Page 83 of One Step Behind
‘Leave it alone,’ I shout, leaping towards him.
‘What is this stuff?’ he asks, holding the bag away from me. The frown on his face deepens. My heart leaps into my throat as I picture my precious things. The photo of Mum, an old school book, a shell from the beach. Things that are meaningless to everyone but me.
‘It’s personal. Please give it back.’
He looks at the bag again and then to me. ‘So you were going to leave without saying goodbye? Why would you do that to me?’ Hurt crosses Nick’s face and for a horrible second I feel myself waver.
I clench my hands into two fists and force myself to keep going. I’m not going to give in this time. ‘Because you’re a bully,’ I tell him.
‘No, I’m not,’ Nick says. He frowns again and shakes his head.
‘Really? You call me constantly, you always want to know exactly where I am, and now you’ve put a tracker on my phone. That’s not normal behaviour. You know that, right?’
Nick drops my bag to the floor by his feet and sinks on to the sofa. ‘Of course I do. But you’ve left me no choice, Sophie. It’s not me who’s been acting strange around here. It’s you. You never tell me where you’re going or when you’ll be home. You work for me, remember? If I’m going to book you in to meet a client then I need to know you’re going to turn up.’
‘It’s called trust, Nick. How many other employers do you know who make the people that work for them have a tracker?’
‘Yes, trust. That’s exactly my point. You have to trust me. You go running at night. You go to visit that weirdo brother of yours alone, and to top it all off, you totally shut down when I ask you anything. You never talk to me, Sophie.’
‘I talk to you all the time.’
‘About nonsense crap. Don’t you think it’s strange that I’ve no idea what happened between you and your mum? I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve tried to get you to open up to me. What did you do that was so terrible that she won’t talk to you any more?’
‘I don’t want to talk about that.’
‘That’s all right. Can we take a moment? I’m sorry.’ He holds out a hand for me to take. ‘You’re right. I’ve been acting crazy. Everything that’s happened with your brother has brought a lot of stuff back for me. I’ve never told you this, but I got in trouble when I was a kid for shoplifting. After that it was like I was labelled.This one local copper started hounding me all the time about burglaries and other stuff he thought I’d done. So when the detective started asking questions, it spooked me. I didn’t push your brother in front of the bus, but I was in town and I knew they’d think I did it.’
Nick sighs, his eyes pleading with me to stay. ‘We can work this out. I’m not going to let you run away from me like this. I love you.’
I feel my resolve shrink, my courage with it. He’s right. He’s never going to let me go and neither is Matthew. Maybe it would be easier if I just accept my fate now.
‘Sophie, come sit with me.’ Nick’s hand is still in the air, waiting for me to take it, and I know that if I let him get hold of me then I’ll never be free.
I nod and step closer, pulse racing like a jackhammer. At the last second, I snatch my bag from the floor and hold it to my body. Anger flashes across Nick’s face and in that moment I realize that all I need for my fresh start is right here. What the hell was I planning to do with all my stuff anyway?
‘Sophie,’ Nick warns. ‘Come and sit down now.’
I spin around and sprint down the hall. Nick’s footsteps are right behind me but I keep going.
‘Where do you think you’re going?’ His voice is close.
I fly into the door and yank it open just as his hand reaches it. But he’s too slow, I’m too desperate, and I squeeze through the gap and shove the door back into him. I hear the smack of wood and Nick’s cry of surprise but I don’t stop to see the damage I’ve done.
I run down the corridor and straight into a waiting lift. As the doors pull slowly closed, I wait for Nick’shand to appear between them, and only when they close with a gentle thud do I breathe out.
I’m free.
I hug my bag to my pounding chest and gulp in heaving breaths of relief and freedom.
Just one more place to go and then I’m gone for ever and there’s nothing Nick, Matthew or anyone else can do to stop me.
Chapter 50
Jenna
Stuart wakes me with a light shake. ‘Time to get up, sleepy head. The kids are up and I’ve got a breakfast meeting at the council. I’ve got to dash.’
I mumble a goodbye and check my phone. It’s gone seven. I’ve slept for over eight hours for the second night in a row.
