Kate thanked Nathan as she got out of the car and waited by the front door as Maggie talked with him. Ten minutes passed by the time Maggie finished her conversation and Kate guessed it had something to do with her from the sideways glances she caught now and again.
Maggie ran up the path towards her. ‘Sorry, I should have just given you the keys.’ She unlocked the door.
‘That’s OK. I would have probably just stood in the hallway if you had. Everything OK?’ Kate got the impression Maggie was keeping something from her.
‘Huh? Yeah, sorry. Everything’s great. Follow me, I’ll show you where you’re staying.’ She went up the stairs. ‘Make yourself at home – I’ll just leave you to it and when you’re ready, come downstairs and I’ll make us something to eat.’ Maggie pointed at a door at the end of the hall and left Kate to her own devices.
Opening the door, Kate reached around and felt for the light switch. The blinds were closed, so the room was a little dark, but that soon changed once the light was on. She held her hands up to her eyes. Christ, that’s bright! She noticed a small lamp on the bedside table and switched it on before returning and switching off the main light. Bright lights often triggered headaches. Kate’s mother was always telling her that she probably needed glasses, but Kate refused to believe her sight wasn’t fine.
She dropped her bag on the floor, took out her mobile phone, and called her neighbour. She wanted to see if her cat, Salem, was settling in and sighed in relief when her neighbour assured her that he was curled up in a corner, purring away.
She sat on the bed and, lifting one leg at a time, she removed her boots. Placing her feet on the floor, she curled her toes on the carpet.
She closed her eyes.
Her chest tightened and the blackness descended.
Deep breaths, Kate. She could feel a panic attack coming on. Counting backwards from ten slowly, she managed to calm herself down enough that the tightening in her chest subsided.
She stood and started unpacking her things. She’d only taken enough clothes for a few days as she was adamant she wasn’t going to let someone keep her from her home. Truth be told though, she was glad to have some company.
Maggie shouted up the stairs, ‘Would you like me to bring you up a cup of coffee or something stronger?’
Kate smiled to herself. She’d never pictured Maggie as a hostess. ‘Uh … I’m just going to give my parents a call and then I’ll be down. Hope that’s OK?’
‘Of course! Take your time.’
Kate wouldn’t tell her parents what was happening. It would only worry them. She found their number on her phone and hit the connect button.
‘Hello?’
‘Hi pops! How are you?’
‘Ah, Kate! So lovely to hear from you. Your mam isn’t here. Do you want me to get her to call you back?’
Her father wasn’t one for talking, and she was almost glad her mother wasn’t home as she would probably have kept pestering Kate for answers.
‘No, it’s fine, Da. I just wanted to let you know I’m staying at a friend’s as I have … erm … painters coming around to redecorate. Figured it was best not to stay with all those fumes.’
‘Good idea. You’d end up with headaches. OK. I’ll let your mam know.’
The line went silent.
‘Thanks, Da. Love and miss you both and I’ll call again soon.’
‘Right, love. Speak soon.’
She heard the click as he ended the call.
Kate changed from her work clothes into leggings and a sweatshirt. She plugged her mobile phone charger into a socket on the wall and charged her phone. Maggie would be bugging her if she didn’t; she hoped she would remember to put it in her bag in the morning. Kate left the bedroom and walked the few steps to the bathroom where she splashed her face with cold water. Looking in the mirror she could see dark circles forming under her eyes. She needed sleep because she couldn’t risk not being on the ball at all times. Her life might depend on it.
She headed downstairs and found Maggie curled up on the couch in the living room.
‘Mind if I join you?’
Maggie moved over on the couch. ‘Of course not. If you want to watch anything on TV just change the channel. I usually just flick through it anyway.’
‘I don’t want you to change your routine for me. Do whatever it is you normally do, and I will happily just work around that. OK?’ Kate sat down.
‘OK. So, first thing is, what do you want to drink? Secondly, what do you want to eat? I’ll be honest with you, I’ve never been much of a cook and haven’t done a proper shop in a while, so I can’t promise anything exciting.’
‘How about we order something in? My treat. I’ll grab some things after work tomorrow and cook as well. It’s only fair. And as for a drink … if you have any wine, I could murder a glass right now. Otherwise, coffee would be grand.’
‘Wine it is!’ Maggie reached across Kate and pulled some takeaway menus off the side table that had been buried underneath a pile of magazines. ‘Choose what you want, and we’ll take it from there.’ She handed the pile to Kate.
While Maggie went into the kitchen to get them wine, Kate leafed through the menus and settled on Chinese. Maggie seemed pleased with the choice and put the order in. Kate nearly jumped out of her seat when she heard the knock on the door.
‘That can’t be the takeaway already?’
Maggie walked to the window and peaked out from behind the curtain.
‘Nope. Just some guy. You see if there’s anything interesting on TV and I’ll see who it is.’
Kate made herself comfortable and started flicking through the channels. But then she was interrupted by Maggie talking to the man outside. She knew that voice …