She's Gone (A psychological thriller)

by M A Comley

  “Hmm… I’ll make up a jug of squash for the kids. I won’t be long.”

  When he ventured outside, the children were all playing happily together. “Having fun, everyone?”

  “The greatest time ever, Daddy,” Adele replied.

  “It’s all right,” Jake said. “When can we go out and start exploring?”

  “What? Aren’t you tired after the trip?”

  “No, I’m buzzing. I can’t wait to begin our adventure.”

  Martin ruffled the eight-year-old’s hair. He’d taken to the boy the first time he’d laid eyes on him. Jake had welcomed Martin into the fold too, eager to have a father figure around after spending four years alone with his sister and mother since his father had upped and left.

  Louise had done a marvellous job of working full time while raising two small children, that’s what he admired most about her. She could have crumbled the day her ex-husband, Chris, had walked out on her, but she hadn’t. Instead, she’d asked her parents to help out with childcare and thrown herself into work, knowing that the house could have been taken from her if she hadn’t kept up the mortgage payments on it. Her parents, Anne and Tony, had recently both retired from the army and had settled near Louise after years of travelling the globe with the military. It hadn’t taken them long to adjust, not with having Jake and Matilda around. It had turned out to be a win-win situation for all concerned. Even more so when Martin had walked into Louise’s life.

  He watched the children playing happily together, his mind flitting back to their first meeting. Martin was a sales manager for an export and import firm and had advertised in the local paper for a new secretary. There had been five successful candidates who had got past the first stage and whom he’d invited for an interview. Out of those five, two hadn’t said a word throughout the interview other than answered his questions with a clipped response; they had instantly been relegated to the ‘not suitable’ pile. The other three all had something about them, but at the end of the day, it had been Louise who had stood out. Her experience was superior to the others, and she had a great personality to boot, ensuring she sparkled on the day. An added bonus was that she had been the most attractive of the interviewees, too.

  Since his own relationship had been faltering for some years, it hadn’t taken him long before he’d confided in Louise about his disastrous marriage with Deborah. One drink led to another; and before long, they’d started an affair at work. Not something he was proud of; however, Louise had turned out to be everything Deborah wasn’t—supportive, caring, enthusiastic about his work. There was no doubt Deborah was a great mother; that had never been in dispute in his eyes, but he regarded Louise as the whole package. Bright, attentive, loving, adored by her children. The perfect all-round mother and definitely wife material. All he needed now was to pop the question and wait patiently for the divorce to come through to end their six-year marriage.

  He’d always felt trapped with Debs; whether it was the truth or just his perspective on their relationship, he wasn’t sure. It had been full on from the first week, really. Lust had seen to that. The second month into their relationship, she’d announced that she had missed her period and thought she was pregnant.

  They had carried out the test in the en suite bathroom together. Mixed emotions ran through him when the test proved positive. On the one hand, he was joyous that his sperm had done their thing to create a tiny human being, but on the other hand, their relationship had only just begun. Still, Martin was a man of honour, to a point; he knew he could never walk out on Debs, knew he had to step up to the plate, and he did so, willingly. But after only a few months, Deb’s personality had altered significantly towards him. At the time, he accepted it was par for the course, what with a woman’s hormones being all over the place during pregnancy. However, after Adele was born, Deb’s attitude got worse instead of better. She’d given up her job as a shop assistant, insisting she was tired and couldn’t stand to be on her feet all day. At first, Martin had accepted that as an excuse—he wasn’t a heartless and uncaring man at all. Once Adele was six months old, though, he started dropping the odd hint about when she was going to return to work. Pinpointing it, that’s when he realised Debs had trapped him; she saw him as a man to meet all her needs without having to give anything in return, at least in his eyes.

  Louise snuck up behind him and placed her arms around his waist. “You were miles away.”

  He pulled her to the side of him, kissed her on the cheek and rested his head against hers. “I was. Sorry, did you call out?”

  “I did, it doesn’t matter. Anything wrong?”

  “No, not really. Just standing here… thinking.” He smiled down at her.

