He moved towards her and she immediately took a step back, and he realised that it wasn’t this house she was afraid of. It was him.

‘Hannah?’

‘I’m fine. Can we go now, please?’

She bent down and picked up her phone, looking dismayed as she stared at the cracked screen.

‘Is it broken?’

Hannah glanced at him, quickly pocketing the phone. ‘Let’s just go.’

Yeah, she was definitely wary of him, keeping her distance as they started walking back to the lane and he was wracking his brain trying to figure out what might have instigated her change in attitude towards him.

She had been fine in the house and then in the barn, her earlier fear morphing into a much more productive anger. Had something happened when he had left her in the barn alone? Maybe she had experienced a flashback or being in there alone had been too much for her.

He was certain it was him she was jittery of though, and not this place.

It briefly crossed his mind that perhaps she had worked out who he was, but he quickly dismissed the thought. After all, how would she find out?

That didn’t stop him keeping a close eye on her as they made their way back to the car, both of them picking up pace as the rain started to fall harder. And he kept hold of the keys when she asked for them, not handing them over until both he and Tank were sat inside. She was too skittish and he didn’t trust her not to drive off without them.

‘Can you put that knife away please?’

It was the first time she had spoken to him apart from asking for the keys.

He shrugged, opened the glovebox and slipped it inside. ‘Happy?’

She nodded and started the engine; the tension rippling off her. It was starting to piss him off and he considered having it out with her, but then a pheasant ran out in front of the car and she swerved so sharply, almost running them off the road, that he reconsidered.

‘Jesus, Hannah!’

‘Sorry,’ she apologised, flustered. ‘I didn’t see it.’

‘Do you want me to drive?’

‘No!’ She snapped the word out.

‘Okay, well can you at least concentrate please? I’d like to make it back in one piece.’

She mumbled something under her breath.

‘Sorry?’

‘Nothing.’ She glared at him, but didn’t say anything else, turning her attention back to the road and he understood this wasn’t going to be a comfortable journey.

They managed to make it back to Wells speaking about six words between them, most of the noise coming from the scrape of the windscreen wipers and the rain that pounded against the car roof, and when Hannah pulled up outside the Airbnb, she didn’t even kill the engine, instead just giving him a pointed look. One that clearly said, get out.