What Have You Done? by Shari Lapena

Author:Shari Lapena [Lapena, Shari]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781473599864
Publisher: Transworld
Published: 2024-07-17T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

ELLEN IS WAITING in her fiancé’s apartment. She tidies up while he’s out, washing the few dishes in the sink, wiping down the counters. She has stopped by without warning because she needs to talk to him. He wasn’t home, but she has her own key. She hasn’t seen Brad since Friday afternoon in the school parking lot. He’d wanted to be alone Friday night, missing their family dinner at the farm, and he’d put her off again yesterday and last night. Why is he avoiding her? What’s going on? She dumps out the worrying jam jar lid full of cigarette butts, puzzling over his odd behaviour. She feels uneasy, as if a storm’s about to break. Is he having second thoughts? Does he not want to go through with the wedding?

She couldn’t bear it if he got cold feet and called off the wedding. All the preparations are made, the invitations have gone out, the money has been spent, and her parents loaned them the down payment for the perfect little bungalow that is going to be theirs on the first of December. What do they do about that? She takes a deep breath and tries to stop her spiralling thoughts. She knows he loves her. She must soothe his nerves if that’s what this is. He comes from an unhappy home. Maybe it’s no wonder he might be anxious. He needs to learn to open up, to talk to her about these things. She can allay all his fears.

She hears the key in the lock and tenses. She often lets herself in, but she usually lets him know first, with a text. She didn’t text him this time because she fears he’s avoiding her. She’s not sure what to expect. She stands in the living room, facing the door.

The look on his face when he sees her – dismay, even panic – makes her heart sink. Things must be worse than she thought.

‘What are you doing here?’ he says, but he’s smiling now, the dismay, the panic, erased. He approaches and sweeps her into his arms so that she can’t see his face. She can feel his heart pounding against hers – it’s a two-storey flight of stairs up to the apartment, after all. They hold each other tight, and she nestles her face in the crook of his neck and breathes him in. Maybe everything is all right after all, and he’s just nervous about the wedding. He whispers her name into her hair, stroking the back of her head.

Finally, they break apart. She studies him. Despite the smile, he looks tense and avoids her eyes. Maybe it’s too soon to hope. She says, ‘Something’s wrong. What is it?’

He looks at her then as if he’s in pain. He runs a hand nervously through his thick, dark hair. He looks like he wants to tell her something, and her blood runs cold. But he doesn’t get the chance to speak because there’s a knock at his apartment door.

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