A Cornish Affair

Broken Glass

Rosie's headache hadn’t left her. When they'd got back to the apartment, Rosie had gone to have a lie down. But having got up again just after seven o'clock,  she still hadn't felt any better.

"You go out without me," Rosie told the others as she lay on the sofa.

"I'll stay with you,"  Hannah offered.

"No you won't. I'll probably go back to bed in a minute and just try to sleep it off. Don't spoil your night because of me. I've got my phone,  I'll ring if I want you to come back."

"And Rick's always upstairs if you need someone!" Tina teased her. "I heard him playing music a minute ago. Johnny Cash it sounded like." A round of tuts and general sounds of being unimpressed went round the girls.

"I'll be fine and I won't need anyone thank you Tina! Now go." Rosie insisted.

"Shall we bring you back a kebab?"  Clair shouted, putting on her shoes in the hallway.

"I'm not getting that drunk!" Hannah moaned, "Just a few, then we'll come home to Rosie. Bye Rosie!" 

She heard the front door open. "Bye," Tina shouted, "Behave yourself!"

"What? I feel right up for it tonight."    Clair protested."Bye Rosie!"

The door closed and the sound of her friend's conversation faded as she heard them walk away through the open windows.

Rosie flicked the television on, going through the channels. Soaps she didn't have time to follow. A house renovation programme that reminded her too much of their own project. A cookery programme. No nothing worth watching. She switched it off again and listened. Silence. No music like Tina had said she'd heard. Rosie checked her watch. It was four hours since she'd had the tablets.  Hannah had left the packet on the kitchen work-surface. She forced herself up, thinking she'd have them then go back to bed.

Opening the fridge, Rosie took out the glass jug of squash Clair had made up so that there was always a cold drink to be had. She set it down, but she couldn't have placed it fully on the surface. As she released her grip on the handle, she knew immediately that the jug was going to fall. And fall it did. Spectacularly.

Shards and splinters of glass flew across the floor as the liquid contents splashed over the cupboard doors and down the back of the cream sofa.

Rosie cried out, half screamed, with a mixture of shock and annoyance.

"Noooo!" she said out loud, then stepped forward to begin to pick up the largest pieces of glass she could see. At that moment, she felt the pain as the skin on her big toe on her right foot was pierced by a large, sharp piece of glass. The tears came to her eyes immediately and bending down,  she pulled at the glass which slid from her toe, followed by a stream of blood.

Rosie stood up again and saw a movement at the window in front of her. A face was looking in at her. She couldn't help herself. She screamed. Again. Rosie's hand was at her chest as her heart felt like it would burst out.

"Sorry.  I didn't mean to frighten you!" Rick said, taking the window off the latch and opening it further, a look of panic on his own face. "Are you ok? I heard you scream," he rambled on. "I didn't think anyone was in. I heard you go out. I was just taking some rubbish out." Then he saw the tears in Rosie's eyes that she'd tried as hard as she could to hold back in front of this man. He instinctively felt the need to help her. "Wait there!" And within seconds the front door had opened and Rick was in the hallway. He stood at the entrance to the room,  surveying the obliterated glass jug across the floor and the orange splash of squash decorating the back of the cream coloured sofa.