Chapter 57
The canteen was cacophonous with teatime noise.
Crockery, cutlery, chatter. It grated on Chloe’s nerves big-time.
She fetched a black coffee and a croissant and made her way to an empty table at the back of the bustling room.
She couldn’t look at anyone, never mind talk.
It would add to her nerves, and the din was bad enough in her ears as it was.
She took a sip of coffee and it tasted alien in her mouth. But she needed it to be alert. Breaking off a corner of the croissant, she stuffed it in her mouth. She hadn’t eaten a thing all day and now she felt sick. She was going to throw up.
Jumping up, she fled the canteen. In the nearest bathroom, she raced into a cubicle and emptied her stomach. She knew it wasn’t the food that had made her ill. It was the trauma of what had happened to her. And what had almost happened.
At the sink, she threw water on her face. It mingled with the tears that now flowed freely. The numbness had subsided and she shivered and trembled and sank to the floor. Gripping her knees to her chest, she sobbed and sobbed.