Next, I checked all the drawers. The first was empty, but the second contained a large A4 sized folder and a small brown envelope. I immediately recognised the envelope from the other day at the school. Noah had emerged from the caretaker’s shed with it. I looked inside, but all it contained was a single key. I frowned and wondered what it was for. I picked up the folder and found a bunch of papers inside but didn’t initially know what I was looking at. There was a long list of times and dates, accompanied by short descriptions like dropped wife off at work or went to the office or made a deposit at the bank.
What the hell? Was Noah spying on someone? Maybe he was a private detective? It’d certainly explain why he avoided answering the question of what he did for a living.
He was keeping tabs on someone, that much was clear, but it didn’t exactly sit comfortably with me. I carefully placed the papers back in the folder and returned it to the drawer.
I took a second to quietly listen, but it sounded like the house was still empty. Thinking I’d quickly rifle through his backpack, I picked it up and placed it on the bed. All I found was a bunch of clothes, jeans and T-shirts mostly. There were some books, too, but I didn’t have time to flick through them. I was about to place the bag back where I found it when I felt something hard in the front pocket. I unzipped it and discovered a Swiss Army knife. It wasn’t the most unusual thing to find in a twenty-something-year-old guy’s belongings. People kept knives like these for practical purposes, especially if they were into camping and outdoors activities. It didn’t necessarily mean anything sinister.
A chill crept along the back of my neck. I turned and noticed the window had been left slightly open. On instinct I went to close it, but as I glanced out the window I stopped dead in my tracks. The curtains were wide open, displaying a perfect view of the cliffs and the sea beyond.
And there in the distance, standing right by the edge of the cliff, was Noah.
My stomach twisted into knots as unease gripped me because he wasn’t staring out to sea. No, he was facing the house, and though he was far away in the distance, I eerily felt like he was looking right at me. Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I tossed his bag back where I found it and fled his room like I was being chased by an axe murderer.
4.
I locked my bedroom door and sat down on my bed, hands shaking and heart racing. I couldn’t get Noah’s lone figure out of my head, standing in the distance staring at the house. He was too far away for me to see his facial expression. He could’ve been staring off into space or looking directly at me. There was no way to know for sure.
And if he had seen me, would he tell Vee I’d been snooping? Or would he confront me personally? The thought made me anxious.
I just knew my curious nature would get me into trouble one of these days!
Why couldn’t I leave well alone? The reason for Noah’s visit was none of my business. I should just stay out of his way until he left and went back to wherever it was he came from.
I wasn’t sure how much time had passed when I heard a quiet knock on my bedroom door. I froze, practically holding my breath. Another knock and I swear my heart stopped beating. Was it Noah? Or Vee? Whoever it was, their silence freaked me out. Why didn’t they say anything? Ask if I was in here? Then they twisted the door handle, and I almost had a heart attack before remembering I’d locked the door.
Good thinking, Estella!
I heard footsteps walking away, allowing me to finally exhale in relief as I flopped back into my pillow. If that were Noah, I was able to escape him for now, but I was going to have to face him eventually. The very thought had me on the verge of a panic attack.
I didn’t leave my room all evening, instead choosing to sit on my bed freaking out while trying to finish my homework. When I fell asleep, I dreamed of violent waves, and my body being swept away by an unrelenting sea. Oxygen drained from my lungs, but I didn’t fight it. I gave myself over to the pull. It was almost like I wanted to drown. Letting the sea take me made perfect, logical sense, and that was when I realised I wasn’t dreaming of myself. I was dreaming of Lady Maeve again. She wore a long, pale dress, the excess material rising up above her head as she sank. Her vision grew blurry, consciousness fading. Strands of seaweed twined around her arms and legs, pulling her down, down, down …