The Darkness Beneath, page 19
‘Where does he keep the vacuum?’
‘I think it’s in the laundry room, down in the basement.’ Michael told her, heaving the sack out of the trash. He pointed to a doorway that led off the kitchen. ‘I’ll go down and get it if you give me a second to take this out.’
‘It’s okay, I can get it.’
Nell opened the door, flicking on the light and peering nervously down the stairs. She berated herself for the nerves, forced her legs to move down the steps, ignoring the fact they were shaking. This was Luke’s house. She was no longer in Chicago. There was nothing to be scared of here.
At the foot of the stairs she found herself in a large room that housed a washing machine, tumble dryer and a large chest freezer. The bulb overhead flickered and she glanced nervously up at the door, her imagination getting the better of her as she envisioned the light dying, the door slamming shut. She rubbed absently at her left arm, the one she had fractured in the fall down the stairs. It had long ago healed, but the mental scars were still there.
Memories can’t hurt you. Caleb can’t hurt you anymore.
Still her mouth was dry, her palms clammy, as she stepped further into the room, the cool dankness, lack of natural light and the slight mustiness of the air mixing with detergent and bleach into the scent of unwelcome memory.
‘I trusted you, Nell, and you betrayed me. Do you have any idea how worried I have been?’
Her crime had been going out with friends for a drink and losing track of time. Caleb had an important meeting early the next morning and needed his shirt ironed. She’d arrived home just after one in the morning, a little tipsy and oblivious to the eighteen missed calls and texts on her phone. They had fought, because back then she had given as good as she had got and wasn’t going to let a man tell her what she could or couldn’t do.
The trip down the stairs had been her fault, or so she had been conditioned to believe. Yes, Caleb had shoved her, but he hadn’t meant for her to fall. He was trying to get her to go downstairs and iron his shirt. It was her stupid fault for being so clumsy and losing her footing.
As she had lain at the foot of the stairs, writhing in pain, he had stepped over her to get his shirt, his face twisted in anger, as he shouted at her. Everything was her fault, the night out, returning home late, not answering her phone and, now, falling down the stairs, meaning he didn’t have a clean shirt.
He had locked her in the laundry room that night, ignoring her pleas for help, leaving her on the floor in the dark, crying at the pain in her arm. She had stayed there until he returned after his meeting the following day, when he had made her apologize and promise to never let him down like this again, before taking her to the ER.
When they had returned home he had bought her flowers.
Nell shuddered at the memory, so angry at herself for staying as long as she did, for letting him treat her that way. A hand touched her shoulder and she jumped.
‘What are you doing down here?’
She turned to see Luke standing behind her. He looked annoyed.
‘I was looking for your vacuum cleaner. I’m sorry.’
He studied her before the frown on his face softened. ‘It’s not a problem. I’m the one who should apologize. I’m tired, hungover and feeling sorry for myself. I’m not the best company at the moment.’ His expression turned to one of concern. ‘You okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.’
‘I’m fine.’ She drew in a shaky breath, forced the smile back on to her face. ‘Like you, I’m just tired.’ Not exactly a lie.
He nodded, eyes still on hers, as he fetched the vacuum for her from beside the chest freezer. ‘You’re sure?’
‘I’m okay, honest. I’ve never been a fan of basements.’
‘Let me guess – you saw too many creepy movies as a kid?’
He was looking fresher, dressed in jeans and a clean shirt, his hair combed back.
‘Something like that’ Nell agreed, keen to get back upstairs. ‘Come on. Let’s finish getting this place cleaned up and get back up to the guesthouse. Your brother’s cooking tonight.’
As she started to walk back up the stairs, he caught hold of her hand, gave it a squeeze, and she glanced back down at him.
‘Thank you. Thank you for being here for me and for being a good friend. I appreciate it.’
‘No problem,’ she smiled, pulling her hand free when he held on a second too long. ‘Come on. They’ll will be waiting for us.’
