feel homely, but the front of the building had told another story. It was plain, modern, built of red brick and standing in an unremarkable road of similar buildings. Blank windows, blinkered by blinds, looked out onto a busy road and a CCTV camera, that I wouldn’t have noticed had it not been pointed out to me, stared down at a solid-looking door. One that, once inside, could be securely locked. There had been no sign to indicate what the place was. Nothing to single it out from the other drab two-storey buildings on the street.

‘Megan can sleep here.’ Louise indicated the cot beside the bed. It wasn’t new but looked clean and sturdy. A cellulose blanket was neatly folded on the end bars. ‘The mattress is new and all the linen’s fresh. It’s going to be cold tonight, so I’ve put a spare blanket in the wardrobe for you in case you need it.’

‘Thank you,’ I said again, as though all other words had been left behind in Alex’s flat.

‘I’ll leave you to settle in then. The bathroom’s just along the corridor if you need it. There’s a communal sitting room and kitchen at the end, but you have a kettle and a small fridge for milk next to the bed. Just like a hotel really.’ Louise gave a bark of laughter at her own joke, then, seeing my expression, stopped, her hand over her mouth.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.