Paul removed his coat, hat and scarf and dropped them on the chair in the hallway. He turned on the computer and while it loaded, he filled the kettle with water and switched it on, warming his hands close to the sides as it began to boil. First, he would do his usual checks on Claire, but he also wanted to track Simone’s movements. It shouldn’t be too difficult – she was on social media constantly – but he needed to create another different profile, so he could follow her anonymously.

Paul grabbed a dirty cup from the sink and quickly rinsed it out. He was about to put a teabag in when he remembered an old packet of hot chocolate. It wasn’t Cadbury’s, like his mum’s, just some cheap crap from Aldi, but still, he was in the mood to celebrate.

February 2018

35

Claire woke up and immediately felt the ache in her right shoulder. She’d been dreaming about Rose, her long dark hair streaming behind her as she ran. Claire was following her down a series of dark, damp alleyways, but Rose was getting further and further away until she eventually disappeared, and Claire was left alone. In the dream, Claire had stopped running, realising she was lost.

As she looked around, all she could see were rows of closed garages, each with a rectangular window and although she couldn’t see anyone, she knew there were eyes watching her, peering through the small windows as she tried to get her bearings. And then it had started to rain and she’d woken up, disorientated, sleep making the real and imaginary cross over. As she came to, she realised it was actually raining, February signalling its arrival with its tap-tap on her bedroom window. Never had she felt less like getting out of bed.

Wednesday. Just two more days until the weekend.

She lay for a minute, trying to muster the energy to get up. Eventually, she sat up and switched on the lamp. The other side of the bed was empty and she hoped Chris was downstairs making some coffee. She tentatively flexed her neck trying to loosen the muscles and prevent the inevitable headache that would follow.

Christ, she could feel it in her teeth.

Swinging her legs round, she opened the drawer in her bedside table, scrambled around until she found a packet of paracetamol and popped two into her mouth with a slug of water. Reaching around to the back of her neck, she massaged the knots, the pressure giving some temporary relief.

‘Hey.’ Chris had come into the bedroom holding out a cup of coffee for her. ‘You okay?’

‘Thanks,’ she replied gratefully, taking the cup from him.

Swinging her legs back into bed, she pulled the covers over her. ‘Yes, just a bit of a shoulder ache.’

Just five more minutes.

‘Did you take something for it?’ asked Chris.

She nodded and took a sip of coffee.