Back at the house, Michael showed off the new alarm system to Luke, while Newt and Nell went through to the kitchen with their purchases. They had settled for a soft grey paint for the bedroom walls, with the intention of adding color through the bedding and curtains. Nell packed the paint and brushes away, while Newt began chopping up the various ingredients for dinner.
Nell had just put on the coffeepot when the doorbell sounded.
‘I’ve got it,’ Michael shouted through.
‘I still like the duck-egg blue comforters,’ Newt commented as he chopped tomatoes.
He and Nell had spent twenty minutes of their shopping trip debating over bed linen, much to Michael’s chagrin, with Newt wanting the blue, while Nell favored a set in daffodil yellow she felt would brighten the old house, making it homely and welcoming.
‘How about we compromise and go for blue in some rooms and yellow in the others?’ she suggested.
‘Yeah, I guess we could do that.’ Newt glanced at the kitchen door, lowered his voice. ‘Listen, Nell, I just wanted to say thank you for being cool with Luke tagging along for dinner. It means a lot.’
‘You don’t have to thank me. He’s your brother and welcome here any time.’
Newt set down the knife, turned to Nell. ‘He’s not in a good place at the moment and I worry about him.’
‘He’s going through a rough time. I’ve never met Stacey, so it’s not fair of me to judge her, but it sounds like he’s better off without her.’
‘You’re right, he is. I know he appears confident and outgoing, but things weren’t easy for him after our parents died. He went off the rails badly once before and I really worry it’s going to happen again.’
‘Was this recently?’ Nell had already picked up on Luke’s mood swings, knew Stacey was responsible for causing them, but still she was curious.
Newt glanced at the door again, when he spoke his voice barely above a whisper. ‘I shouldn’t really say, as we don’t talk about it, but you are Michael’s sister. It was a while back, just before we moved to the island. Luke was in high school and living with me at the time. He had some trouble with one of our neighbors. She was a single woman, desperate for male attention. He was just fifteen, but a good-looking kid, and he had no idea how to deal with things when she made advances towards him. Of course, he turned her down, but she became bitter about it, started making up stories about him, generally trying to cause trouble. No one believed her because they knew of her reputation, but it affected him badly, really knocked his confidence.’
Nell was shocked. Luke had struck her as so confident and easy-going. ‘That must have been awful for him.’
‘He struggled for a while. After our parents died we lived with our grandmother, but she didn’t make things easy, especially for Luke, and she continually picked at him and criticized him. After all the problems with her and then this woman, it tipped him over the edge. His grades were failing, he was getting in fights at school, and he was constantly depressed. He deserved a fresh start and that’s why I made the decision to move here. Since things have been bad with Stacey he’s been on a downward spiral again, and it worries me.’
‘What worries you?’ Luke stepped into the kitchen, a bright smile on his face.
Newt picked up his knife, turning his attention back to the tomatoes. ‘If yellow will be too full on.’ He glanced at his brother’s blank expression. ‘We’re discussing color schemes for the bedrooms.’
‘Okay.’
There was a moment of awkward silence before Nell heard more voices and she glanced up as Alex followed Michael into the kitchen. His eyes met hers, his lips curving into a slow sexy smile, and she felt her heart lurch into her mouth. She berated herself for her overreaction, annoyed that he looked relaxed and unflustered, giving nothing away of their night together to the others, while she felt it was written all over her face.
‘I’m making coffee, do you want one?’ she offered, needing to busy her hands.
‘Sure.’
His gaze continued to linger on her face for a moment and Nell felt her insides pool. Unable to stop herself from smiling, feeling like a teenager with a foolish crush, and wishing to hell the others weren’t here right now she turned her attention to making coffee as the men talked.
‘You’re still working?’ Newt asked.
‘Yeah, I’m hoping to finish up about eleven. I’ve been out on a call and thought I’d stop by and make sure everything was okay here.’
‘Shame, you could’ve stayed for dinner. I’m making shrimp creole.’
Nell stirred cream into the coffee, handed round the cups. Alex took his, his hand lingering over Nell’s briefly; her belly lurched.
