AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I knew that was his polite way of sayingYou’re in the way. And I was, I realized. The clients looked they were more interested in me than the designs being etched on their skin.
“Okay,” I said, but instead of going downstairs, I went back up to the apartment and sent Cora a text message.
What are you up to?I asked. She might have been at work — she was a nurse, so her schedule changed week-to-week, and included unpredictable hours. But if she wasn’t, perhaps she’d be interested in doing something together. I lay on my bed and watched the three dots that meant that she was typing pop up on the screen.
Not much, Cora replied after a few seconds.Did the early shift, so now I’m heading home.
I was relieved. Hopefully, she’d want a break. I didn’t care what we did, as long as it took my mind off Nathan.
I’m bored, I wrote.Want to come over?
The three dots appeared on the screen again, then vanished and reappeared, and the suspense was painful. I didn’t think I could spend the next couple of hours alone without going insane.
Sure, she finally said.Give me a minute to get dressed.
I knew it would only take her ten minutes or so to arrive, so I hung around in the kitchen downstairs until the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it,” I called out, already halfway to the door.
Cora grinned as soon as she saw me, and pulled me into a tight hug.
“How are you going?” she asked, as I glanced nervously at the street behind her shoulder. “Is Nathan still hassling you?”
I didn’t relax until the door was closed and locked.
“Not yet,” I said. “But we’ve made this place pretty secure.”
The guys were so absorbed in their work that they barely seemed to notice Cora as I led her into the kitchen.
“He hasn’t come back to the house, as far as I know,” Cora said. She leaned against the table as I prepared a cup of tea. “Not since the police were there.”
Her words filled me with ice.
“Thepolice?”
Cora’s smile faltered.
“I thought your friend would have told you,” she said, looking through the door to where Adrian was using a handheld mirror to show his client what the tattoo on his back looked like. “He was there.”
If he’d heard her, he didn’t react — the background hum of music and tattoo guns more than likely drowned out her voice.
“No,” I said, feeling troubled. What else hadn’t he told me? Did the other guys know? I finished making the tea and pulled Cora up the stairs. Once we were safely behind the heavy door, where the guysdefinitelycouldn’t hear us, I perched on the couch and looked at her as my stomach curled around itself. “What happened? Tell me everything.”
Cora inhaled and tucked her blonde hair behind her ear.
“I wasn’t there,” she said, and sat next to me. “I was at work. When I came home, your friend was sitting on the front steps, waiting for the police to arrive. He said he’d gone inside to get a bag of your things, and Nathan had left…” she hesitated.
“Tell me,” I said, steeling myself for the worst.
“Polaroids of you when you didn’t know he was watching you,” she said. “With the words,You’re dead, slut, written on the back.”
I only realized I wasn’t breathing when I felt dizzy.
“You’re dead, slut,” I repeated, wanting to make sure I hadn’t misheard her.
Cora nodded.
“I didn’t tell you because I thought your friend must have, and I didn’t want you to feel any worse.”