  “About anything in particular?”

  “Yes and no. I’ll tell you later. Shall we fix some dinner?”

  “You read my mind. I bet everyone is hungry after their trip. I’ve got a cooked chicken. I thought I’d prepare a salad, if that’s okay?”

  “Sounds ideal. You’re amazing.”

  Louise laughed. “It’s only chicken and a salad, hardly MasterChef standard.”

  “I wasn’t referring to the food and you know it.”

  Louise smiled. “I’ll make a start, you can round the kids up; give me ten minutes to sort out the chicken first, if you will?”

  “I feel guilty, you being lumbered with organising the dinner. Why don’t I come inside and help you? This is your holiday as well, sweetheart.”

  “I know it is, but you drove us here, now it’s my turn to look after you. No arguments.”

  They shared a lingering kiss, and Louise went back inside the cottage. Martin, putting his bout of reflectiveness behind him, where it belonged, joined the children. Adele was on the swing, her head down, swinging gently in the breeze. He stood behind her. “Want a push, sweetie?”

  His daughter glanced over her shoulder and smiled. “Yes please, Daddy. I want to go high.”

  “Then high you shall go, my beautiful princess.”

  He pulled the seat backwards and let it go. Once the momentum kicked in, he pushed Adele harder each time until she was screaming with joy. Oh, how I’ve missed having you in my life over the past eight to nine months. You’ll never know how much I love you, munchkin.

  He slowed the swing down. “Come on then, let’s go and have something to eat. Louise has kindly fixed us a lovely meal.”

  “I’m not hungry. I want to play out here!” Adele shouted, the angry retort attached to a full-on pout.

  Martin groaned internally, but did his best to keep his smile intact. “There will be plenty of playtime ahead of us this week. You must be hungry after that long trip, darling. Come on, down you get.” He held out his hand for her to take.

  Adele hopped off the swing, ignored his outstretched hand and stomped ahead of him. She entered the house and slammed the door behind her. Yep, just like your damn mother. Stubborn and without compromise.

  With a sunken heart, he called for Matilda and Jake to join him. They were good kids and came to stand beside him within seconds. “Let’s go see what’s for dinner, shall we?”

  “I’d like that,” Matilda replied. She slipped a tiny hand into his and tugged him towards the house. Jake ran on ahead of them. “What’s wrong with Adele? Doesn’t she like you, Martin?”

  The words stung and ripped at his insides. Despite the devastation running through him, he smiled down at Matilda. “She’ll be fine after a few days. I guess all this is a huge adjustment for her.”

  “Ah, she’s not used to you being around, is she?”

  “No, through no fault of my own, that’s right, love. It’ll take her a while, but I’m sure if we’re all nice to her, it’ll help her adjust quicker. What do you say?”

  “I agree. I want her to be my new bestest friend.”

  Martin halted and crouched down beside her. “That would be wonderful; it would make all this so much easier on her, on all of us, if that were to happen.”

  She shru
gged her little shoulders and said, “I don’t think she wants to be my friend.”

  “I’m sure that’s not the case, sweetie. What makes you say that?”

  “The look she gives me and Jake.” Matilda shuddered.

  Martin hugged her to him. “Aww… I think all this is proving too much for her. I don’t think she means it, sweetheart.”

  “Okay.” Matilda slipped out of his arms and ran into the house.

  Martin stood, inhaled a lungful of the clear fresh air and followed her through the front door where he found Louise carrying the serving dishes to the table. “Here, let me take those.”

  “I’m fine. You wash up and see how Adele is getting on. She’s been upstairs for a while now.”

  He rolled his eyes and took the narrow stairs two at a time. At the top he turned left and knocked gently on the bathroom door. “Adele, are you in there, honey?”

  There was no response. He strained an ear, but heard nothing for a few seconds until he caught a faint sniffle. He closed his eyes, hoping to push down the panic beginning to rise. “Darling, open the door for Daddy, be a good girl now.”

