Page 71 of Don't Say A Word
She’s been crying so much, she’s finding it hard to breathe. ‘You saved all this money. You got yourself a house in Hull.’ Her eyes meet mine. ‘Is it true?’
‘Not in the way you think.’
‘Oh, God…’ She’s shaking now. ‘That’s why you haven’t even done anything with…him. You’re going to leave me here! With him! And they’ll arrest me! And you’ll be gone!’
‘None of that is happening.’
She stops crying and looks up at me with her swollen red eyes. I feel a shudder run through me.
‘Let me explain.’
She drags her hands down her cheeks. ‘If you leave me, I’ll tell them you did it.’
‘I would deserve no less.’
‘Now get the hell out of my room.’
She wouldn’t listen to a word I said. I understood that this was because of me not being able to fulfil my promise. So, as much as it hurt, I let it go. I left her alone.
That night, I went to bed and cried.
30
It’s Monday. I don’t remember the last time I had a proper night’s sleep. Years, probably. But these sleepless nights are starting to add up. I’m finding it difficult to do simple things, like pouring milk into my coffee without half of it landing outside the mug.
I should go to work. Of course I should. But I have other plans. I have to remove Teri from our lives.
I have to get my hands on her laptop and delete that video. Because without the video, she has nothing. Of course, I don’t know the password to her laptop, and I assume she has one. So, my plan is to steal the laptop, bring it back here, and then figure out how to crack it.
And to do that, I have to break into Teri’s house.
I call the school and leave a message that I am sick today and can’t go in.
‘What would you like for breakfast?’ I ask Holly when she comes down the stairs.
At least she’s washed her hair, and I’m relieved to see the blue streaks are gone, as is the makeup, even the false eyelashes.
‘Would you like some eggs?’
She doesn’t reply. She’s wearing her navy-blue woollen coat, her backpack slung over one shoulder. She grabs a cereal bar from the cupboard and heads for the door.
‘We could get pizza for dinner? If you wanted?’
She ignores me and just walks out without a word.
I wash the dishes, then peer outside at Teri’s house. Her battered old Corsa is parked in the street, which makes me think that she’s home. Teri doesn’t go running anymore. She doesn’t even walk very far. She wouldn’t want the neighbours to think there was nothing wrong with her.
Time to go to work, so to speak.
I decide to leave the house as if dressed for work. I don’t know if Teri spies on us through her blinds, monitoring our comings and goings, but I bet she does.
After getting in my car, I drive around the corner. I park outside the car repair place near my house. I had my car fixed there once. The forecourt is big enough that my car doesn’t stand out and there’s still plenty of space.
I think of what Holly said the other day:I can’t believe you’re doing all this. It’s like we’re in a spy movie.
I hurry back to my house, but this time I sneak back in as swiftly and discreetly as possible, praying that Teri isn’t glued to her window watching me.
Then I run up the stairs.
