We Live Next Door: An utterly gripping psychological thriller with a jaw-dropping twist by Laura Wolfe

Author:Laura Wolfe [Wolfe, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781803140056
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2021-11-04T16:00:00+00:00

Twenty

For the second time in twenty-four hours, my world tilted on its axis, leaving me dizzy and unhinged. I shrank away from Mom, my body cold with fear. But I had to make sure I’d heard her correctly. “What did you say?” I asked, barely hearing myself.

Mom’s wild eyes darted toward the windows and the door before landing back on me. “I murdered Ed Draper.” She spoke in a loud whisper. “His fall down that staircase wasn’t an accident. I pushed him.”

I stared at Mom as if seeing her for the first time—the contours of her face, the bottomless depth in her black pupils. “Why?”

“He was a wife beater. He abused Barbara. Badly. She hid it pretty well for a while. Ed always acted like the perfect gentlemen around the neighborhood.” Mom puckered her lips and slid her palms down the front of her pants. “I heard screams one day as I walked past the house. The next day, I went back to check on her. I caught Barbara out in the backyard, and she rushed to pull on a sweatshirt as I approached, but I’d already spotted the bruises on her arms. I confronted her about her injuries, and she denied them at first. I kept pressing, telling her I’d heard the screams. I’d seen the bruises.

“Barbara finally invited me inside for some tea. She had more bruises and scrapes hidden under her shirt, even a cigarette burn on her stomach.” Mom squeezed her eyes shut and exhaled. “Eventually, Barbara confided in me, probably out of desperation, about the years of abuse she’d endured. She said the first time Ed hit her was on their honeymoon. Can you imagine? Things only got worse as time passed. She was worried for Phil’s safety, but at the same time that he might turn out like his dad.”

“Oh my God.”

“Ed came home unexpectedly that day while we were talking, barging through the back door like a man looking for a fight. He was angry about something Barbara had done to help some kids in the neighborhood.” Mom clucked and shook her head. “Barbara panicked and told me to leave through the front door, but I didn’t do what she said. I couldn’t leave her there alone with him.” Mom inhaled another deep breath and touched a quivering finger to her chin. “I hurried upstairs, looking for a bedroom to make a hushed call to 911, but I heard them getting closer and I slipped into a bathroom. It didn’t take long for Ed to start yelling at Barbara, calling her all sorts of horrible names that you or I wouldn’t call our worst enemy. It was scary, and I was safe behind the door as long as Ed couldn’t see me. I couldn’t imagine how terrifying it must have felt for Barbara.”

I pressed my heels into the floor, feeling as if all the blood had drained from my body. “I had no idea.”

Mom continued, “Anyway, I heard the first smack. I’ll never forget the way that sound tore through me, so violent and sickening.

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