Neena left the door ajar and headed into the darkness. The door swayed with the breeze. He watched headlights appear on the road and disappear down the lane.

Neena was gone. Now it was just the three of them – he alone, and them next door. He fumbled for his phone and text James.

Are you all right?

Richard stood before the open door, shaking with the cold as the night crept in. A minute passed. He texted again.

Tell me that you’re OK or I’m coming over right now.

His wife was capable of the darkest acts. If she knew about Neena, she might know about James too. She had shown Neena a bruise and told her that he had created it. He dreaded to think what else she had done. He already knew that she was capable of so much more.

A wave of fear ran through him. He held onto the banister as his head lightened. He was an imbecile. He should never have underestimated her. They both had. His phone pinged.

I’m fine. x

He breathed a sigh of relief, staining the air with the faint scent of bile. James was safe.

He was going mad in the house alone. He couldn’t sit and wait for Amber to return, not when it was James he needed to see. He ran upstairs and changed into his running clothes. If he had to wait, he would get some fresh air and clear his head. When Amber returned, he had to be ready. Whisky would only cloud his judgement, and when Amber returned, he sensed the truth would be revealed. He had to be strong, for Samantha’s sake.

* * *

Richard ran up the hill listening to the rush of blood in his ears and the pounding of his heart. The night was so dark he could barely see the ground. He ran for at least an hour, and the cold night air scoured his throat and dried his tongue. His lungs burned, and made him think of Amber’s parents breathing in the flames, burning inside and out. All the while, he thought of what was going on in the house next door. If Amber had confronted Neena, it meant that in time she would confront James too, and save Richard for last, that he was sure of. But James had told him that he was fine. He was strong and willing, he could hold his ground against Amber. It was the people closest to her who were unable to flee after years of manipulation; James would be free to confront her without fear of repercussions. He wondered if a lack of fear of his wife was heroic or foolish.

He jogged up the hill, listening to twigs snap under his soles and his breaths wheeze in and out of his lungs.

Stop worrying. James told you he’s fine.

And then it hit him.