As he sat on the sleek dark corner sofa he gazed around the room. The polished floorboards looked fabulous as did the expensive rug and he was pleased with the quality curtains and cushions, which he and Chole had selected in earth tones with subtle dashes of colour to brighten the place up. He also loved the way Chloe had arranged the modern artwork so that it complemented the room rather than dominating it.
He looked over and smiled at her. He marvelled once more at just how wonderful she was. Chloe was everything he had ever dreamed of; with dark, glossy straight hair, perfect skin, dazzling eyes and a cracking figure. Unlike his mother and sister, who abused their bodies with drink and drugs, Chloe shone with health and vitality.
Nathan had met her at university and she now worked in finance for local government. She came from a respectable middle-class family and didn’t mind that his past had been different to hers. As she had said, despite his upbringing he had still attained the same status in life as her. They were together now as a couple and that was what was important.
Chloe had taste and a wonderful creative streak that enabled her to visualise something even before they started decorating and buying household items. He knew it was down to her that the place looked so wonderful. It wasn’t finished yet, but he knew that with Chloe’s magic touch it would soon be looking fantastic.
‘Happy?’ she asked.
‘Oh yeah, it’s amazing.’ He leaned across and took her in his arms then planted a chaste kiss on her lips. ‘And I’ve got the best girl to share it with. Thanks for everything, Chloe. You make me so happy.’
Chloe smiled back at him. ‘Don’t go getting all soppy on me now.’
Nathan pulled away. ‘No, I’m serious, Chloe. I’m so lucky to have you and all of this.’ He waved his hand, indicating his surroundings. ‘I’ve been dreaming of this for so long while I had to live in that dump with my mum and sister. And now I’ve finally got it, I’m the happiest man alive.’
Chloe beamed. ‘Me too.’
After kissing her for the second time, Nathan spoke again. He was feeling emotional and had to take a deep calming breath before he could get his words out. ‘I’ll tell you something, Chloe… I’ll always love you and I guarantee that I’m never going to let anything, or anybody spoil our happiness.
*
February 2016
Amber was standing outside a city centre hotel with a full purse. The client visit had gone well. He was average-looking and amiable, so when he had offered her a lot of money to stay most of the night, Amber had jumped at the chance.
It was now early morning and she was making her way to the taxi rank, which was only a couple of streets away. She assumed that Kev wouldn’t be cruising the city centre at this time; he would normally be in bed by now. But with Kev you never knew, and Amber was taking no chances so she was glad that she could afford a cab back home.
It wasn’t long before she reached the taxi rank. All the way there she had been looking around expecting to catch sight of Kev at any minute. She was reassured to find nobody else in the taxi queue at this hour and she gladly jumped inside the cab and asked the driver to take her to Withington.
Her relief was short-lived because as soon as she arrived home Amber sensed that there was something not right. The first sign of a problem was when she found her mother’s keys still in the front door. Amber took them out and tutted, thinking that her mother must have been so drunk she had forgotten to take them out of the lock.
When she got inside the hall it was in its usual state of neglect. Apart from the stale odour, the old-fashioned wallpaper was grimy, the carpet had grease stains and the white skirting boards were yellowing and scuffed. But what made it look out of place was the fact that her mother’s shoes had been left strewn across the hallway carpet. This was unusual because no matter how drunk her mother was, she always made a point of putting them on the shoe rack and had always drummed this into Amber and Nathan too when they were growing up.
The second thing Amber found strange was that the mirror was lopsided. Her first thought was that her mother’s drinking must have descended to a new low if she couldn’t even put her shoes on the rack and she had obviously been staggering if she had banged into the mirror on her way down the hall. She presumed she must have carried on drinking till late.
Something instinctively told Amber that she would find her mother in the living room rather than the bedroom. It was therefore no surprise to see her sprawled out on the living room sofa. The drunken fool must have been there all night. She appeared to be fast asleep, but Amber had no qualms about waking her.
‘For God’s sake, Mother! Anybody could have walked into the house. You didn’t lock the bloody door and your keys were still in it,’ she raged, as she walked across the room.
She noticed that her mother’s head was slumped, her face pale. Amber’s hand shot to her mouth, and her mind flashed back to that time when she was a child. Her mother was lying on the sofa then too, her head lolling and wine-stained spittle dribbling from the corner of her mouth. Alongside her had been the empty bottle, opened pill packet and upturned wine glass sitting in a pool of sticky red wine.
‘Shit!’ cursed Amber, dashing towards her, expecting the worst.
She was worried. How long had her mother been here like this? It might have been since the pubs shut, which
