The Secrets Of The Shadows. Helen Phifer
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cemetery it didn’t seem quite so funny. She knew she’d upset Will and embarrassed him in front of his colleagues and she felt like crap.
Alex grabbed her hand. ‘Penny for them?’
‘Why do I let Jake talk me into doing such stupid stuff? I’m such an idiot and now Will’s mad with me and going into work tomorrow is going to be an absolute nightmare.’
‘Annie, I’ve lived with Jake for the last two years and he still talks me into doing stupid stuff and I really should know better. Last month it was having our cards read by an old dear who nearly passed out when she realised we were a couple. She’d told Jake he was going to settle down in the next three years and would have lots of children.’
She grinned at him. ‘Poor woman. I know what he’s like and that’s why I should know better. I’m fed up with feeding the station gossips with my life.’
Jake walked in and patted her on the head, then he went and stood close to Alex slipping his arm around his waist. ‘Have we sobered up yet Ms Graham? That was pretty hilarious though.’
‘It was funny at the time but I’m not so sure now. I think I should go and find Will and apologise.’
‘I wouldn’t if I were you, I’d let him calm down. He was pretty mad at you. Why don’t you sleep in the spare room? Give you both a chance to breathe and then you can go and see him in the morning. He’s not at work till twelve.’
Annie thought about it. She’d have to get a taxi to Will’s house and then get one back here to come for her car tomorrow and it wasn’t payday for another week. It would be easier to stay the night and drive home first thing; she didn’t have to be in work until nine. She opened her mouth and let out a huge yawn. ‘Ooh excuse me, if you don’t mind I’ll stay here. It’s easier than messing around with taxis and stuff.’
Alex nodded then left the kitchen. Jake lowered his voice. ‘He’s gone to turn down your bed and make sure the bogeyman isn’t hiding in the wardrobe.’
Annie pushed Jake’s arm. ‘Don’t be so mean, he’s adorable and sometimes far too good for you and your sarcasm.’ She sipped the rest of her coffee and this time managed to get down from the stool in an elegant manner. ‘See I can be a lady when I try.’
Jake laughed and bent down to kiss her on the cheek. ‘Goodnight my crazy, ghost-seeing friend. Sleep tight.’
She turned to go upstairs; Alex had turned the heating on and pulled the bed covers down, placing one of Jake’s tee shirts on the bed for her. ‘Sleep tight Annie, everything will be okay. You and Will are destined to be with each other and I bet he’s tried phoning, have you checked?’
She felt in her pocket for her phone but it wasn’t there. ‘Damn, I think I might have dropped it when I fell in the cemetery.’
‘I’ll send Jake to go and look for it in the morning; I’m not as brave or foolish as you two. There is no way I would go in there at this time of night. Do you want to borrow mine to ring him?’
She shook her head, ‘No it’s late. Let him stew for a while, it may make him realise that he can’t live without me.’
Alex hugged her. ‘I’m pretty sure he can’t.’ He left and she undressed and pulled Jake’s huge tee shirt over her head then climbed into bed. Within five minutes she was fast asleep.
***
When Will couldn’t see straight he decided it was time to call it a day. He stood up and felt his legs wobble. Falling into the table he knocked the rest of Laura’s wine into her lap. She jumped up and grabbed Will’s arm. ‘Come on Will, I think it’s time to leave.’
He felt her arm slide under his and she gripped his elbow, directing him towards the door. ‘Sorry Laura, I got you all wet.’
He slurred his words and Laura giggled. ‘It’s okay I’ll dry out but I think I should make sure you get home okay.’
Will turned and aimed his lips at her cheek to plant a kiss on it but she moved fast and he felt his lips connect with hers. She kissed him hard, pulling him closer and for a second he forgot about Annie and kissed her back, then his senses returned and he pulled away from her. ‘Whoa, steady on. I’m not supposed to be doing this.’ A taxi pulled up and he stepped away from her towards it and knocked on the window. ‘Who is this taxi for?’
‘Corkill.’
Will nodded and opened the door. ‘That would be me then.’ He shook his head at Laura who was stifling a laugh and she climbed in after him. He gave his address and wound the window down, he’d had nothing to eat since dinner except for a packet of crisps, and he felt sick. Laura had snaked her arm through his again and was now leaning her head on his chest. It was wrong but he was so drunk he couldn’t think straight and was putting all his concentration into not puking all over the taxi floor.
When they got out of the taxi Will struggled to get the money from his pocket to pay the driver. It was a huge effort to keep standing upright. He felt Laura’s slender fingers slip into his side pocket and begin to root around for his money. He watched her pay the man and then she took hold of his hand and dragged him up the gravel path to his front door. She had his door key in her hand and put it in the lock, opening it she stepped inside. Will stumbled in behind her and tripped on the hall mat, trying his best to keep upright, but gravity won and he lost his balance and fell to the floor. He lay there and began to laugh. Laura tried to drag him up but he was too heavy and instead she ended up falling on top of him. She kissed him again but this time he didn’t kiss back. ‘I’m sorry Laura; I can’t do this – I love Annie.’
He watched her begin to blink back tears and he did feel bad even though he was drunk. He managed to pull himself to his knees, knocking the framed picture of himself and Annie face down onto the small table in the hall. He then wobbled his way into the living room and collapsed onto the sofa. Within sixty seconds he was snoring.
Laura wanted Will so badly that it hurt inside her chest, she couldn’t afford a taxi home and Annie must not be home or she would have come down to see what all the commotion was. She looked at Will then bent down and tugged off his shoes, then she undid his trousers, pulled them down and dropped them on the floor next to his shoes. He had a pair of tight, black boxer shorts on and for a man much older than her he looked well decent. It was warm in the house and she didn’t want to crease her best suit so she stripped down to her underwear and climbed on the sofa next to him. She hoped that when he woke up he would be like most men and not be able to resist her charms and the offer of some hot sex. Then the wine began to take effect and she found herself falling asleep.
June 26th 984
Sophie couldn’t bring herself to watch this stupid TV programme that Sean was obsessed with – as if those men could make tanks out of some metal sheets and a hairdryer. It was total rubbish but he loved it. All he ever wanted to be was B A, the one with the crazy haircut. Sophie hadn’t really spoken much since she saw the man yesterday, he had been real in one way but not in another and he smelled so bad. She didn’t know why he didn’t like her or where he had come from but she knew he would be back. He had told her to get out and she hadn’t. Where could she go, she was only nine years old? She couldn’t just leave because some horrible, stinky shadow of a man had told her to. What made everything worse was her mum thinking she had made it all up. Why had she not been able to smell him? Sophie would never lie about anything unless it was one of those white lies so she didn’t upset someone. She looked down at the picture she had been drawing to show her mum exactly what he looked like so she could be careful if she saw him too, but she couldn’t get him right. He had looked both grey and black but at the same time transparent, and she knew that if she had been brave enough to reach out her hand and touch him it would have gone straight through him. He must be a ghost and Crayola didn’t make a crayon called ‘ghost’, although she knew it would be a pretty popular one because she would bet ten black jacks she wasn’t the only child to have seen him. She shivered; she didn’t want him to come back.
When she was finally happy her