Chapter 33
BAILEY
Something soft brushes against my lips. I stir, but I don’t want to wake up yet; my mind's still floaty, and I’m cocooned in Teddy’s scent.
I know as soon as I wake up, he’s going to leave.
A hand brushes my hair behind my ear, and I peel my sleep-heavy eyes open to find Teddy leaning over me.
His dark curls are flopping over his eyes, and a smile dances on his lips.
He looks so pretty. I reach out to grab his sleeve, wanting to drag him back into bed.
“I need to go to the docks, Bay. Go back to sleep, okay?” He kisses my forehead once more. “I’ll be home around two.”
“What time is it?” I groan, closing my eyes again.
“Four-thirty. Rob texted me last night. My trainee is off sick, and we’ve had a temp covering the numbers since I took time off last week. I need to get in early to get everything organised.”
I’m barely listening, drifting back under already. I hear Teddy opening the bedroom door, whispering, “Sweet dreams, mo leannan.” Then I’m out like a light.
“Morning, lad,” Teddy’s grandad greets me as I walk in through the back door.
I nod to him, feeling my cheeks heat. I realise that everyone knows now that Teddy and I have been holed up together all weekend. I avoid eye contact while I take my shoes off. “Hey, Malcolm.”
“Parcel arrived for you early this morning,” he says, pointing to the breakfast table. “Breakfast’s on the hot plates. Take what you want. Noah’s the only one who hasn’t shown his face yet.”
Of course Noah would be the last up. I check my phone and see it’s eleven in the morning. “Thanks.” I get my breakfast and sit down next to the small parcel.
“The boys might be coming in early,” Malcolm mutters as he looks out of the kitchen window.
I follow his gaze and see dark grey clouds.
“Storm’s coming. Can’t have been in the forecast, or else they wouldn’t have gone out.
” The deep frown on Malcolm's brow makes me a little uneasy. “I’ll leave you to it, gotta go help clean up the barn.” He sighs and heads out the back door.
My eyes drift to the parcel. I don’t know who would have sent it to me. Everyone who knows I’m here is here also. Teddy could have left me something, I suppose, but then why would he leave it here and not at his house?
Deciding I can’t finish my breakfast without looking, I take a deep breath and drag the parcel over. My name is written on the box in black marker pen, but there’s no last name and no address. It must have been delivered in person, but I don’t recognise the writing.
I rip off the brown tape sealing the box, and immediately my stomach revolts. As I open it, the smell of sweet rust hits me like a punch in the gut. It takes me right back to when I was a kid, waking up covered in the blood of—
Not again.
Inside, there’s a bundle of tartan fabric. With trembling fingers, I unwrap the cloth and shove my hand over my mouth to stop myself from crying out. A mouse lies unmoving, fresh blood smeared over its fur.
I jump off my stool and run out the back door, doubling over as my breakfast comes back up. I spit to clear the bile from my mouth, then lean against the wall, begging my heart to slow down.
He’s found me.
How the hell has he found me …?
On shaky legs, I stumble back to the kitchen, not wanting anyone else to see what’s in the parcel.
I go to close it back up, but something catches my eye.
Underneath the mouse, partially stained by blood, is a piece of paper.
I pick it up by a dry corner and slide it out gently.
My breath catches in my throat, and a sob threatens to come out.
It’s a screenshot of the picture from the wedding where Teddy’s kissing me.
He knows where I am, and he knows I’m with Teddy. “Fuck!” I shout, slamming my hand on the counter. I turn the paper over and see scrawled writing that I finally recognise as my brother's.
Then my heart stops completely.
Found you, Little Mouse. You should have left him alone.
I throw it back into the box and seal everything up.
“What’s that?” I jump at the sound of Noah’s voice, not realising he’d come into the kitchen.
I tuck my hands behind my back, paranoid they might have blood on them, and mutter, “Nothing, it’s just—it’s just something from Teddy. I gotta go.”
I’ve been staring at the parcel on the coffee table for so long I have no idea what time it is. Reality is crashing in on me hard and fast, and there’s no escaping it anymore. There’s no more hiding from Shane. He’s going to take everything from me again—my job, my best friend, my family.
Teddy …
Any doubts I had about Shane being behind everything have been completely obliterated.
The evidence is right in front of me, but I don’t know what to do with it.
I should call the police, but the thought of it spikes fear through me.
I’ll have to be interviewed and tell strangers about my life.
They’ll judge me and call me stupid because, ‘How could you not have known?’
I head upstairs and take a shower to try to clear my mind.
The hot water is close to scalding, and I scrub my skin until it’s pink and raw, convinced the blood isn’t coming off.
The heat starts to make me feel dizzy, so I quickly turn the water cold and let it blast me until I’m shivering.
When I can’t stand it any longer, I switch the shower off and step out of the tub with stiff limbs, coming face to face with myself in the mirror.
I stare for so long that it feels like Shane is looking back at me.
That it’s his eyes I see and not my own.
It’s been years since I left. I changed my last name, kept away from social media. I hid. I didn’t want to be fucking found.
After getting dressed, I storm back downstairs. Lifting the lid of the parcel again, I stare at the note he left me. “You should have left him alone …” I mutter to myself. A vice clamps around my heart, and a burst of fear rushes through me.
He’s going to go after Teddy.
I find my phone and call him, but it goes straight to voicemail. I try another three times before I give up and leave a message. “Teddy, please call me to let me know you’re okay. I-I think Shane—just call me back when you get this!”
Staying here and waiting for a reply isn’t going to help. I’m crawling out of my skin, needing to see him. He should still be at sea, and Shane can’t get him there. But that isn’t enough to stop me from grabbing my keys and running out of the house, towards the harbour.