  The door remained closed. It suddenly dawned on him that he was out of his depth. How would you deal with a child who wasn’t prepared to join in? Who refused to speak to you, tell you what the problem was? In truth, he didn’t have a clue. He’d never had to deal with her mood swings because, ashamedly, he’d rarely spent any time with her since her birth. Even when he and Debs had been loved up after Adele was born, he’d worked extra hours during the week, and often at the weekend, to replace the income Debs had lost by refusing to entertain going back to work.

  Another sniffle sounded. He tapped on the door again. “Adele, please speak to me. Aren’t you having fun, love? Do you want to go back home?” He winced as the words tripped out.

  Silence.

  “Adele, open the door. Let’s talk about this.”

  Again, nothing.

  Until finally, the small bolt slid back and his daughter opened the door. He pushed it back to reveal an upset child which was killing him inside.

  He crouched down to her level and held out his arms. “Come here. Daddy needs a cuddle.”

  Adele gingerly walked into his arms, placed her head on his shoulder and whispered, “I don’t know what to do, Daddy. I don’t know you.”

  Tears instantly welled, and a huge lump developed in his throat. What in God’s name am I supposed to say to that?

  Finally, he cleared his throat and said, “I know. That’s my fault, sweetie. Let’s see if we can change that over the coming week. Would you like to try?”

  “I think so. I miss Mummy. Can she come and stay with us?”

  “Mummy is busy, honey. She told me you could spend the week with us, having fun. I’ll tell you what, if the weather is good tomorrow, we’ll go down to the beach; you’d like that, feeling the sand between your toes, wouldn’t you?”

  “What’s sand? I’ve never been to the beach.”

  “You’ll see tomorrow. You’ll love it, I promise you with all my heart. Now, are you hungry?”

  She inhaled a shuddering breath. “I think so. Can I have a cheese sandwich?”

  “Try and eat the dinner Louise has prepared for you first. If you don’t like it, then we’ll make you a cheese sandwich.”

  “I’ll try.”

  He stood and clutched her hand tightly, then led her back down the stairs and into the living room, to the small dining table squeezed under the stairs.

  “Everything all right?” Louise frowned in concern.

  “I think so. Adele is missing her mummy.”

  “Aww… you’re allowed to miss her, sweetie. Come and sit next to Matilda.”

  Adele shook her head and gripped her father’s hand tighter. “I want to sit with my daddy.”

  The only problem was, that seat was occupied by Jake. Louise and Martin glanced at each other. Eventually, Louise said, “Jake, sorry, love, would you mind moving seats?”

  “Do I have to?” Jake shovelled an extra portion of chicken into his mouth.

  “No, but you’d be doing me a favour if you did.”

  “All right, just for you, Mum. Can I get an extra portion of pudding?”

  Louise and Martin both laughed. “Yes, son, you can.” Louise leaned over and pecked her son on the cheek. “Thank you.”

  Once Jake had moved seats, Martin lifted Adele and placed her on the chair, then tucked it under the table. He sat down next to his daughter and loaded both of their plates with chicken and salad.

  Adele stared at her plate for a long time, then she picked at the chicken but left the salad.

  “Don’t you like salad, Adele?” Louise asked gently.

  “I don’t know, I’ve never eaten it. It doesn’t look nice. We have a rabbit at playschool who eats that.” She pointed at the lettuce.

  Martin eyed Louise over the top of his daughter’s head and shrugged.

  “You can leave it if you try and don’t like the taste,” Louise assured her.

  Adele stuck her fork into the chicken slices and raised a large one to her mouth. Once she’d tasted it and found she liked it, she dug her fork into the next slice until all the chicken had gone.

  “Try a tomato, sweetie,” Martin urged, pointing out the red fruit on her plate.

  She tried to puncture the skin with her fork and the small cherry tomato shot off her plate and onto the table. They all roared with laughter, even Adele.

  “Want to try that again?” Martin asked. He returned the tomato to his daughter’s plate and using her fork, he speared it and offered it up for her to eat.

  She hesitated for a while and then opened her tiny mouth to consume the fruit.

