Freefall

Chapter One

From the moment I drove into town, I was assaulted with feelings I'd thought I'd left behind me a long time ago. Anger and resentment were still there, but they were now mixed with distress and fear. It felt kind of like I had a chain wrapped around my middle and like it was tightening the further into town I drove.

Facing all these people again... They wouldn't think any better of me, not even after a twelve year absence. I was still the boy who got Melissa Holt knocked up and Jonas Holt killed, all in a matter of a month.

If there was one thing I knew about the people in this dreadful town, it was that they didn't easily forget, and that they loved to gossip. How long hadn't I been one of their most favourite subjects to gossip about?

Three thousand people weren't a lot, and though it wasn't like everyone were in everyone's else's business, it wasn't far from it.

I parked my car in the town market. It was the last place I wanted to be, but I didn't have keys to my dad's house anymore and I needed groceries. If the old man even had something edible in the house, I wouldn't want to go near it. He'd always been a pig, and I doubted it had changed in over a decade.

It was darkening outside and not many people were around as I exited my car. I looked over at the beauty salon. The light were on and I could see movement inside. I debated between going to see my aunt first or facing some of the townspeople. I ended up on the second as I hurried over to the supermarket.

I grabbed a basket and disappeared into the shop proper before the people at the till could get a proper look on me. I didn't look at them either as I hurried down the aisles to quickly find what I needed.

"Did you hear that Bengt Andersen died the other day?"

I stopped before I reached the end of the aisle as the high-pitched, feminine voice reached me.

"I heard he drank himself to death," another woman replied.

"Hardly a surprise, is it? He always raved around drunk."

"You think that son of his will be back for the funeral?"

"He must come back for his old man's funeral, surely. He is his son."

"I wouldn't be so sure about it, if I were you, considering the way he left town."

I went back down the aisle and swung into another one. I'd heard more than enough. Once again I was the centre of gossip, and this time I hadn't even done anything to deserve it. It was, however, thanks to the old man again.

"People aren't remotely sorry about Bengt Andersen's death," someone said in the aisle opposite me as I looked at the canned food for something to eat the next few days. "They're all just waiting like vultures to see if David comes back. People in this town talk too much."

I walked away before I could hear anything else. I didn't take my time to look at stuff properly, I just filled up my basket and headed over to the tills. A young girl sat there, looking bored, but she greeted me in a friendly matter. Guess she didn't know who I was. Too young for that, maybe.

I deposited my bags in my car before heading over to the beauty salon. Maybe I should've kept my key back then, instead of throwing it away the moment I passed the town border. If I had, I wouldn't have to seek Eva out now to get a key so I could get into the house.

The bell over the door jingled as I opened it to go inside. The first thing that struck me was that the beauty salon had changed considerably. It was bigger now, brighter and more modern looking. A lot of the old equipment had been changed out for newer, finer stuff. It was a lot finer and more homey than it had been when I was a teenager.