Drawing Blood

Chapter Eighteen

Tuesday soon became Wednesday, which eventually became Thursday. It had rained heavily over those three days and turned everything soggy, the clouds building up and looming over the place as though Armageddon was on the horizon. As promised, Annie and I spoke to each other every day. When I wasn't speaking to her, I was huddled down in my room, lost in my thoughts or reading another book.

Adam was still AWOL, and it didn't matter how much I distracted myself, I'd been left feeling on a knife's edge in the wake of his absence, unable to settle until I knew what the next move was. I didn't feel safe with him gone, and it was a strange sensation. It wasn't something I felt comfortable with; and in a weird way, I felt like I had lost an arm. After Annie's revelation, I had been left wondering about his motives. He clearly felt unable to share things with me, and I couldn't help wondering if that had been my fault. I felt sorry for him, and I knew I had been hard on him. On my own personal level, I could even feel empathy for him. I resolved to make it up to him, upon his return. It was hard to be thrown into a world that was cruel and dangerous. A world neither of us had chosen.

Still feeling guilty about my behaviour, I had tried to patch things up with Will, who was still only muttering one-word answers to my questions. His stony aura made him impossible to penetrate, and by the time Friday came around, I had all but given up on him. What made matters worse was that I had received a call for an offer for Angela's house. Deciding that I would be a fool to turn down four hundred thousand pounds, I had accepted it; informing Will in passing during the same afternoon. He had stopped briefly, asking if I wanted his help, suggesting he could visit the beach and Marina to indulge in his hobby of fishing if he got under my feet. Knowing Adam would need that privilege, I had to be delicate in telling him, no.

I had promised the estate agent that I would travel back to Brighton in the next few weeks, to sign the papers and organise clearance on the house. But it was going to be impossible without Adam by my side. No one had heard anything from him come Saturday, and the silence was worrying. At first, Annie had tried to remain positive, stating that no news was good news. But by Sunday, even she was starting to panic. Having tried his mobile phone a few times, he still wasn't answering. By the following Monday, I was starting to secretly wonder if he was coming back, at all.

Despite all of this, I was still managing to go through my usual routine. Tuesday morning, I was showered and dressed by eight; traipsing downstairs by half-past, to forage for food. Entering the kitchen, I was surprised to see Will sitting at the table. He was usually gone by the time I woke up, but today he was as clear as day; a stony look upon his face as he pretended to read the newspaper. I'd never known him to remain in such a foul mood for longer than a week, and for him this was a world record. I had learned to live with this, by ignoring it - and his absence - taking my meals in my bedroom to be by myself. As I padded across the room to flick the kettle on, and do myself some toast, I decided today was going to be no different.

"Just to let you know, I'm going out and I won't be back until nightfall," I heard him say from behind me. Catching the hostility in his voice, I threw a glance at him over my shoulder, just as he closed his newspaper, throwing it down onto the table in a careless manner. "I'm going to see a friend of mine today." The legs of his chair scraped across the floor as he stood up, and he disappeared into the hallway to retrieve his coat.

"Anyone I know?" I hollered after him, noting he was wearing his baggy overalls.

"Henry."

"Who...?"

He trod a path back into the kitchen, and over to the back door to start pulling on his muddy boots. "Henry Martin," he informed me. I watched as he scooped up his van keys off the side, and he must have caught the confusion upon my face, because he added, "You met him at Beth's wake."