He was staring at the note, the words scrawled in scratchy black ink on the small scrap of paper.
FOUND YOU.
‘Bit weird, though, isn’t it?’ Charlie said, holding it towards his wife. ‘And it’s late. Plus all Peter’s mates will be out with him tonight at that party.’
Beth took it and folded it in half along the creases, placing it back down in front of her. ‘You know what teenagers are like. Probably a game.’
‘If it doesn’t involve his phone, I doubt that very much,’ Charlie retorted, with a sneer.
The sound of soft footsteps on carpet drew their attention out to the hallway. Daisy, their six-year-old daughter came padding barefoot down the stairs, in her pink unicorn pyjamas, rubbing her eyes.
Charlie turned, scooping her up in his arms. ‘What are you doing out of bed, you little rascal?’ he whispered into her ear, before kissing her softly on top of her head.
‘I heard the doorbell,’ Daisy replied. She wasn’t fully awake yet. Her hair, dark brown, the same as her father’s, matted from slumber.
‘Yep, you did. But don’t you worry about that. You should be asleep! It’s very late.’ Charlie spun around with Daisy in his arms, and she giggled.
‘I was asleep. The bell woke me up,’ Daisy protested.
‘That was very naughty of someone ringing the doorbell at this time of night and waking you up. Why don’t I take you back up to bed and tuck you in?’ Charlie said playfully.
‘Okay,’ Daisy replied.
Charlie carried her over to Beth, who gave her a kiss on the forehead. ‘Night. Sweet dreams, love,’ she said.
As Charlie turned and walked up the stairs with their daughter in his arms, Beth fingered the note on the worktop, pushing it around as if it were dirty. As if touching it might transfer something foul to her skin. She flicked it open and looked down at the words again.
Cooper yapped at the back door. Beth shushed him. He sat staring at her, whining. The kettle clicked and Beth poured two coffees. She listened as Charlie’s footsteps plodded down the stairs, and she folded the note back over, crossing the kitchen. She opened the fridge, taking out the milk, before returning to the cups. Charlie leaned on the worktop, picking up the paper again.
Beth watched his brow knit, as his dark eyes read it once more.
‘I’ll ask Peter in the morning when he’s home,’ she said. ‘I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.’
Charlie dropped the note on the worktop and Beth joined him at his side, handing him a cup of coffee. He took it, turning to go up the stairs. ‘Bed.’
‘You go. I’ll let the dog out. Be up in a minute.’
She reached her hand around the back of Charlie’s head, ruffling his short, thinning hair, then pulled his face towards hers. His rough stubble rubbed against her cheek.
Charlie trudged up the stairs, pulling off his T-shirt as he went. As he entered the bedroom, he threw the top towards the laundry basket in the corner, missing. He walked into the en suite, picking up his electric toothbrush. Cooper was barking from downstairs, followed by the sound of the door closing as Beth let him back in from the garden. Charlie rinsed his mouth, expecting Beth to come join him in the bedroom but frowned when she didn’t appear. He stepped out of the bathroom and walked out onto the landing, standing at the top of the stairs for a moment. The lights were extinguished below, but Beth was still down there. He stood, listening.
Silence.
Descending the stairs, he rounded the corner into the kitchen, where he found his wife in darkness, gazing out through the patio windows.
‘What are you doing?’ Charlie asked.
Beth didn’t turn around. She continued to stare.
‘Beth, are you okay?’
Charlie crossed the kitchen to his wife’s side. She looked at him as if in a daze.
‘Beth?’
‘Sorry, love, I was daydreaming there.’
‘You coming up to bed?’
‘Yep,’ she replied. And then she did something strange. She drew the curtains.
In seven years living in the farmhouse, Charlie had never seen Beth do this. There was no need. They lived in the middle of nowhere with a long driveway. A dense hedge and tall trees shielded their property from the road. Few people came out this way unless visiting the family. Charlie frowned again and watched with slight bewilderment as his wife meandered through the entire ground floor of the property closing every blind and curtain. She blocked out all the windows before heading up the stairs.
2
Bacon and coffee.
The smells filled the house as Charlie cooked breakfast in the Saturday morning sunlight.
He looked up as Beth appeared in the kitchen doorway. She hadn’t slept much last night. Charlie heard her up a few times to go to the toilet. She wasn’t looking her best now.
‘Look what the cat dragged in,’ Charlie joked as Beth stood in the doorway. He motioned with his head towards their sixteen-year-old son sitting at the island unit, his elbows on the worktop, and his thumbs jabbing away frantically at his phone.
‘Hello, love,’ Beth said, stifling a yawn. ‘Good party?’
‘Was all right,’ he mumbled without looking at her.
The bacon sizzled in a pan on the hob. Cooper sat at Charlie’s feet waiting for something to fall.
‘Hungry?’ Charlie asked, pouring Beth a cup of coffee and sliding it across the counter towards her.
‘A little,’ she replied. But Charlie thought she looked like she wanted to vomit.
‘You were tossing most of the night so I thought I’d let you sleep.’
‘Thanks,’ Beth replied, turning to her son. ‘Zoe not here?’ she asked.
‘Obviously not,’ he retorted, still not glancing up from his phone, already mastering the art of sarcasm. He was his father’s son in that respect.
‘You two okay?’ Beth questioned.
‘Yeah, Mum,
