Chapter 11

Listening to the sound of rain tapping against the window pane, an owl hooting in the distance, and Helen’s soft breathing next to her, Kathy soon drifted off into a deep sleep…

At some point during the night, she became erratic in her sleep. Her body temperature climbed to the point where she overheated and kicked off the bed covers, then flailed her arms and caught Helen’s face with her hand.

Helen immediately woke and pushed the hand from her face, then sat up and turned on the night lamp next to her. “Honey, honey, wake up,” she called as she rocked her gently. “God, you’re sweating like crazy!”

Kathy screamed out, then flashed her eyes open and instantly burst into tears.

“What is it, what’s wrong?”

Breathing wildly, and blinking fast while she looked at Helen, she took a few moments to gather her thoughts and bring herself back to the present moment in time. “I keep having the same goddamn nightmare. It just won’t go away. It’s so vivid, like I’m really there. I can see everything, feel everything. It scares me so much.”

“What’s the nightmare about?”

Her tears fell from her eyes and disbursed onto the sheets. “It starts with the sound of metal screeching, then I taste blood, and I can’t scream. I’m in pain, a lot of pain, and I’m inside a crumpled car with the air bag forcing the air out of my lungs.” She pulled away, needing to put space between her and Helen.

***

The sound of her grumbling stomach reminded Helen it was lunch time. “I’m vanished, how about lunch?” Helen moved around the kitchen

The front door burst open bringing in a draught of cool air followed by the sound of a small army filling the house. A boy and a girl came skidding into the kitchen, followed by a lumbering golden retriever that appeared just as excited. Shouts of, “calm down, kids” came from a male voice in the hallway as the two children threw themselves at Helen, who scooped them up in her arms.

“Oh no, it’s the terrible twins!” she shouted with glee.

A man stood in the doorway while the carnage died down. “Hi, sis. Sorry, I didn’t know you had company!”

Helen finally put down the screaming children and grinned broadly. “Kathy, this bear of a man is David, my brother, and these two little weasels are Hannah and Thomas, my nephew and niece. Your new friend there is Barney, the most well behaved member of the clan.”

David crossed the kitchen with surprising agility—his shorts-clad legs looked like he could easily contend in a World’s Strongest Man contest. Kathy held out her hand and accepted his warm greeting.

“Aunty Helen, is this your new girlfriend?” Hannah asked.

Kathy felt the heat rising from the base of her throat to the roots of her hair.

“Yes, Hannah, this is Kathy and she’s my girlfriend.”

David’s caterpillar eyebrows rose up to his hairline. “Kept that one quiet, sister of mine!” He kissed her cheek and crossed to the kettle to make coffee. “The kids were excited to see you, probably because the little mercenaries want to know what you’ve bought them. I’m more interested in this beautiful lady who’s crazy enough to find you attractive.”

“I’m Kathy, forty-two, solicitor, own home and car, and your darling sister has swept me off my feet.” Her smile was genuine, making her forget her situation at least for a little while.

“And considerably well-spoken. You can’t be from around here?”

“No, I’m a London girl,” she answered.

“Solicitor, eh? Criminal law?” he continued to probe.

“Intellectual property law. In my case, the world of the printed word. Not quite as glamourous.”

“David’s a detective. I do apologise for his grilling!” Helen interrupted, jumping up from her stool to fetch the children’s gifts from the living room. “Where’s Andrea?”

“She’s at work today, so I’m on daddy-duty with the terrible twins.”

“Ah, I see. So you thought you’d come and see big sister to help you out and take the pressure off, eh?” She knew her younger brother so well.

“Daddy said that if we told you we loved you enough, you’d come with us to the Discovery place and show us cool stuff,” Thomas chimed in from the floor, intent on ripping open the paper that covered his gift.

Helen narrowed her eyes at her brother, who held up his hands in mock surrender. “Did he now?” She turned her attention to her lover. “What do you think, darling? Can you cope with a day out with this lot?”

Kathy pretended to consider the idea for a moment. “I think I’d like you to show me some cool stuff, too.”

•••

Petra had managed to get herself sorted out; money in her pocket, a room in a non-descript bed and breakfast, which although it still wasn’t anything like home, beat the psychiatric facility hands down. What pleased her most and eased her mind was the fact that she’d been able to get a phone. It was cheap, but it suited her purposes and gave her contact to the real world and her real life.

It irritated her that she couldn’t get in contact with Anna, but she understood how careful they had to be and why her soulmate found it difficult to reply to her. That fucking bitch Kathy! The white heat of anger had been the one thing keeping her going.

She needed to put an end to this, her and Anna’s happiness relied upon it. She’d promised Anna after they first met that she would take care of her, and that was a promise she did not plan on breaking.

•••

Kathy was engrossed in a display of a World War Two soldier’s uniform when her phone vibrated in her jeans pocket. She pulled it out absentmindedly, expecting a text from Michael, but she didn’t recognise the number. The message said: They won’t find me, but I’ll make sure I find you. A sick sensation swirled in her stomach as the phone slipped from her grip and skittered across the wooden floor.

Helen rushed to her side and placed her hands around her shoulders. “What is it?”

“Petra.”

Helen picked the phone up from the floor, and swiped the screen to read the message, with David reading it over her shoulder at the same time. “What the fuck?” he asked, quietly.

“Kathy’s had issues with a stalker, who’s done a runner from the secure hospital she’d been placed in,” Helen informed him.

“Do the police know about this?” he asked, looking at Kathy.

“Oh, yeah. They know all about it. This is the first time she’s contacted me since she was arrested, though. Clearly the psychiatric treatment hasn’t done any good!” Her voice waivered as she thought about the potential consequences. She could be watching me right now and I wouldn’t have a clue. What if she is? What if she’s planned out her next move already and I’m just a sitting duck? While the hairs on the nape of her neck stiffened, her palms turned clammy and nausea took over her stomach.

Once back in the house, Kathy rested comfortably on the sofa as Helen expertly massaged her feet. The texted message had ripped through her like a jagged knife through flesh. Even though she’d reported it to her local police station, she had a feeling it was only going to get worse.

“Why don’t you stay here, until they have her back in the hospital at least?” Helen asked.

“Honey, there’s nothing I’d love more, but I can’t. I can’t afford to lose my job as well as everything else. It’s a dog-eat-dog world, and no matter how long I’ve worked there, they’ll replace me in a heartbeat if I keep taking time off work.”

Helen clenched her toes through the plush cream carpet. “I’m worried for you. She knows where you work, and it won’t be hard for her to find out where you’re staying…”

Kathy brought a finger to Helen’s lips to stop her talking. “Helen, I’ve lived with this for so long, I can’t remember what life was like before it all started. I know what you’re saying, and you’ve showed me more kindness and compassion in the past couple of weeks than Anna did in all our years together.”

“That’s because she’s a…” Helen tried to mumble around the finger covering her lips.

“I can’t keep running away for the rest of my life, and I don’t know when, or if this will ever end, but I do know I have to stand up and fight it. I’m going to go back to London, go back to work with my head held high, and then find myself a place to rent. I don’t want to tie myself down by buying anywhere yet, but it’s a start.”