Chapter 37
THIRTY-SEVEN
I glance over the balustrade as I race after Evie. My blood freezes as I see Lina cowering in the far corner of the lounge, a smashed whisky bottle on the floor next to her, sharp shards of glass all around her.
‘Nan!’ Evie cries, almost stumbling on the stairs in her haste to get to her. ‘What happened?’ Skidding across the floor, she drops to her knees in front of her, fingers straying to the blood trickling down her cheek. ‘Did you fall?’
Lina doesn’t answer, but simply stares at her, her eyes wide and terrified.
Where’s Jack? My heart pounds as I glance around and see no sign of him.
Quickly, I crouch next to Evie, scanning Lina’s face.
She has a cut on her forehead. My heart jars as I picture the whisky bottle being the cause of it.
‘Are you hurt anywhere else, Lina?’ I ask, concerned she might have other injuries.
Lina’s gaze travels dazedly from Evie to me. ‘I told you something awful would happen,’ she murmurs.
Suspecting she’s about to blame Jack, I avert my gaze and concentrate on checking her limbs.
‘I warned you about him.’ Lina grabs hold of my hand, squeezing it tightly.
Stop! I scream inside. Please stop. I have to know what happened, of course I do, but I can’t bear to hear it. ‘Lina, please let go.’ I try to extract my hand, but she hangs on to me grimly.
‘Nan, let go.’ Sounding bewildered, Evie tries to intervene. ‘You’re hurting her. You need to let go.’ She takes hold of her wrist.
Lina only tightens her hold. ‘You have to get away from him,’ she hisses.
‘For pity’s sake, Lina, let go of me!’ I yank my hand away. ‘What is wrong with you?’ I ask, glaring down at her as I straighten up and stagger back a step.
‘There’s nothing wrong with me,’ she responds agitatedly. ‘My memory can be a little faulty, but that’s because of the antidepressants. I’m not senile, though he would have you believe otherwise. I am not wrong about him.’
As she speaks, she attempts to raise herself. She’s struggling, breathless, I realise. Instinctively, I move back towards her, but Evie is quicker, wrapping her arms around her and supporting her.
‘I’ll fetch the first aid box.’ I turn away, my chest thudding. This is not what it appears to be, I try to reassure myself. Jack did not do this.
‘How na?ve are you?’ Lina calls after me as I hurry to the stairs. ‘Do you honestly believe what happened to that young girl was a coincidence? That her being in your bedroom was innocent?’ She drives her point home like a knife.
I ignore her. I can’t think straight. Can’t breathe.
‘Do you think I did this to myself?’ Lina’s needling voice follows me along the landing. ‘That I threw the whisky bottle at myself?’
Tears blinding me, I go to the bathroom and fumble in the medicine cabinet for the first aid kit.
Finally finding it in the cupboard under the sink, I pull it out, slam the cupboard door and clutch the rim of the sink.
My chest pounds so hard I fear I’m about to have a panic attack.
Is she right? Have I been utterly na?ve in believing all that Jack has said?
I recall the intrinsic kindness he’d shown me, the beautiful sculpture he bought of my beloved golden retriever.
It had taken my breath away, banished any reservations I might have had about sharing anything about myself with him.
That was when he began to confide in me about Natalia.
It was clear he felt he’d failed her. He couldn’t have been lying.
I felt his pain. It was palpable. Hopelessly confused, feeling drained emotionally and physically, I stay where I am for a moment, waiting for the dizziness that sweeps over me to pass.
I have to talk to him. Where the hell is he anyway?
I doubt he wouldn’t intervene if he was listening to all of this, which means he’s obviously not in the house.
First, though, I have to dress Lina’s wound and get her back to the annexe.
Evie will go with her, I’ve no doubt of that.
I don’t want her to, but I worry now that Lina can’t be trusted to be on her own.
But surely this whole thing is contrived? It has to be.
As I pull open the bathroom door, steeling myself to go back to her, I hear Jack down below. ‘What the bloody hell’s going on?’ he asks.
Even from the landing, I can hear the shock in his voice, and I fly to the stairs. Then stop, gripping the rail hard as I see Lina backing away from him, her face horrified. ‘Don’t come near me!’ she cries, her voice high-pitched and hysterical. ‘Don’t you dare touch me!’