‘Naomi?’ comes a voice, and I almost slide down to the floor with relief.

Leon.

He furrows his brow as he turns the corner to see me breathless and holding a knife at chest height.

‘What the hell . . .?’ he starts.

‘Oh, thank God,’ I wheeze, the breaths I’ve been holding in all rushing to get out.

‘What the hell’s going on?’ he asks, wavering on the spot, unsure whether to approach me or back away.

‘I thought . . .’ I gasp. ‘I thought . . .’

‘You thought what?’ he says, stepping forward to gently prise the knife from my clutched fingers.

I backtrack over the day’s events, berating myself for allowing my imagination to get the better of me. I don’t know whether I feel more foolish or nervous at the prospect of having to explain my irrational behaviour to Leon.

‘W-what are you even doing here?’ I ask, stalling. ‘I thought you weren’t coming home until tomorrow.’

He eyes me warily. ‘The traffic was good so I decided to come straight back.’

I can feel unexpected tears spring to my eyes and I go to him, burying my face into his neck. I don’t know whether it’s relief or panic.

As if sensing there’s more going on, he holds me away from him and looks at me earnestly. ‘Are you OK?’

I nod, willing my tears not to fall. ‘It’s just that I saw the light on and thought someone was in the house.’

‘I didn’t mean to frighten you, but you’re not normally this jumpy.’

‘I know,’ I say, looking up at him. ‘I just wasn’t expecting you and . . .’

‘It’s OK,’ he says. ‘I should have phoned. Where have you been anyway?’

‘I, erm . . .’ My brain scrambles for a legitimate alibi, but I’m so much on the back foot that it can’t work quickly enough. He knows me too well to be able to scam him. ‘I, erm, I went out for a drive . . .’

Leon looks at his watch. ‘It’s almost ten o’clock at night,’ he says, with a hint of suspicion.

‘Y-yes,’ I stutter, feeling like I’m under a microscope, being dissected in its spotlight. I resent him for making me feel this way, but then I realize I’m doing it to myself. All I have to do is tell the truth; after all, I haven’t done anything wrong. But I already know that’s not how Leon will see it, otherwise I would have already told him by now.

He’s still looking at me with raised eyebrows, waiting for an answer that sounds more plausible than going for a drive on a whim.