The Six by Luca Veste

Author:Luca Veste [Veste, Luca]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Twenty-Three

I was driving back home when she called. My phone was in its cradle, linked by Bluetooth to the speakers, so I couldn’t ignore the ringing even if I’d tried.

Her name was on the screen as I glanced at it.

‘Hello,’ I said, answering as I looked for somewhere to pull over. I indicated left and stopped the car. ‘You okay?’

‘Hi Matt,’ Alexandra replied, sounding like she always did, even if there was a little resignation in her tone. ‘I’m not bad. Not great either.’

If I closed my eyes and forgot everything I knew, I could almost believe it was a year earlier and we were still together. That this was just a normal conversation. Instead, I had to live in a world where that wasn’t the case.

‘I’m just . . . I don’t know,’ Alexandra continued, a deep sigh filling the car, as I pulled the phone away and put it to my ear.

My stomach lurched, as I thought about what had happened to Michelle recently and heard a note in Alexandra’s voice that worried me. ‘What’s going on? Has something happened?’

‘No,’ she replied, the note that concerned me being replaced by confusion. ‘I guess I’m just worried about you, that’s all. Can we talk?’

I breathed a sigh of relief, then thought about what she’d said. The idea of meeting up with her before that week would have filled me with hope and excitement. Now, I couldn’t work out what I felt. Only that I didn’t want her around if Michelle and I were right.

‘Yes,’ I said eventually, knowing there was no other answer. ‘Now?’

‘Give me a few hours. I’ll come to your house after work.’

The call ended and even though I knew it was true, the words still hurt.

Your house.

It was supposed to be ours. Our home, our future. Now, it was a reminder now of all that had been lost. A daily ritual couldn’t erase it. Nothing ever would.

She hadn’t been round since the day she’d left. In fact, I struggled to remember anyone being in there for months, besides Chris. I didn’t have visitors. My family – of which there were basically very few – lived far enough away that a simple visit was barely worth it. Everyone was getting older, so it was on me to make the trip to them.

I plugged the phone back in and set off. Outside, rain fell in spots, dotting the windscreen and smeared away with wipers. A fine rain that I would barely feel if I was outside, but now was a minor annoyance in a day, a week, filled with them.

That’s what I was feeling. Annoyed. I had created a sheltered life, which I now realised I wanted to protect. A bubble in which I could pretend the outside world didn’t exist, so I could live in peace.

Only, there was never peace. Not for me. Not for any of us. I didn’t think there ever would be.

Back home, I turned the volume up loud on the music blaring from my Alexa and tidied up what needed doing.

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