Page 40 of The Girlfriend’s Secret

When I hear the front door open and close downstairs, I get my answer.

Somebody is here.

But who?

I can’t believe it. I thought this would be the perfect place to spend the night. I thought I had time. I didn’t think anyone else would even think to come here in the middle of the night.

But I’m no longer alone.

Having picked up my bag, I creep as quietly as I can to the bedroom door, wondering if I can get a look down the stairs at who has just entered this house. If I can, I’ll know whether I really need to hide or not. Maybe I’ll be lucky and it’s Joel coming here to get away from his parents. If it is, I could show myself and explain to him what I am doing here. He’d be shocked to see me, and shocked to learn that I stole a key to get inside, but it wouldn’t be a total disaster if he found me because I know he won’t want me getting in any trouble. But if it’s not him, I will have no choice but to hide.

Leaving the bedroom and taking a risk to reach the stairs, I look down to try and make out who is here. But it’s dark and whoever has entered has not turned the lights on. That’s making it difficult to see. But then I make out the shape of somebody hanging their coat on a hook, and the slight glimmer of moonlight that falls across their face as they do it gives me my answer.

It’s not a good one.

It’s an answer that confirms I need to get away from the stairs as quickly and as quietly as I can so I can go and find a good hiding place.

I have no choice now.

I have to avoid the person who is here.

It’s Liane.

TWENTY-SEVEN

LIANE

I hadn’t planned to come to my mother’s house tonight. I doubt anybody plans to go somewhere in the middle of the night. I should be in bed, my own bed, not here, in this cold house that reminds me of death. Yet here I am, and I’m here because I’m trying to be a good mother. At least that’s what I told myself just before I volunteered to leave my house and spend the evening here instead.

Joel and Frederik were out for an hour before they both returned, neither of them looking particularly happy. That was because, despite searching, they hadn’t located Haven on the streets and, as such, my son was still very worried about her.

‘She’ll be fine. She seems like a very resourceful young woman,’ I had said to my son before quickly realising there was very little I could say that would appease him.

‘This is all your fault,’ he had told me as he stormed past me in the hallway. ‘If anything happens to her, I’ll blame you.’

I’d gone to respond to that but Frederik had silently and strongly gestured for me to resist, so I stayed quiet and gave Joel a few more moments to cool off. But it didn’t work, and I discovered that when he spoke to me again.

‘I can’t sleep in the same house as you,’ he said to me. ‘Not after what has happened tonight. I need space. So I’m leaving too.’

‘What? Where will you go?’ I’d cried.

‘I don’t know. Maybe Scott’s.’

‘It’s the middle of the night. Your brother will be asleep.’

‘Then I’ll ask a friend.’

‘They’ll be asleep too.’

‘Then I’ll wake them up!’ Joel had cried, and I could see the pain all over his face. He was really cut up over what had transpired with Haven and how there was surely no way back for them now, and that was understandable. But what was not understandable was him going out into the dark night by himself too. Yet that’s clearly what he was going to do as he went upstairs to ‘pack a few things’. There was no way I could stand by and watch that happen, so I made a decision.

‘I’ll go and sleep at Mum’s,’ I said. ‘Joel can stay here and you can keep an eye on him.’

‘I think that might be the best idea,’ Frederik had conceded, or maybe it had simply been far too late for another argument at that time. Either way, I went to pack my own things while my husband went to tell our son that I would be the one leaving instead, and it wasn’t long until I was ready to go.

I’d located one of the spare keys I had for Mum’s house, always having had at least two keys because keys tend to go missing, so a spare of the spare is handy to have. As it had proven again when the first key I had gone to pick up wasn’t where I thought I’d left it, but never mind, I had a backup. Once I had it, there was nothing to do but say my goodbyes to my family, a goodbye that I hoped would be a very short-lived one.

‘I’ll see you tomorrow,’ I’d called to my son through his closed bedroom door. ‘I hope you get some sleep.’