His Silence - Chapter 70

Eve’s room is on the same side of the house my old room is. It’s basic, like mine was. Oliver was right about everyone not having any material goods. There aren’t even any chargers in her room. There’s a small clock on her bedside cabinet, a nature calendar on the wall, and that’s it. There aren’t any pictures. She only has three pairs of shoes, sitting under her bed. Has Callum already been in here? I stare out onto the driveway below, replaying the scene inside my mind of everyone gathered outside earlier, watching Oliver throw Abraham out. How far has he managed to get? Perhaps he’s managed to get someone passing by to offer him a lift into town. I turn away from the window.

‘Sorry I didn’t mean to startle you.’ Eve’s standing in the doorway.

I shake my head. ‘Don’t worry, you didn’t, I was just thinking about earlier.’

Eve places her toiletry bag on her bedside cabinet. ‘I can’t imagine what you must’ve gone through. Everything’s . . . everything seems to be.’ She sits on the edge of her bed and wipes her eyes. ‘I’m sorry, don’t listen to me, I shouldn’t be the one getting upset here.’

I sit on the bed next to her. ‘We’ve all had a terrible shock, not just me,’ I say to her. ‘You’ve known Noah and Abraham far longer than I have.’

She fixes her eyes on mine. ‘What did you think about Abraham, before . . . before he tried to . . .’ she breaks off, as if unsure how to say the next part of her sentence.

I shake my head. ‘Honestly, Eve, I didn’t like him, he gave me the creeps. Everywhere I went he seemed to be there. It’s like he was following me all the time.’

Eve sniffles. ‘I don’t think he trusted you,’ she says, dropping the tone of her voice.

I’m about to open my mouth to respond when there’s a knock on the door. The door opens, Mary peeks her head round. She smiles at me.

‘I just wanted to check to make sure you’re alright, Grace,’ she says.

I nod. ‘Yes fine. We’re just having a bit of a chit chat, aren’t we, Eve?’

Eve nods, but doesn’t look Mary in the eye. I thought she and Mary got on well. Didn’t she tell me the other day that Mary was like a mother figure to her?

‘Well, I’ll let you both get some rest. See you both in the morning.’

Mary pulls the door shut; the sound of her locking it from the other side sends a shiver racing through me. There’s a few people talking outside, but the voices soon die down.

Eve looks back at me. Her eyes fill with tears. ‘I’m scared, Grace. I’m really scared.’

She buries her head into my shoulder and sobs. I soothe her head, my heart thumping against my chest as I do.