Feeling like she’d been smacked over the head with a hammer, Arabella failed to open her eyes even though she was awake. What the hell did she drink last night to feel so horrific? As she searched her memories from the night before, she drew a blank.
Groaning, she slowly turned on her side and realised she was not in her bed. Forcing one eye open, Arabella looked around the room. She was alone on the living room floor.
‘Urgh,’ she moaned, pulling herself into a sitting position. ‘Eddie,’ she called out.
The flat was silent. There was no sign of life anywhere.
‘Eddie?’ She called again more forcefully, pushing herself onto her feet. ‘Where are you?’
Why the hell had she woken up on the floor in the living room? And why couldn’t she remember anything from the night before? All she had in her head was when they were in the salon, there was nothing after that.
Head pounding, she moved through to the hallway and into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Opening the door, she almost jumped out of her skin when she saw Roxanne standing against the counter.
‘Jesus fucking Christ, Rox,’ Arabella gasped, clutching her chest. ‘What the hell are you doing here?’
Roxanne looked at her, her face pale and eyes wide. ‘Are you okay?’
‘I feel like I drank every drop of alcohol in Glasgow. Can’t remember a bloody thing.’
Passing by Rox, she pulled a glass from the drainer and filled it with water. Sipping it slowly, she fought the urge to gag.
Arabella turned to see Roxanne staring at her intently. ‘Why are you looking at me like that? Oh god, did I do something embarrassing last night?’
‘You don’t remember anything at all?’ Roxanne asked.
‘I remember being in the salon and Eddie and Jake showing up. But after that, nothing. I don’t remember anything. I made an arse of myself, didn’t I?’
Roxanne exhaled, lowering her eyes down to the floor.
‘What’s wrong?’ Arabella asked, a sudden icy chill trailing down her spine. ‘What happened?’
Roxanne nodded. ‘I think you should sit down for this.’
Arabella followed Roxanne back through to the living room and sat down on the couch. Terror and fear ripped through her, just like any normal hangover. But there was something else. A blank space like a black hole in the centre of her memory hung between them. Roxanne was about to tell her something that was going to shift the ground beneath her.
‘Did I try it on with Jake or something?’ She attempted light humour.
‘So, we left the salon and went on to Club Silver. Do you remember that?’
Arabella shook her head. ‘No.’
Roxanne raised a brow. ‘Okay. Well, we weren’t there for long. We chose to leave and then the boys decided they wanted to go on to a casino. They’re still there, I think, although I haven’t heard from them. Anyway, we started on the cocktails. You were pretty hammered – wasted, actually. I had to carry you outside and get us a taxi… Do you remember any of this?’
‘No. I only remember being at the salon. Just get to the point, Rox. What happened?’
Narrowing her eyes, Roxanne shifted on the sofa. ‘Okay, but please realise that it’s going to be okay. I’ve sorted it. You won’t get caught and things will carry on as normal. Do you trust me?’
Arabella felt her stomach flip. ‘Of course I trust you. Just bloody tell me.’
‘Good. Because in order to survive this, you have to trust me. You were sick in the taxi and the driver threw us out. He wouldn’t have if you hadn’t got so aggressive with him when he said he had to pull over.’
‘Aggressive?’ Arabella repeated. ‘In what way?’
‘You were basically calling him every name under the sun, telling him that he was just a scummy taxi driver taking hard-earned cash off the public for overpriced fairs. He asked you to calm down, I asked you to calm down but you were having none of it. You tried to punch him but were so pissed you lost your balance and fell over. When I went to pick you up, the guy drove away and left us in the street. The place was deserted because all the pubs and clubs had closed by that point.’
‘What happened?’ Arabella asked, trying as hard as she could to conjure up the slightest memory from Roxanne’s story and coming up with nothing.
