The Breakdown. B A Paris

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СКАЧАТЬ sound, like a crack, interrupts my thoughts. My eyes snap open and my whole body tenses. Instinctively, I know that something is wrong. I lie as still as I can, straining my ears, listening through the open door for the sound that told me I wasn’t alone in the house. Hannah’s words about Jane’s murderer being holed up nearby come back to me. I hold my breath, and my lungs, deprived of air, tighten painfully. I wait; but there’s nothing.

      Keeping my movements steady so as not to disturb the water any more than necessary, I raise my arm carefully; it breaks through the suds and I stretch my hand towards my mobile, perched precariously on the edge of the bath near the taps. But it remains out of reach and, as I slide further down the bath towards it, the water lapping against the side of the bath sounds as loud as waves crashing onto the shore. Terrified that I’ve drawn attention to myself and horribly conscious that I’m naked, I leap suddenly from the bath, taking half the water with me, and lunge for the door, slamming it shut. The sound reverberates around the house and, as I shoot the bolt, my fingers shaking, I hear another creak, I can’t work out where from, and my fear increases.

      With my eyes fixed on the door, I take a couple of steps backwards and grope along the edge of the bath for my mobile. It slips from my grasp and clatters to the floor. I freeze, my arm outstretched. But still there is nothing. Bending my knees slowly, I retrieve my mobile. The time appears on the screen, six-fifty, and the breath that I forgot I was holding comes whooshing out in relief, because Matthew will soon be home.

      I dial his number, praying that I’ll be able to get a signal, because with the bathroom at the back of the house, it’s never a sure thing. When his mobile starts ringing, I’m dizzy with gratitude.

      ‘On my way,’ he says cheerfully, thinking I want to know how long he’s going to be. ‘Do you want me to stop off for anything?’

      ‘I think there’s someone in the house,’ I whisper shakily.

      ‘What?’ His voice is sharp with worry. ‘Where are you?’

      ‘In the bathroom. I’ve locked the door.’

      ‘Good. Stay there. I’ll phone the police.’

      ‘Wait!’ I find myself hesitating. ‘I’m not sure. I mean, what if there’s no one there? I only heard something twice.’

      ‘What did you hear? Someone breaking in, voices?’

      ‘No, nothing like that… a crack and then some sort of creaking noise.’

      ‘Look, stay where you are. I’ll be with you in two minutes.’

      ‘All right,’ I say, ‘but hurry!’

      Feeling less anxious now that Matthew is coming, I sit down on the edge of the bath. The feel of it against my bare skin reminds me that I’m still naked, so I drag my dressing gown from the back of the door and shrug it on. I can’t help wondering if I should have let Matthew phone the police after all. If there is someone in the house, he could be in danger when he arrives.

      My mobile rings. ‘I’m here,’ Matthew says. ‘You OK?’

      ‘Yes, I’m fine.’

      ‘I’ve parked in the road,’ he goes on. ‘I’m going to take a look around.’

      ‘Be careful,’ I say. ‘Stay on the phone.’

      ‘All right.’

      I listen nervously as I hear his footsteps crunch on the gravel and then round the side of the house.

      ‘Can you see anything?’ I ask.

      ‘Everything seems fine. I’ll just check the garden.’ A minute or so passes. ‘All good, I’m coming in.’

      ‘Be careful!’ I warn again, before the signal goes.

      ‘Don’t worry, I grabbed a spade from the shed.’

      The call cuts off and from the bathroom, I hear him checking out the rooms downstairs. When I hear him on the stairs, I start unlocking the door.

      ‘Let me check the bedrooms first!’ he calls. It isn’t long before he’s back. ‘You can come out now.’

      I open the door and when I see him standing there with the spade in his hand, I feel suddenly foolish.

      ‘Sorry,’ I say awkwardly. ‘I really did think someone was there.’

      He puts the spade down and wraps his arms around me. ‘Hey, better to be safe than sorry.’

      ‘I don’t suppose you want to make me one of your gin and tonics, do you? I could do with a stiff drink. I’ll just throw some clothes on.’

      ‘It’ll be waiting for you in the garden,’ he promises, taking his arms from around me and heading for the stairs.

      I pull on jeans and a T-shirt and follow him down. He’s standing in the kitchen slicing some limes.

      ‘That was quick,’ he says. But I’m too busy staring at the window.

      ‘Did you open the window?’ I ask.

      ‘What?’ He turns to look. ‘No, it was like that when I came in.’

      ‘But I shut it,’ I say, frowning. ‘Before I went up for my bath I shut all the windows.’

      ‘Are you sure?’

      ‘Yes.’ I search my memory. I can remember closing the windows in the sitting room and the one in the study but I can’t remember closing this one. ‘At least, I thought I had.’

      ‘Maybe you didn’t close it properly and it came open,’ he says. ‘Maybe that was the noise you heard.’

      ‘You’re probably right,’ I say, relieved. ‘Come on, let’s have that drink.’

      *

      Later, after dinner, we carry the rest of the bottle of wine through to the sitting room to finish in front of a film. It’s hard to find one we haven’t already seen.

      ‘What about Juno?’ he asks as we flick through the list. ‘Do you know what it’s about?’

      ‘A teenager who finds herself pregnant and looks for the perfect couple to adopt her baby. I don’t really think it’s for you.’

      ‘Oh, I don’t know.’ He takes the remote from me and puts it to one side. ‘We haven’t talked about having a baby for a while now,’ he says, gathering me in his arms. ‘You do still want to, don’t you?’

      I lay my head on his shoulder, loving how safe he makes me feel. ‘Yes, of course.’

      ‘Then perhaps we should start putting the wheels in motion. It can be quite a long process, apparently.’

      ‘We said when we’d been married a year,’ I say and, despite my joy, I realise that I’m stalling, because how can I think about having a child when, before it’s even a teenager, I could be diagnosed with dementia, like Mum? I know I’m probably worrying СКАЧАТЬ