‘We probably owe you dinner for last night,’ Michael joked to him.
‘You do?’
‘Yeah, I don’t know what you did to my sister last night, but you managed to pull the stick out of her ass. She’s in the best mood I’ve seen her in for ages.’
Alex choked on his mouthful of coffee, while Nell felt her face flame.
‘Dammit, Michael,’ she fumed.
Enjoying the fact that she was biting, Michael’s grin widened and he snuck a hand around her waist. ‘Just saying it as it is. I’ve missed teasing my sister.’
‘Have I missed something?’ Luke asked, those intense blue eyes looking from Michael to Alex and then settling on Nell.
‘No, you haven’t missed anything,’ she told him, stepping in quickly before Michael could say anything else. ‘Nothing at all. My brother thinks he’s being a comedian.’
‘Trust me, he is so not a comedian,’ Newt joked.
Michael grinned, taking a playful swipe at Newt’s head before looking at Nell, eyes sobering. ‘Are you going to be okay here tonight? I don’t mind staying.’
In truth Nell was dreading being in the house alone, but she had to take the step at some point. She forced a smile. ‘I’ll be fine. I have a fancy new alarm system and new locks. No one is getting in. You go home with Newt.’
‘You stayed with Alex last night because you didn’t want to be alone. I don’t mind staying another night.’
‘You stayed with Alex?’
Nell glanced at Luke, color heating up her neck as his eyes narrowed, brow knotting to a frown. His eyes darted to Alex then back to her, his gaze suspicious.
‘It was nothing.’ She kept her tone light, refused to look at Alex. ‘I broke my shoe, his place was close, and it was easier just to crash there. Michael is right, I’m still a little spooked about being here alone.’
‘Which is why I think you should let me stay another night.’
‘I’m working the late shift so I’m gonna stop off and check on Nell when I finish.’
This time Nell did look at Alex. ‘You are?’
He met her gaze, green eyes unreadable. ‘That a problem?’
‘No. No problem at all.’
His lips curved, and Nell’s belly flipped again. ‘Good.’
Newt was preoccupied with dinner, while Michael seemed oblivious to the sparks between them. Luke didn’t miss a trick though, watching the exchange intently.
He knows.
Nell willed him not to say anything, not ready yet for Michael to find out what she had been doing at Alex’s last night. If he found out there would be pressure to define what had happened between them. At the moment they were just having a good time, no commitment, and she wanted to keep it that way, at least for now.
As they set the table later for dinner, she half expected Luke to say something, but he thankfully stuck to lighter topics. The three of them left after they had eaten, Michael doing his whole ‘dad’ routine, reminding Nell to lock the doors, keep her phone on her and let him know if there was any trouble. She appreciated the concern, giving him a hug before kissing Newt and Luke goodbye. Luke lingering for a moment, as though there was something he wanted to say, but whatever it was, he seemed to have a change of heart. ‘Goodnight, Nell.’
He knew about Alex and her, she was sure of it. She watched him join Michael and Newt in the car, waved them off, wondering if she should have broached the subject and hoping he would keep his mouth shut. Locking the front door, she glanced at her watch. She poured a glass of wine and headed upstairs, planning to indulge with a soak in the tub. Although Alex had said he would call her, they hadn’t made plans to see each other again. Knowing he would be stopping by after work had her stomach somersaulting in anticipation.
As the water ran she drew the curtains and started to undress. Outside it was raining again. Her phone beeped on the nightstand and she glanced at the screen. There were two texts, one from Michael checking she had her phone with her, the other from Alex saying he’d be there just after eleven.
Smiling, she replied to both.
She pinned up her hair then took both her wine and phone into the bathroom. Setting the glass down on the side of the tub, she found a mellow playlist on her cellphone and set it on the shelf, lighting the two candles beside it before killing the light. Enjoying having some time to herself she sank into the water, soaped herself down then rested her head against the edge of the tub. Relaxing to the sound of Al Green she drifted off to sleep.