Roxanne took a breath. ‘A guy approached us. A really dodgy guy. I think he was homeless, maybe. He became irate quite quickly, asking for money, asking for cigarettes. I told him a few times that we didn’t have anything that he was looking for but he kept following us. You turned off the main road and took us onto a side path that leads to your flat and he kept on at us. Calling us names, taunting us. I tried to see him off but he wouldn’t listen. I tried to tell him that I was just out of prison for GBH but he was having none of it. Arabella, I don’t know what came over you, but you fucking lost it. You picked up a rock, turned and smashed it into the guy’s face. Knocked him off his feet. But you jumped on top of him and just kept hitting and hitting. It was brutal, even for me. I had to pull you off but you were in a frenzy. I just grabbed your wrist and fucking ran.’
Arabella’s eyes were wide and she got to her feet, gipping the hair at the top of her head. ‘Oh my fucking god, Rox. Shit. Shit, shit, shit!’
‘Ssh, it’s okay. It’s going to be okay,’ Roxanne said, grabbing her by the shoulders.
‘How is it going to be okay? What if he goes to the police? I can’t go back to prison, Rox. I can’t.’
Arabella was crying now. Huge waves of panic and terror made her gasp with each breath as she paced the floor.
‘He won’t go to the police,’ Roxanne replied.
‘How do you know that? He could be there right now. They could be on their way to arrest me right now.’ Arabella’s voice was high, she’d gone into panic overdrive.
‘Hey, he isn’t going to the police because he’s dead.’
Silence filled the room and the air turned to ice. After a few moments, Arabella said, ‘I thought you said you grabbed me and ran. How do you know he’s dead?’
No, no, no. Arabella was shaking her head. No, this didn’t happen. It couldn’t have. She would have remembered. She tried so hard to see into her memories. Nothing came. Not an image, not a sound. Nothing.
Arabella looked down at her hands. Her fingernails were short, clean. Frowning, she looked up.
‘I managed to get you back here, get you cleaned up. You were hysterical, crying and saying that you didn’t want to go back to prison but you were still so drunk. I finally managed to get you to calm down and you passed out on the sofa. That’s when I went back to check on him. He was dead, eyes open, staring blankly up at the sky. Blood everywhere.’
Arabella gasped, threw her hands over her eyes. ‘Oh my god.’
Oh fuck. Fuckfuckfuck.
Fear and terror crept up from her stomach and clawed at her throat. ‘Rox, how the actual fuck did I do this? I’m not a killer. Oh my god, oh my god.’
Roxanne gripped her shoulders tighter this time and held her steady. ‘Hey, look at me. It’s fine. I’ve sorted it. There were no cameras, no traffic. It was four in the morning and we were on a path off the road. No one knows anything except us. I promise, you’re going to be fine.’
Tears trickled down her cheeks as she stared into the eyes of her friend. Her only friend. She had no choice but to trust her.
‘How do you know I’m going to be fine? It’s not fine. I’ll get caught. Oh fuck, I killed someone, Roxanne. I took someone’s life away from them.’
‘Oi, he fucking deserved it. What kind of man follows two women down a dark path at four in the morning and gives them abuse? Fuck knows what would have happened if you hadn’t stopped him in his tracks.’
Arabella shook uncontrollably, her eyes unblinking and wide with terror.
‘I got rid of the rock and pushed his body down to the River Kelvin. When they find him, there won’t be a murder weapon to link you to it. It’ll look like he’s been in a fight and lost. His injuries are pretty brutal, as if he was in a fight with a guy his own size. I promise you’re going to be fine; this won’t come back to you, Arabella. But you can’t tell anyone about this. Not even Eddie. The less people who know, the better. Do you understand?’
Arabella nodded in rapid motion as Roxanne pulled her in and hugged her tight. She started to cry again, her body shaking in fear as Roxanne held her close. How could this have happened? How could she have got so off her face that she couldn’t control herself? She’d blacked out and murdered someone.
‘My clothes… they’ll have his blood on them?’ Her voice shook, the words came in a whisper.
‘I’ve already dealt with it all. I made you change as soon as you got in last night. It’s okay. I’ve got you, girl. Stick with me and you’ll be fine.’ Roxanne held her at arm’s length and locked eyes with her.
‘Thank you,’ Arabella whispered. ‘I don’t know what I’d do without you.’
‘You’ll never have to find out. I’ll be by your side forever now.’
Those words somehow made Arabella feel better. If she could trust anyone with this, it was Roxanne.