His Silence - Chapter 75

Callum and I don’t speak for the rest of the afternoon. He sat beside Eve at lunch. I chose to sit beside Oliver, I didn’t want to be anywhere near Callum, God he’s never made me feel like this before. How could Callum say to me I need to forget about the past? The only reason he came here was to help me. Mary must’ve said something to him during their session. He hasn’t even told me how often they’ve been having these sessions for.

It’s half past nine when we begin to clear the plates away after dinner. I haven’t even managed to speak to Callum about what I overheard Oliver and Mary talking about earlier. Perhaps it’ll make him think twice about listening to her if he knows what Oliver said. Keep working on Callum. They’re trying to turn him against me. Whatever Mary’s saying to him it’s beginning to have an effect.

Eve’s scrubbing at a bowl in the sink when I make my way into the kitchen.

‘Y’know you should wear gloves,’ I say, remembering Emma telling me the same thing to me years ago. ‘Otherwise your skin will go red raw.’

‘I’m nearly finished,’ she says, going once again around the bowl before placing it on the drying up rack.

‘Well, I think I’m gonna head up soon, are you going to join me?’ I say.

She turns round. She’s trying to think of some sort of excuse not to.

‘Let me see if Mary wants anything more done down here first then I’ll come up, you go up first.’

‘You are still going to talk to me about –'

‘I’ll be up in a minuet, Grace,’ she says, water slopping over the side of the sink and onto the floor.

She isn’t looking me in the eye. I leave her in the kitchen, my chest tight. Everyone else is beginning to make their way up the stairs, even though it’s still fairly early. There’s no way I would be going up to bed at this time if I was at home. Perhaps people still don’t feel like hanging around at the moment, after what happened yesterday.

Abigail and Isaac are at the top of the stairs speaking to each other. The moment they spot me coming up, they move in the direction of their room. They don’t even say goodnight to me. They’re next door to Noah’s old room. They must’ve heard something from that night. If anyone had gone into his room they would’ve had to have unlocked it, unless Mary deliberately kept it unlocked. I picture the police speaking to them both, I’m sure they would’ve found it easy keeping straight faces when they lied.

As I edge further along the corridor, my phone bleeps in my pocket. I fish it out, it’s Max. I wait until I’m in Eve’s room before I read it, I can’t risk anyone looking over my shoulder and seeing the message.

            From: Max Hardy

            To: Danielle Olsen

            Date: 24 June 2024 at 21:15

            Subject: Oliver Adams

            Sorry for the radio silence, I’ve been trying to see if I can get anywhere with the information you gave me, which was definitely a lot more useful than what you gave me before. I’ve just sent off a form to one of the local archive centres in Leigh on Sea, which looks after old records, I should hopefully hear back from them within a couple of days.  

Another couple of days. I clench my phone. Max doesn’t know where I am, I haven’t told him. He probably thinks I’m safe at home. If he knew what’s really been going on he would’ve been pressing to get the results quicker. I think of Callum and the way how he was with me earlier. I kick the bottom of the bedside cabinet and wince as my toe strikes the corner. There’s got to be some way Max can get this sped up.

I’m about to send a reply when movement out in the corridor makes me jump. It’s Eve. She’s standing in the doorway, twirling her finger in her hair. I thought it was going to be another half an hour or so before she was up.

‘Have you used the bathroom, yet?’ she asks, her eyes flicking to the floor then to me.

I shake my head. ‘No, not yet, I –’

‘I’ll nip in now and use it if you don’t mind,’ she says.

She dashes back down the corridor. I step outside and peer after her. It’s like she’s terrified to be in the same room as me. She opens the bathroom door and slips in, avoiding my eye contact. What’s got into her?

It’s ten p.m. when Mary comes round to check on us. I’m lying underneath my duvet, pulling it tight to my neck. The wind batters against the window. There must be a crack in the wall somewhere because I can hear it whistling.

‘Do you think you might want to move back into the annexe tomorrow, Grace?’ Mary asks, smiling.

‘Oh, um.' I look across at Eve; she’s turned away from me so she’s facing the wall. ‘If you think it’s OK.’

‘I’m sure it will be,’ says Mary. ‘You could’ve moved back into the annexe tonight, but I think tomorrow will be for the best. Good night.’

She pulls the door, the key twists in the lock from the other side. I lie awake, staring at the ceiling.

‘Eve,’ I whisper. She doesn’t reply. I sit up in bed, scrunching my duvet. ‘Eve, talk to me, please.’

She turns to face me. ‘What is it, what do you want me to talk to you about?’ she asks, her voice coming out neutral.

‘I need to know what you were going to tell me yesterday,’ I say. ‘You said this morning you would talk to me this evening.’

‘Look, Grace, I’m sorry if I led you to think there was something I was upset about, but the truth is I’m fine. You need to stop asking questions. I’m going to sleep.’

I listen to the silence around me, tension thrumming in my chest. Why is Eve lying to me?