Chapter 28
Twenty-Eight
Quinn
‘Mum,’ Harry calls up the stairs as Quinn sits on her bed.
‘Yes, sweetheart.’ She throws the letter into her bedside drawer as Harry enters her room.
‘What was that?’ he asks.
She raises her brows and smiles. ‘Nothing. I’m just tidying up a bit and having a rest. I’ll be down soon.’
‘Cool. Morgan and I were going to walk Diggerty in a bit. Thought I’d let you know in case you wondered where I’d gone.’
‘Okay, no going into the woods though.’
He nods. ‘Can we have the leftover samosas from the fridge?’
‘Of course. I’ll cook something better in a bit. Harry?’
‘Yes.’
‘Can I have a hug?’
He walks over and lies next to her like when he was a little kid, and she holds him close, taking in his smell. He’s gone from baby powder to very masculine body spray. She misses him being little. He pulls away. ‘What would you like to eat later?’
‘I don’t want anything. I had a big lunch.’
He gets up off the bed and leaves as fast as he arrived. His footsteps thundering down the stairs leave her feeling hollow. Her boy is growing up so fast and all she wants to do is keep him close and away from all the hate and negativity in the world.
She lets out a frustrated laugh as she pulls a strip of her gel polish from her thumbnail.
She didn’t tell Gemma how much she also hates the neighbours and indeed everyone.
Ray has always had it in for Quinn. His views on having children out of wedlock never went unknown.
Tessa – what a bitch, always thinks she’s better than everyone else.
Her husband groped Quinn’s butt when they attended a party at Sid’s house.
Then there are Zoe and Sid. They weren’t too bad.
As for Ruby, the IT nerd, Quinn was sure that she was aware that Quinn had caused her relationship to break up by having a one-night thing with her ex.
Like Gemma, Quinn has finally had enough of Clover Lane. Very soon, she and Harry will be gone. She reaches into her bedside drawer and pulls the letter out. Black ink, in Dorette’s handwriting – capital letters. She holds the letter in her hand.
HELLO FRIEND AND NEIGHBOUR. I SAY HELLO BUT REALLY, I HATE YOU.
I HOPE YOU DIE A LONG, HORRIBLE DEATH BECAUSE YOU DESERVE IT.
IN FACT, I WILL MAKE SURE OF IT BECAUSE EVERYONE WANTS TO SEE YOU AND HARRY DEAD.
YOU MIGHT JUST SLIP OFF A BALCONY AND END UP COLD ON A SLAB, JUST LIKE DORETTE AND YOU LOVED DORETTE SO MUCH. DIE BITCH!
Quinn’s hands shake from all the adrenaline coursing through her veins.
The paper flaps with each tremor as she reads it several times.
It’s time, so she creeps down the stairs hoping that no one will see her leave the house.
The sound of the microwave humming conceals her footsteps as she sneaks past the kids and quietly out of the door.
Even Diggerty won’t wonder why she’s leaving the house while there’s food around.
She sneaks out into the snow, shaking as she holds the letter she’s just written – fresh and ready to enter a post box.
Her heart bangs while she lets out a long slow breath before dropping the letter into the box.
Letting out a nervous laugh with her hand over her mouth, she gazes up and down the street. There’s not a soul in sight.
As she stands under a streetlamp, she spots a smear of black ink on her hand.
Die bitch!