Maddy opened her eyes to find herself walking. She looked round, surprised and startled at where she was. A residential street in Selly Oak, not far from the university campus. Not far from her home. But it was dark. And the street was deserted. And freezing.
She checked herself. She was dressed, still wearing the same clothes as when she had left home earlier in the day. To go to the Custard Factory and confront Hugo.
Hugo. The name hit her brain like a flash of lightning.
That was where she had been, the last thing she could remember. At Hugo’s house. Telling him about her problem. Trying to get him to understand. How upset she was. What she felt for him. Maddy tried to remember. To fill in the blanks, work out what had happened.
She had been sitting on the sofa alongside him. He had offered her a drink. Then… nothing. Until now.
She stopped walking, shocked. She checked her watch. Nearly midnight. God, that meant she had lost… hours. How many? She had no idea. She felt panic rising. What had happened to her? What had she been up to?
She tried to think it through chronologically. Keep calm and be methodical.
Sitting on the sofa at Hugo’s place. A drink. Then… nothing. No, not nothing. Think, think… The drink was strong. It hit her head straight away. Made it spin, made the room blur in and out of focus. She had lain back against the sofa, her body heavy, her head too big to support. She tried to keep her eyes open but her eyelids refused to co-operate. Her arms, legs wouldn’t move.
So she must have slept. That was it. Slept. But that wasn’t right. If she had slept, why had she woken up walking along a street near her home?
So she hadn’t slept. Then what had happened?
Maddy stopped walking, closed her eyes. Replayed what memories she could. The last thing she remembered seeing was Hugo’s face. Right next to hers, smiling. And… something more. His hands. Yes. His hands… on her thighs…
Her eyes opened again with another jolt. Oh God. Hugo’s hands on her thighs. What had happened? He wouldn’t have… No. Not Hugo.
Her legs were shaking as she hurried along. She tried to remember more details, but her memory wouldn’t work. The blackness wouldn’t shift, allow her access.
She had to get home. As fast as she could. While she was walking, she took out her phone. Punched in Hugo’s number, put the phone to her ear. It rang. Her blood pounded, her heart skipped in double time, twice for each ring of the phone.
Come on…
The phone kept ringing. Maddy was holding her breath.
Answer… please…
Ringing and ringing. Then a voice telling her that the mobile she was calling had been switched off and to try again later. She called again. Got the same thing. And again. The same. She put her phone away. Kept walking. Shaking from more than just the cold. Anxiety eating through to her bones.
‘Oi! Oi!’
Oh God…
The voice was behind her. Her heart, already trip-hammering, went even faster. That was all she needed. Some drunken nutter on the street. She felt in her handbag for the rape alarm that the university had supplied. She usually carried it when she was out at night, but it wasn’t there. Left at home because she hadn’t expected to be out this long.
Shit…
She kept going.
‘Oi! Wait!’
The voice was getting nearer. Maddy had almost broken into a run.
‘Maddy! Wait!’
She stopped. Turned. A young man was hurrying towards her. About her age, tall, dark-haired. Smiling. Dressed like a student. Did she know him? He knew her, apparently.
She moved into the beam of the nearest street light, making sure she was well lit, and waited for him to approach her. Still unsure of him, her hand inside her handbag. Her fingers curled round her door keys, making sure the jagged edges were sticking through her knuckles. Just in case.
He reached her. Stood next to her. Out of breath but smiling.
‘Hi, Maddy. Thought it was you…’
She just stared at him. He frowned.
‘Ben,’ he said. ‘Remember? Mike’s friend? Who’s seeing Abby? American studies Abby?’
‘Oh,’ she said, ‘Ben. Yes…’ He obviously knew her, but she still couldn’t place him. And it was impolite to say so, so she would just have to pretend until it came to her and hope he didn’t notice. ‘Hi. What are you… Where’re you off to?’
He shrugged. ‘Just going home. Been down the Bristol Pair with the others. They were heading off into town to Snobs but I didn’t fancy it. What about you? You been out?’
‘Yeah,’ she said, not wanting to tell him anything until she had worked it out for herself at least. ‘Yeah.’
‘You live round here, don’t you?’
Oh God, she thought, he’s probably been to a party at our house and I still can’t remember him. ‘Yeah, that’s right. Just off Coronation Road.’
‘Right,’ he said, nodding. ‘Thought so.’
They stood in silence beneath the street light, their breath fogging the night air.
‘Listen,’ he said, looking round. ‘Bit dodgy being out here on your own. Never know who you’ll bump into. Shall I walk you home?’
She flinched as he said the words. He caught it.
‘Oh no,’ he said, ‘I just meant…’ He shrugged, his voice dropping. ‘It’s safer with somebody with you, that’s all.’
‘I… I don’t want to put you out. Out of your way.’
He gestured behind him, the way he had come. ‘I’m only ten minutes back that way. Not putting me out at all. Plus I’m making sure you get home safe. That’s all.’
Her fingers began to uncurl from the key ring, her hand slipped out of her handbag. ‘OK, then. But I’m very tired.’
He frowned.
‘I’m… just going to go straight to bed.’
He laughed. ‘Do what you like. As long as you get home safely.’
She looked at him again under the street light. Maybe there was something familiar about him. Maybe she could remember him after all. Mike’s friend. Abby. Right. She’d just had a bad day, that was all. A bad few days. Didn’t mean everyone was a nutter. Or out to hurt her.
She thought of Hugo. Sighed. Felt that familiar sink of depression in her stomach.
‘You OK?’ he asked, concern in his eyes.
She looked up. ‘Fine,’ she said. Hugo could wait until tomorrow. He would have to. ‘Let’s go home.’
They walked off down the street together.