BooksBarbecue
Back The House of Whispers Save as PDF
Chapters (82)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise for The House of Whispers
  3. Title Page
  4. Note to Readers
  5. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  6. One
  7. Two
  8. Three
  9. Four
  10. Five
  11. Six
  12. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  13. Seven
  14. Eight
  15. Nine
  16. Ten
  17. Eleven
  18. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  19. Twelve
  20. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  21. Thirteen
  22. Fourteen
  23. Fifteen
  24. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  25. Sixteen
  26. Seventeen
  27. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  28. Eighteen
  29. Nineteen
  30. Twenty
  31. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  32. Twenty-One
  33. Twenty-Two
  34. Twenty-Three
  35. Twenty-Four
  36. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  37. Twenty-Five
  38. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  39. Twenty-Six
  40. Twenty-Seven
  41. Twenty-Eight
  42. Twenty-Nine
  43. Thirty
  44. Thirty-One
  45. Thirty-Two
  46. Thirty-Three
  47. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  48. Thirty-Four
  49. Thirty-Five
  50. Thirty-Six
  51. Thirty-Seven
  52. Thirty-Eight
  53. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  54. Thirty-Nine
  55. Forty
  56. Forty-One
  57. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  58. Forty-Two
  59. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  60. Forty-Three
  61. Forty-Four
  62. Forty-Five
  63. Forty-Six
  64. Forty-Seven
  65. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  66. Forty-Eight
  67. Transcript of interview with Mr Rohan Allerton, husband of Abigail Allerton: 20 December 2019
  68. Forty-Nine
  69. Fifty
  70. Fifty-One
  71. Fifty-Two
  72. Fifty-Three
  73. Fifty-Four
  74. Fifty-Five
  75. Fifty-Six
  76. Fifty-Seven
  77. Fifty-Eight
  78. Fifty-Nine
  79. Sixty
  80. Priory Hospital North London: 20 December 2019
  81. Acknowledgements
  82. About the Publisher

‘He says I don’t have the head space for him anymore,’ she said, and her tone was scathing, despite the tears. ‘Apparently, I’m “too distracted” and he’s making all the effort coming to London but apparently my head’s not in it anymore.’

Tears leaked again from under her eyelashes, and she swiped at them with the sleeve of her sweater. She was one of those rare people who could cry prettily. I tried to smile with a modicum of sympathy. I felt for her, of course I did, but at the end of the day, I could have told her he wasn’t going to go the course – even a blind man could see that – and some of us had greater burdens to carry than a failed relationship. But what she said next surprised me.

‘Apparently, all I care about these days is my new friends.’ She paused. ‘New friend.’ I stiffened, feeling the shape of blame looming over me; guilt already circling like a shark.

‘We had a row,’ Grace said. ‘It was ugly.’ She sniffled. ‘We never fight. We always discuss things. I can’t believe he was being so mean. I didn’t know what triggered it but then he brought up your name and I realized that’s what it was: he was jealous.’

‘Jealous?’

‘He said you’re monopolizing me and that I should hang out with other people. That it was unhealthy to be so close to one person.’ I opened my mouth to agree – I’d often thought the same – but she carried on. ‘He said I’m always in your room and hanging out with you and he thinks it’s unhealthy.’ She paused. ‘He said you’re weird.’

‘Weird?’

‘I know! He said you’re morose and a loner and it wouldn’t surprise him if you were depressed. I said, what would he know? And, surely, if you were depressed you needed a friend more than ever, but he started going on about it rubbing off onto me and how I had to be careful, and I should be out living it up with lots of friends not moping about with you. He said you were like a drain; a “joy-sucker”, Abs!’ Another gulp and sniff. ‘So I said I wasn’t going to choose my friends for him and it was up to me to do what I wanted to do while I was at uni, and if it bothered him so much, he didn’t have to be my boyfriend.’ Her face crumpled. ‘And he said, “Fine.”’

I exhaled loudly. ‘Whoa.’