Fifteen minutes later she was jolted awake by a loud bang coming from downstairs.
Nell shot up in the tub, water splashing over the side. Her heart went into her mouth. Was someone in the house?
She held her breath, listening for another sound. When the only noise came from the still-sloshing water, her thumping heartbeat and John Mayer singing through her phone, she began to wonder if she had dreamt it. Maybe her imagination was playing tricks on her.
Still she was too tightly wound to relax. Pulling the plug she climbed from the tub, reached for her towel and turned on the light, blowing out the candles. Picking up her glass of wine she took a generous sip, ordered herself to chill.
She was stepping back into the bedroom when the bang came again, this time loud, decisive and repetitive, and she froze, glass clutched tightly in her hand. This time she recognized where the noise was coming from. Someone was banging on the front door.
Nell glanced at the time on her alarm clock. It was only nine-thirty. Alex had said he wouldn’t be over before eleven. Michael had a key. There was no reason for anyone to be outside banging on the front door.
Fingers trembling, she set down the wine glass on the nightstand and slowly pulled back the curtain, glancing down towards the front door. Although the porch was partially hidden she couldn’t see anyone on the front step, saw no vehicle parked in the drive.
Her belly knotting, she went back into the bathroom, grabbed her phone and called Alex.
He answered after two rings.
‘You okay?’
‘You’re still at work, right?’
‘Yeah, why?’
‘Someone’s outside knocking on the door. I was reluctant to answer if it wasn’t you.’
She heard him go from relaxed to alert. ‘Is there a car outside?’
‘I can’t see one?’
‘The doors are locked?’
‘Yeah, I locked them before I came upstairs.’
‘And the alarm is set?’
‘Yes!’
‘You definitely can’t see who it is?’
‘No.’ Nell glanced out of the window. ‘I’m looking right now and I can’t see anyone.’
Another loud bang had her jumping and she almost dropped the phone. This time it came from the back of the house. ‘Shit!’
‘Nell?’
‘Whoever it is has gone round back.’
‘Stay in the house, keep the doors locked. I’ll be there in ten minutes.’
He had hung up before she had a chance to reply. Nell grabbed her bathrobe, feeling vulnerable.
The doors are locked and the alarm is set. You’re fine.
Part of her was tempted to stay in the bedroom, wait for Alex to arrive, but a niggly little voice from the irrational part of her brain kept picking away.
What if the alarm is broken? What if someone is breaking into the house right now?
Her robe belted and her cellphone still clutched in her hand she gingerly opened the bedroom door, glancing down the landing to the stairs. The house was silent, the only noise coming from Bella’s old grandfather clock, which was ticking in the hallway below.
What if it’s Caleb?
Nell shuddered at the thought, hating that she felt so scared. She had come home wanting to be strong and brave, to build herself up, but her legs were shaking, her insides knotted so tightly she could barely breathe. At the top of the stairs, she took a moment, annoyed with herself that she was too frightened to go downstairs in her own home.
There had been no further noise since the banging against the back door. Maybe whoever it was had gone.
Nell looked at her phone. It had been four minutes since she had called Alex. Maybe she should go lock herself in the bathroom?
Get your butt downstairs, check the doors and grab a knife.
She psyched herself up and shakily descended the stairs, determined she was going to be brave, mad at herself for falling to pieces over something so stupid. As she reached the hallway, she glanced at the front door, relieved to see it was still locked, then down towards the kitchen, cursing she hadn’t drawn the blinds and that anyone outside could see right into the house.
There was no other sound apart from the ticking clock. Maybe whoever had been outside had gone, realizing they were unable to get in the house.
Go draw the blinds and get a knife, then wait for Alex.
She forced herself to walk down the hallway to the kitchen, drew a shaky breath before quickly crossing to the window and yanking down the blind. Feeling a little less vulnerable now she knew no one could see in, Nell opened the knife drawer, grabbed the largest blade, gripping the handle tightly. She glanced over at the back door. It looked secure, but she needed to double-check.