  “There, did you like it?” Louise asked.

  “Yes, I think so. I don’t want anything else. I’m full.” Adele sat back, folded her arms and pursed her lips tightly, blocking any attempt of Martin trying to force-feed her.

  Louise shook her head, telling him not to push her too much. Instead, the four of them continued to enjoy their dinner and left Adele to sulk.

  After clearing the plates and depositing them in the kitchen, Louise returned with a shop-bought trifle. “Who’s for pudding?”

  Matilda and Jake excitedly raised their hands and squealed in delight. But Adele remained aloof and shook her head. “Don’t like it.”

  “What? Since when doesn’t a child eat trifle?” Martin replied in mock-disbelief.

  “It’s fine,” Louise muttered. “How about a piece of fruit instead, Adele?”

  “I want ice cream,” Adele snapped back.

  “Ah, well, I knew it wouldn’t last on the journey here so I didn’t bother buying any, we’ll buy some tomorrow to put in the freezer, how’s that?”

  Adele glared at Louise and shouted, “I want it now.”

  Martin’s fist slammed on the table, startling everyone. “That’s enough. I think it’s time you learnt some manners, my girl. Louise has created this lovely meal for you which you’ve barely touched and…”

  Louise shook her head, making him pause. “It’s okay, Martin, all this is new to Adele. She must be tired after her long journey.”

  Adele’s head swivelled between Louise and Martin as though she was watching a game of tennis at Wimbledon.

  Nothing more was said as the four of them tucked into their luscious trifle. Martin tried to offer Adele a spoonful, but she stubbornly turned her head and clamped her lips together.

  After dinner, they cleared the plates. Louise insisted on doing the washing-up while Martin occupied the children with a game of Snap. At last, Adele appeared to perk up. She even won a few times, which put an extra smile on her chubby little face.

  Bath time came around not long after. Matilda and Jake shared a bath, but Adele refused to, which didn’t surprise Martin one bit. Instead, she agreed to take a shower and Louise stood in the bathroom, acting as a chaperone for the five-year-old. After which, Martin took over. All the kids shared
the main bedroom. There was a double bed and a single tucked into the eaves. Matilda and Adele shared the double while Jake hopped into the single. Martin read them a bedtime story about the Gruffalo. All three of them listened intently. Now and then, either Matilda or Jake interrupted Martin to ask a question, but again, Adele said nothing, she just stared up at the ceiling, waiting for him to continue.

  The final words read, he slapped the book shut and kissed the three of them goodnight. Matilda’s and Jake’s eyes were already drooping, but Adele still appeared to be wide awake. He stretched out beside his daughter and cuddled her. At first, she was as stiff as a board. He sang her the soothing lullaby he used to sing right after she was born, and eventually, after around an hour, she drifted off to sleep.

  Lifting her head, he slipped his arm out and kissed her on the forehead. You’re such an angelic soul when you’re asleep. I hope you’re not going to make us regret bringing you here this week.

  After checking on Matilda and Jake, ensuring they were both warm and covered by the quilt, he tiptoed out of the room and back downstairs where he found Louise enjoying a glass of wine and watching Emmerdale. She switched off the TV, knowing how much he detested the soaps.

  “All asleep, finally?”

  He nodded and sipped at his glass of wine. “Yep, I don’t have to tell you who was the last to drop off, do I?”

  Louise giggled and snuggled up to him. She placed the woollen rug over his lap. “This place is lovely, but chilly in the evening; that’s the trouble when you have all these exposed walls. Not worth lighting the wood burner though, we’ll be off to bed ourselves soon, right?”

  “If you insist. Are you having fun?”

  “The best time ever. I hope Adele settles down soon and begins to enjoy herself.”

  His arm tightened around her. “That’s what I’m hoping, too. Is it just me or does she treat me like a stranger most of the time? I know she calls me Daddy, but that could be just a word to her, one without a meaning attached.”

  Louise pulled away from him and sat upright. “I think you’re guilty of overthinking things. You are her daddy, no one in this world can dispute that fact.”