‘You sure you want to stay?’ Callum says. ‘I honestly don’t mind driving back.’ I can tell from the tone of his voice that’s what he wants to do. If I could, I would tell him he could go back home and leave me here, but even if I did tell him that, I’m sure there’s no way he would want to.

‘I feel I need to, at least, just for tonight,’ I reply. I’d already told Oliver half an hour ago I’d like to take him up on his offer. ‘Don’t worry I’m sure everything will be fine.’

Mary approaches us, carrying a sleeping bag. I’m not sure what to make of Mary, she seems nice, and she always looks pleased to see me, but she looks at Callum a little too frostily, like the way Jeremiah did when we arrived earlier. In fact the only person here who’s shown Callum any attention is Eve. I flick my gaze around the room, but she’s left, she must’ve gone up to her room. I’m surprised she hasn’t asked Callum to follow her after the way she was looking at him earlier.

‘I’m so sorry, Callum, but I’m afraid we don’t have a spare room for you, so if you don’t mind sleeping in this tonight? You can sleep down here on the sofa,’ Mary says, patting the sleeping bag.

Callum smiles. ‘That’s fine, thanks.’ He takes the sleeping bag from her, shoving it under his arm.

‘Danielle, there is a room already for you here. It’s been here since you were born, I can take you upstairs to see it.’

I nod. ‘Yes please.’ Callum follows closely behind as we make our way out of the room. A couple of women brush past us in the corridor outside, talking in hushed voices. They both smile at me as we pass them ‘Where did Oliver go?’ I ask.

‘Oh, I suspect he’s out in the annexe, that’s where he stays,’ Mary replies as we climb the stairs. There’s more activity upstairs now. People are going in and out of their rooms, some making their way into the bathroom. They smile at me as I pass.  My eyes clap on a man just entering his room to my right. He has thick, brown wavy hair and five o’clock stubble on his chin. He keeps his gaze fixed on me, looking at me with what looks like pity in his eyes, before he slips into his room and closes the door. I hear it lock, I shudder. ‘Your room is just at the end of the corridor.’

Someone must’ve unlocked all the doors before everyone started to come up. Why do they keep them locked? I think about asking Mary, but realise I don’t want her to know I was up here earlier snooping around. She might tell Oliver. We reach the end of the hallway, Mary opens the door. I stare into a small, fairly comfortable room with a green carpet. The walls are cream like the hallway downstairs. There are two single beds in the room; as I step further into the room, I notice the window looks out onto the gravel driveway below.

‘Why are there two beds?’ I ask.

‘You stayed in here with your brother,’ Mary explains with a big smile on her face.

A shiver races through me. This was the room I stayed in with my brother. I think back to those memories I have of sitting on his lap and him reading from The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.

‘Um, why can’t Callum stay in this bed?’ I ask.

Mary sharpens her gaze on me. ‘Oh, we don’t allow that. If you and Callum were to become members of our community here, then perhaps we might consider it, but not at this moment in time. We’ll both leave you now to get settled and ready for bed. There are glasses in the cabinet if you want to pour yourself a drink of water. Callum, would you like to come back downstairs with me?’

The way Mary said the last part of her sentence made it seem like she wasn’t giving him a choice. There was no way she was letting him stay up here with me. Callum clutches tight onto his sleeping bag. ‘Well, I guess I’ll see you in the morning, Danielle. What time d’you want to leave?’

I rub the back of my neck. ‘Between ten and eleven,’ I suggest.

He nods. ‘Night, Danielle.’

Mary and Callum both back out of the room; Mary closes the door behind her. I listen out for the sound of their voices, but I can’t hear them chatting. Actually I can’t imagine Callum wanting to make small talk with Mary.

I place my soap bag on the bed closest to the window. This is the room I would’ve slept in for the first six years of my life. Which room did Mum and Dad use? Someone else must be using it now.

I sit on the end of my bed and pull out my phone. I’m surprised I have signal. At least I have no missed calls or texts from Mum or Dad. I text Callum on WhatsApp.

Thank you for helping me out, I really appreciate it.

I wait to see if he’s received it, but no blue ticks appear at the bottom. I place my phone on the table. I hope he isn’t mad at me.

Moving over to the window, I peer outside, my eyes seeking out Callum’s car if anything to reassure me our mode of transport is still here. A dark cloud has smudged the moon’s surface. I don’t know if I should feel more comforted about their being so many people here, being this remote, or more afraid. It feels as though everyone’s watching me. The memory of me and my parents racing down the stairs in the dead of night resurfaces in my head. I try to push it deeper into my mind.

I flick my gaze to my phone. It stays silent. Callum doesn’t reply to my text.

Characters:

Danielle (protagonist)

Callum (Danielle’s best friend)

Harvey (Danielle’s brother)

William (Danielle’s adoptive father)

Emma (Danielle’s adoptive mother)

John Cole (Danielle’s biological father)

Laura Cole (Danielle’s biological mother)

Ian Jones (third person who Harvey killed)

Max Hardy (podcaster)

Jeremiah (works with Oliver)

Oliver Adams (Marsh View House owner) 

Mary (works with Oliver)

Abraham (Marsh View resident)

Abigail (Marsh View resident)

Isaac (Marsh View resident)

Noah (Marsh View resident) 

Eve (Marsh View resident)