quick dip into
the kitchen to flip the kettle switch before moving into the living room to
collapse onto the couch. Being a data-capturer was no small task, and not only
did she complete her quota for the day, but she also almost made double; a feat
achieved only by office legends.
‘Office legend,’
Rebecca said softly and smiled at the thought. ‘Rebecca Greene: Achilles of
data capturing.’ She couldn’t help but giggle at her own joke, and as the
kettle neared boiling point, she heaved herself from the couch and made her way
to the bedroom where she slipped into something more casual. Once dressed in a
tracksuit pants and pull-over t-shirt, she made her way down the passage and
past the closed study door into the kitchen where, for the first time since
who-knows-when, she realized what a mess it was. With his new job, Justin
wouldn’t be there to wash the dishes for her anymore. Coming home to a lonely
place and unwashed dishes would from now on be the norm. For the briefest
moment Rebecca wished that Justin hadn’t gotten the job. She rejected the
thought and as she reached for the kettle, a pain shot through her abdomen.
‘Hey little
one,’ she said and rubbed the spot where she thought the baby aught to be. ‘Are
you all right in there?’
She poured some
water from the kettle into her favourite mug and was about to turn to the
fridge to get some milk when a figure in the corner of her eye made her freeze
in place. She could clearly see the outline of a person standing there, watching
her, but she couldn’t see who it was. She didn’t dare move a muscle.
‘Justin?’ she
asked softly, but she knew in her heart that it wasn’t him. The figure was
shorter than Justin, almost as small as a child, and although she couldn’t make
out any distinct features from her peripheral view, she could clearly see two
large, black eyes staring right at her.
She quickly spun
around, but there was no one; the figure was gone.
‘Justin?’ she
asked again and slowly walked from the kitchen to the living room. Although no
one was there, it felt as if someone was watching her every move. She shrugged
and as she turned to go back to the kitchen, the open study door caught her
eye.
‘Justin?’ she
asked again as she started walking towards the study. ‘Are you here?’
No answer.
She picked up
her pace and once inside the study, stopped cold.
Nothing.
No Justin.
Everything
appeared normal to the eye, yet something felt out of place. A chill crawled
down Rebecca’s spine and she felt an urgent need to leave the study. She pulled
the door shut behind her and walked back to the living room while calling out
to Justin. She stopped in mid-sentence. The emptiness of the living room walls
caught her eyes immediately. Both paintings that she would have sworn her life
on were hanging on the walls a mere minute ago, now lay face-down on the floor.
‘This can’t be,’
she said and took a step back. The click of the study room door made her spin
around. Slowly it opened. A scream escaped Rebecca’s lips and she grabbed the
keys and ran from the house. Moments later she was sitting on a ledge in what
little of the setting sunlight she could manage to find while fighting back
tears that desperately tried to break free.
* - -
- *
What’s she
doing outside? Justin wondered as he parked the
car. He locked the door and as he approached Rebecca, he could sense that
something was wrong. She was sitting on a small cement step with her head
tucked into her arms as she rocked backwards and forward.
‘Hey you,’ he
said as he approached her. ‘What are you doing outside?’
Rebecca looked
up. Her facial expression told Justin that she was relieved to see him back
earlier than expected.
‘You’re going to
catch a cold out here, love.’
‘ I don’t
care! ’ Her words escaped as a sob. ‘I’m not going back into that place
alone again.’
Justin frowned.
‘What place?’ He
Robin Wells
Barry Eisler
Commander James Bondage
Christina Escue
Angela Claire
Ramona Lipson
Lisa Brunette
Raffaella Barker
Jennifer Weiner
Morgan O'Neill