Don’t Turn Around: A heart-stopping gripping domestic suspense

Charlie moves closer. ‘You look tired.’

‘I feel it,’ I reply as the last of my strength is carried away with trembling words.

‘Need some help?’ he asks with warmth in his eyes as he takes over undoing my buttons.

My arms drop to my sides. ‘We can live without the sour cream, can’t we?’

‘It’s not a deal breaker.’

His fingers stroke the curve of my breast as he takes hold of my shirt to slip it off my shoulders. When he kisses my neck, he feels my body stiffen and slides his hands to rest comfortably around my back instead.

‘Bad day?’

Rather than answer immediately, I rest my hand on Charlie’s shoulder and step out of my skirt. ‘I feel so helpless sometimes,’ I tell him. ‘We have no way of knowing who’s at the end of the line or what’s going to happen to them once they’ve hung up.’

Charlie sits down on the bed. He’s watching me closely as I begin slipping into my Minnie Mouse pyjamas. ‘A difficult caller?’

‘More like a difficult call,’ I correct him. ‘And I’m still not sure what to think of the caller herself.’

Charlie purses his lips. He knows I can’t talk about the calls we receive so he doesn’t ask. He waits for me to straighten my vest top before pulling me into his arms. I straddle him and cup his face, grateful that I have someone I love and trust.

‘Ruth said something the other day that’s been bugging me,’ I tell him. ‘What happens if we get a call from someone who’s being manipulated the way Meg was?’

‘I thought that was the whole point of the helpline?’

I lower my head until our foreheads touch. ‘It is, but …’ I take a breath. Assuming my leap of faith is correct and Ellie is who I think she is, she could be being abused by Lewis, if not now, then in the future. She asked me not to tell anyone and I won’t, but I can still theorise without breaking that trust. ‘What if one of our calls was from Lewis’s girlfriend?’

Charlie draws back so he can look me in the eye. ‘For a start, I’d say it would be one huge coincidence.’

‘Would it?’ I ask. ‘What if she saw Ruth’s interview? Lewis won’t be the only one who worked out she was talking about him. Why wouldn’t she phone us?’

‘Are you trying to say she has phoned?’

‘No, I’m talking hypothetically,’ I insist. ‘But he does have a girlfriend. I saw a picture of her on Facebook. Did you know?’

‘So that’s what this is about,’ he says with a sigh. ‘Yes, I had heard. Lewis told Jay he met her a few months back when he was buying a present for his sickmum.’

Our eyes lock as he presses the point home. ‘Oh, I see. How stupid of me. Lewis can’t possibly be a threat to women any more because he buys presents for his poorly mum.’

‘I’m not saying that.’

‘Then what are you saying?’ I ask. ‘You think we should turn a blind eye because his mum is sick?’

‘Stop it, Jen. I’m on your side,’ he reminds me.

‘I know,’ I say as I slide off Charlie’s knee and slump down onto the mattress so I can stare at the ceiling instead of his face.

‘All this publicity for the helpline has brought back memories that none of us take pleasure in revisiting,’ Charlie continues. ‘That’s why I didn’t want to add to your worries by telling you Lewis was back home. You’re bound to be paranoid for a while.’

‘Paranoid?’ I could laugh. Actually, no, I could cry. I squeeze my eyes shut to stop myself but the urge intensifies as the mattress dips, rocking me slightly as Charlie lies back too. We’re shoulder to shoulder; two friends trying to make sense of the world and the people in it.

If I try really hard, I can imagine it’s Meg lying next to me. She might not have told me everything but we did talk, and I long to go back to those times in her bedroom when I fretted and she fixed.

‘It’s so lovely and quiet here,’ I’d told her once as we lay sideways across her single bed with our feet dangling over the edge. It was the beginning of summer – our last one before Lewis entered our lives – and we were recharging our batteries after our GCSEs. Unfortunately for me, it had been impossible to find peace at home with one sister back from uni and reclaiming the top bunk in our bedroom, another having practically moved her boyfriend in and the third spending the last months of her pregnancy under Mum’s watchful gaze.

‘It’s too quiet,’ Meg replied.

I’d noticed a certain frostiness between Ruth and Geoff when I’d arrived. Ruth was complaining about the amount of time her husband spent on the golf course and his response had been to pick up his golf clubs and storm out.

‘Is everything OK between Auntie Ruth and Uncle Geoff?’

‘It would be if Mum would stop having a go at Dad all the time. Can’t she see what she’s doing?’ Meg said, letting her arm drop across her face to cover her eyes.

‘You think they’ll get divorced?’ I asked with a gasp as I stared at Meg’s downturned mouth and willed it to stop trembling.

‘They’d have to break up the business if they did that, so no, they’ll just carry on making each other miserable.’

‘As well as you?’

Meg pulled her arm away to stare up at the ceiling. ‘Sean’s so lucky, heading off to uni. I can’t wait till it’s my turn,’ she said.

‘I can’t either. It’ll be the two of us against the world,’ I said, offering her a smile.

Meg didn’t take it. ‘Oh, no,’ she said extending her arm behind her so she could tug at the brightly coloured scarves she kept hanging over her bedpost. Draping crimson silk across her face, she added, ‘You need to find your own way, Jennifer Hunter. We will not be going to the same university. You can’t hide behind me for the rest of your life.’

‘But I don’t want to be on my own.’

She silenced me with her gaze. ‘And right now, neither do I. I’m dreading Sean going.’

‘I could come over more often. Mum probably wouldn’t notice if I never came home at all. Dad definitely wouldn’t.’

Meg let the silk fall and pulled herself up onto her elbow, her eyes alight. ‘In that case, why don’t you move in? Mum wouldn’t mind and I can get around Dad easily.’

Her excitement had been infectious but it wasn’t Meg’s parents who had stood in our way. I never did move in.

When I open my eyes, Meg is gone and it’s Charlie who’s lifted himself up to look at me. His eyes look as scratchy as mine feel.

‘Can you at least find out who Lewis’s girlfriend is?’ I ask. ‘Please, Charlie.’

‘And what exactly do you plan on doing with that information? You can’t contact her, Jen. Please. You don’t know what kind of trouble you might cause.’

I twist onto my side so I can look Charlie in the eye. His frown matches my own. ‘Surely Lewis will be too busy caring for his mum to cause us any more trouble,’ I suggest innocently.

‘Keep away from him, Jen.’

Charlie’s tone makes my cheeks warm with guilt. Dismissing the idea that he might be jealous of the attention I’m giving Lewis, I say, ‘I know he’s dangerous. It’s not like I’ve fallen for the sympathy act.’

‘Neither have I.’