Excellent Danielle and Callum have a meal at Raven House His Silence : His Silence - Chapter Sixteen by Jacob1395

Warning: The author has noted that this contains the highest level of language. Background When Harvey murders his parents, he refuses to say why he did it. Twenty years later, he's finally ready to talk. ‘So, Danielle, why don’t you tell everyone a little bit about your life now?’ Oliver suggests, fixing his gaze on me. There’s a hint of pride in his voice. He’s expecting for me to say some great things. Everyone falls silent and looks in my direction. Sitting beside me on the left is Luke, I’ve a feeling he’s sort of Oliver’s right hand man here. Every time I look at him, I picture the man in the pub. They must run this place together, whatever it is. Oliver told me it was some sort of sanctuary. I finish chewing a piece of lasagne. It’s surprisingly good; the cheese melts into my tongue. A little bit about me. My heart flutters. Callum’s sitting a few chairs away, beside the woman who first spoke to me earlier, Mary I think she said her name was. There’s a man sitting on her other side with a tattoo of some sort of bird on his neck, I can’t quite work out what one it is. Part of it’s covered up by his T-shirt. I swallow. ‘Well, um. I live with my parents . . . my adoptive parents, Emma and Michael, in this tiny village in Essex, so not too far away from here. I design websites for people, which is something I’ve been doing for five years now, although I’m not sure if it’s something I want to continue with long term. It doesn’t exactly pay very well at the moment,’ I say, my voice shaking as my gaze fixes on everyone sitting further down the table. There’s sweat on my forehead. ‘And what about school? Did you do well?’ Oliver asks. Why can’t he stop asking me questions? I grit my teeth. ‘I . . .’ what would my education have been like if I’d grown up here? I’m not sure where the nearest school to here is. I certainly don’t have any memories of going to school until I was living with Emma and Michael. Did they home school Harvey and I? ‘I guess I struggled to fit in at school really, it’s why I wasn’t keen on going to university. People used to question me about what happened, once they realised who I was, but in the end they left me alone. After that people found being around me awkward, like they didn’t know what to say to me. That’s why Callum’s so important to me. He’s always been there for me, especially when I struggled with bullies at senior school,’ I reply. Everyone looks towards Callum. He sort of half smiles. Eve continues to look towards him, even when everyone else, refocuses their attention on me. At least Callum doesn’t appear to have noticed Eve staring at him. She’s making her feelings pretty obvious for everyone to see. I curl my fist under the table and refocus my attention back on Oliver. ‘Well, I’m very grateful to Callum for being there for you,’ Oliver says, holding up his glass and smiling at him. It’s the first sign of friendship he’s shown towards Callum since we arrived. ‘It must’ve been extremely challenging for you, navigating those early years of your life.’ I pick up my fork and plunge it into the lasagne again, breathing in the scent of the roasted vegetables. ‘It was.’ I resist the urge to breathe a sigh of relief. Thank God that’s over. Oliver doesn’t put me on the spot again; he must’ve realised from the tone of my voice I found answering his questions uncomfortable. When I finish eating I pull out my phone under the table. It’s just gone six p.m. I haven’t had any missed calls or messages from Emma or Michael. They must think we’ve decided to get a B&B like they suggested. ‘Is everything OK, Danielle?’ Luke asks, his eyes flickering to my phone then to me. ‘Um, yep, it is, I think I just need to let Emma and Michael know what I’m doing this evening,’ I say, snapping my head up. I’m acting like I’ve been caught cheating in a school exam. Since everyone sat down for dinner, I’ve not seen one person get out their phone and check it, not even Eve.   ‘You’re more than welcome to stay the night if you wish,’ Oliver says. ‘It can be dangerous driving here in the dark, particularly as there are no street lamps.’ No street lamps. I hadn’t been paying attention when we were driving here. Callum’s watching me. He’ll want to know what Luke and Oliver are talking to me about. Mary’s speaking to the man with the tattoo on his neck beside her. She laughs at something he says and holds her hand over her mouth. Is there a toilet I could use?’ I ask. I need to get out of here, my head’s burning. Oliver points towards the door I came through earlier. ‘Through the door, up the stairs; it’s the first on your right.’ ‘Thanks,’ I say. I’m surprised he doesn’t ask Mary or Eve to go with me. My chair scrapes across the wooden floorboards. I get up. I can feel everyone’s eyes on me as I leave the room, I keep my head down. I will Callum to get up and follow me, but he remains seated. I exit the room and the chatter in the barn continues once I push the door shut. The floorboards creak as I climb the stairs; my shadow grows across the wall. At the top I stare down the long corridor to my left. There are wooden doors opposite each other on both sides of the hallway. I rub my hands together. This would’ve been where my family and I slept when we lived here. My body chills. Straight ahead there’s a window overlooking the garden. I peer out, staring at the darkening sky and the shimmering mist on the marshes, making me think of spirits lost forever, wandering the earth. I edge closer to the window, my breath fogging the glass. There’s a light on in the annexe. It’s got to be living quarters. Is it where Oliver sleeps? The toilet’s to my right. I move towards it, but stop and glance over my shoulder again down the corridor. There’s no light on up here, not even a lamp. It would be interesting to have a look in the rooms; I might get a sense of who everyone here is. I listen out for anyone who might be coming up the stairs, but the only noise is of people chatting in the dining room. I’m on my own. I edge further down the hallway, the floorboards creaking. I stand outside the first room, and try the handle. It’s locked. I try the one on the other side. It’s also locked. I try every single door, but they won’t open. Shit. I hold my hand to my forehead and stand still at the other end of the corridor, breathing steadily. The sounds of people chatting don’t reach me this far away from the stairs. The silence swallows me up, making the corridor ahead of me back to the staircase, seem longer than it is. Why are all the doors locked? Surely if these people are living together, it must mean they trust one another. They wouldn’t think anyone would go into their room and steal their personal belongings. I pull out my phone. My heart feels like it’s ready to burst out of my chest. There’s no signal at this end. I hurry back the way I came; two bars appear by the toilet door. Yes. I open my contacts and call Emma. The phone continues to ring. I grit my teeth. Why does she never pick up when I want her to? ‘Danielle,’ Emma’s voice appears on the other end. She yawns.   ‘Emma,’ I say. ‘I . . . I wanted to let you know, Callum and I have found this little B&B, they’ve got a couple of rooms free tonight, so we’re thinking of staying.’ ‘Oh, that’s fine, sweetie, where is it? You’ll have to let me know what it’s like.’ ‘Oh, um, God I can’t remember, I’ll have to go outside and check, but it’s lovely, right on the sea front. We’re just gonna get sorted and go out for something to eat, I think. I just wanted to ring you to let you know so you weren’t worried about where I was.’ ‘Well, it sounds like the pair of you have had a fun day.’ ‘Yep, it’s been great.’ The lie feels thick in my throat. I can’t stand lying, it isn’t me.  ‘I’ll ring you when we leave in the morning.’ ‘Try and make a weekend of it if you can, I’m sure Callum would love to.’ I roll my eyes. She’s always hoped Callum and I would end up together. She doesn’t know what really goes on inside my head, each time I think of that scenario. ‘I’ll see what he says, love you,’ I reply.   ‘Love you, sweetie, enjoy yourself.’ Emma hangs up. I breathe a sigh of relief. Now all I have to do is tell Callum we’re not going home tonight. He’s going to be harder to convince than Emma.

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