Me. Her. Him - Chapter Seventeen

by Jacob1395

Background
Angela has spent nearly half her life hiding from a man in her past. But when he finally tracks her down, it isn't him she's scared of. It's what he knows.

Background: Angela is shocked when William, an old friend from her past, who she hoped never to see again, comes back into her life, after he applies for a role at her work and successfully secures the job. William’s sudden reappearance puts Angela on edge. She’s terrified he’s discovered her secret, which she needs to protect her family from. William’s convinced Angela knows what happened to his former girlfriend, Caz, who hasn't been seen for twenty years, and that something terrible happened to her. The only person, who can help Angela, is her once best friend, Michelle, but Angela hasn’t seen Michelle for more than a decade. Faced with the threat of William’s return, they know they’ll need to work together to save their future, even if this does mean reopening old wounds, and revisiting a past they'd rather keep buried.

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I drive home from Hayley’s with my hands tight on the steering wheel. At least she told me one thing useful: William got in contact with her two months ago. Two whole months ago. He was insistent I’d done something to Caz. I push on the accelerator, edging closer to the forty mile an hour speed limit. I don’t normally travel this fast down the country lanes; a deer could shoot out in front of me, or there could be someone out and about on a bike, but I need to get home.

I’ve at least a couple of hours before Paul and Rebecca get home by the time I arrive back. I throw my coat onto the floor and kick off my shoes, adrenaline surging through me. I need to know if Paul really is just talking to a friend like he told me. The desire, to get to the bottom of what’s going on, burns in my chest.

I head straight for our study and sit down at the computer. It’s a small room. I think it might even have been a child’s nursery at one stage. The house was built in the nineteenth century.

On the wall to my right there’s a bookcase lined with both fiction and non-fiction books. Paul prefers a non-fiction book, particularly if it’s about the Second World War, whereas I prefer a good thriller. I always take at least five books away with me when we go on holiday.

I wipe my forehead, it’s stuffy in here, and the air is close. I push open the window ahead of me to let a little air in. It creaks as I ease it open.

We’ve always shared the same computer, not that I really use it for anything now. Most of what we used to do, we can now easily do on our phones. Rebecca used to use it more for her homework. It’s one of those old fashioned Dell ones, that we need to get round to replacing.

The computer whirs into life. I’m not sure what I’m hoping to find when I open up our emails. I can’t even remember the last time Paul used the computer.

It would give him privacy in here if he wanted to search for a therapist for me, if that’s what this is all about.

The last email that arrived in our inbox is just an advertisement.

Scrolling up to the search bar I type in the word, therapist, my fingers banging hard on the keyboard, my breath coming out fast. No results come up on the page. I sit back in the seat. Then I type my name into the search box, but again, only emails I sent myself appear.

I tap my finger on the desk, mulling over what to do next. He has his separate work email address that isn’t linked up to the family computer. It would be better for him to contact someone using that email, if he didn’t want me to know anything about it.

Perhaps I’ll have the option to look at his phone tonight. But he’s being so protective of his phone recently.

The chair squeaks as I lean back. I get up and mooch back into the living room, my head still buzzing, and my conversation with Rebecca and Hayley, playing on loop in my mind; Rebecca talking about Paul searching for a therapist taunting me, and Hayley warning me about Michelle.

It’s approaching three p.m. in the afternoon now. I look at the knife still sitting on the island from where I left it earlier.

There’s a rattle which makes me jump, and I almost reach out to grab the knife again, until I realise it’s just the post being delivered. I step into the hallway to go and collect it. Then I freeze.

There’s an envelope lying on the top of the pile on the mat. The handwriting is untidy. But it’s not the writing that’s now making my heart scream against my chest. It’s addressed to me. But whoever the sender was . . . they’ve . . . they’ve used my maiden name. There’s a first class stamp on the letter.

I pick the envelope up, my hands shaking

The letter falls from my hands the moment I see what’s inside and I back up against the wall, holding my hand to my mouth.

Every ounce of my energy is telling me to shred the letter without even looking at it further, but I can’t help myself. I need to know.

Pick it up from the floor; I pull out what’s concealed inside. It’s a photograph. The same photograph I keep in my drawer at work, of the five of us all together, sitting in a pub twenty years ago.

Damn it, I forgot to remove it before William joined. William must’ve had a look around while I wasn’t there. He would’ve been elated to find the photo. Caz’s face and mine are circled in angry lines of red ink. There’s writing on the back. It’s just one word, written in capital letters, in the same angry colour.

It screams inside my head, getting louder and louder.

KILLER.

I crash to the floor.

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Character List:

Angela Watkins - Protagonist

Paul Watkins - Angela's husband

Rebecca Watkins - Angela's daughter

Michelle Blake - Angela's former best friend

Kirsty - Receptionist (Angela's friend)

Olivia - Angela's boss

William Harris - Angela's former friend