Me. Her. Him - Chapter 67

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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Present Day

I’ve spent the last twenty minutes scrolling through Kirsty’s Instagram page; she posts videos of all of her recent gigs on her page. I needed to look at something to distract me from what Paul told me, and the thoughts of Michelle and William cramming my mind. Sweat patches are building under my arms, making me desperate to get this shirt off and jump in the shower. There are a few videos on Kirsty’s page from Saturday night, I avoided looking at them. I didn’t want to see William sitting there.

‘She’s good, your friend,’ Rebecca says, leaning over my shoulder. ‘She should go on The Voice, or some show like that?’

‘She’ll never do that,’ I say. ‘She doesn’t want to be in the spotlight, she just wants to sing at the odd gig every now and again.’

It’s approaching ten o’clock now. It’s been a good three hours since I spoke to Michelle. She must’ve got to William’s by now.

‘Do you want a cup of tea?’ Rebecca asks.

‘No, I’m fine. Thanks, sweetheart.’

I look over my shoulder as she heads over to the kettle, and then she turns round to grab the milk out of the fridge. My phone buzzes in my hand and my vision blurs as the words of the message appear on the screen. I cover my phone to make sure Rebecca can’t see if she looks back over my shoulder.

It’s Michelle.

Can you meet me?

I keep expecting Rebecca to peer over my shoulder to see what I’m doing. I type out my reply, my breath coming out in short rapid gasps.

Where?

I can see Michelle’s typing a reply. I realise I’m squeezing the cushion.

Meet me at Hanningfield reservoir, that’s not far from you, is it?

It’s gone ten o’clock in the evening. Something’s gone wrong. She didn’t tell me what she was planning to do, only that she was going to speak to William this evening. She must’ve surely had some sort of a plan.

The sound of a spoon is clinking in my ear as Rebecca stirs her tea.

I can be there in ten minutes, I reply.

I jump up from the sofa.

‘I need to head out,’ I say, a lump wedging in my throat as I speak.

‘What, at this time of night?’ Rebecca says, frowning at me.

‘Just need to go for a drive, I promise I won’t be long,’ I say.

I slip into the hallway. Paul’s standing at the top of the stairs, I cringe inside. He must’ve heard me talking to Rebecca.

‘Angela, this isn’t about?’

‘Everything’s fine,’ I say to him, grabbing my car keys off the hallway table. ‘I’ll be back soon.’

I don’t look back at him as I open the door and step outside into the cool night air. The moon’s hidden behind a cloud. There wouldn’t have been many ideal places for me and Michelle to meet at this time of night. She couldn’t have come back to mine, not with Rebecca and Paul being at home. I think of Rebecca’s face if Michelle was to walk in here. She’d be overjoyed to see her, they were so close.

The drive takes me ten minutes. My foot judders on the accelerator the whole way there. As per usual, Michelle’s given me no further information. Did she manage to get to William’s; did she manage to speak to him? Perhaps he even gave us a false address when he applied for the job.

Michelle’s sent me her exact, live location on WhatsApp. Gravel crunches under the car wheel as I pull into the parking space on the edge of the reservoir. There’s a small fishing pier stretching out into the water. I switch off the car engine, but make sure to keep the headlights on. I wonder if anyone’s seen me pull in here. What will they be thinking?

I glance around looking for any sign of Michelle. There seems to be no other car here but mine. That can’t be right; she sent me her live location.  

I brace myself to be hit by the cold as I edge the car door open. I glance at my phone. Should I call her? Her live location is still showing she’s here, it’s not changed. I get out of the car. I take a step forward; the cold is seizing my lungs tight. I continue to edge further forward, and then I nearly lose balance as I slide on something.

My heart feels as though it’s ready to explode. I glance down to see what I nearly lost my footing on. My heart stops.

There’s a black sleek IPhone. I bend down to pick it up. It immediately lights up in my hand, showing it’s beaming its location. It’s Michelle’s phone.

Before I have the chance to stumble back in horror, I feel something collide with the back of my head, and I fall forward, bile rising in my throat. Stars dance in my eyes. I’m only slightly aware of someone dragging me across the car park. I try my best to struggle, but it’s useless. I black out. 

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