Nobody answers when I press Jane’s doorbell. It took me until I was halfway here to remember that Ben’s off at his conference. I wonder why she called me and not him – although it’s largely irrelevant if he’s now hours away.
I press the bell again, before knocking on the window next to the door. The curtains are open, giving me a clear view of the living room. With the angle, I can see through the door to the hall and the steps on which David and I sat when we first met. It’s amazing how much can happen in a short period of time. Three years to change our fortunes for good.
How can he be alive?
How?
I call Jane’s phone. There’s a brief pause and then I hear a tinny-sounding ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ from inside. We were always such big Oasis fans, even though their best stuff was out while we were still in primary school. We were far too middle-class to really understand what Liam was singing about – but that didn’t stop us belting out ‘Cigarettes & Alcohol’ like the rebels we definitely weren’t.
I try the bell again and it’s only then do I notice the door is slightly open. There is barely a gap between the door and the frame – and a gentle push from the inside would close it. I already have a foot on the doorstep when I stop and realise it’s as if it was left open for me. I feel like the person in a horror movie who knows something is wrong and yet charges in anyway.
‘Hello…?’
My voice echoes into the house and rattles around before curving back without response.
‘Jane…?’
Nothing.
I step forward, nudging the door open with my elbow.
‘Ben…?’
I’ve only managed a few steps into the hall when I hear a scuffling from behind. I start to turn but it’s already too late. Something slams into my neck, like a snake’s fangs. My head starts to spin and it’s as if my body is no longer my own. I think I hear a crackling and my last thought is that something’s burning. After that, there is only darkness.
The world is swimming as my eyelids flutter open. I can smell something burning as I roll onto to my side and explode in a series of hacking coughs. It takes me a few seconds to realise that I’m on the floor of Jane’s living room. The carpet is short and bristles into my cheek as I roll onto my back. I see her sofa, as well as the candles, the abstract prints and books she hasn’t read.
I try to gain some sort of momentum to push myself up. My arms ache and my head is whirling, while my neck burns.
It’s only as I peer across the room a second time that I notice Jane. She’s laid on her side, one arm splayed, the other cocked under her head. Her eyes are closed and she isn’t moving.
‘Jane?’
She remains still and unresponsive.
‘Jane?’
I pull myself up using the sofa and the fog at the edge of my thoughts starts to clear. I stumble across to Jane and crouch next to her, fearing the worst. David wanted me somewhere else because he always planned to be here.
She moans as I gently rock her shoulder and then her eyelids start to flutter. I squeeze her hand as she rolls onto her back and then blinks her eyes open to take me in. She rubs her head with her free hand and squints.
‘What happened?’ she asks with a croak.
‘I don’t know. I—’
I stop because Jane’s eyes have widened. When I check behind me, there’s nobody there.
‘What?’ I add.
‘Your hair…’ she says.
I push myself up and drift across to the mirror in the corner, now able to see why Jane was so shocked. My hair has been butchered off.