The Girl Who Never : A twisted crime

by HC Michaels

He needed to talk to Elvira tonight when she calmed down. Maybe for once she’d see sense instead of being so bloody stubborn. If it turned into an argument, then so be it. It’d taken him over thirty years, but finally he’d gotten sick of being so bloody compliant.

  Lent was over. It was time to put his foot down. They had to get Tessa back.

  Tessa lay on the hotel bed, waiting for Tino. She’d texted him with her room number, hoping he’d join her. It had crossed her mind that maybe after he’d gotten what he clearly wanted from her at the pool that he’d lose interest in her like he had in Mykonos.

  To her relief, he texted straight back saying he was having dinner with his dad and would come over after that.

  She felt a little guilty taking him away from his father on his last night on the island, but he reassured her that his father usually went to bed early so it would make no difference to him if he was there or not.

  She was glad. She really needed a friend tonight. Or a lover. Or whatever it was that Tino was to her. The scene at the apartment earlier had torn her in pieces. She felt sick not being able to say a proper goodbye to Millie.

  The way Elvira had snatched Millie away just as she was about to give her a hug was one of the most heartless things she’d ever experienced. It was killing her that she’d had to leave Millie to be raised by someone with as little compassion as Elvira. What hope did that poor angel have?

  Her dreams of watching Millie grow into a young girl, then a teenager, then an adult, slipped away. She wouldn’t be part of her life moving forward. She wouldn’t be there at her wedding with a tear in her eye as she remembered what a spirited and loving child she’d once been.

  Maybe she could email Paul and ask him to keep her updated on Millie’s progress. Not that he’d be likely to agree to that. If Elvira found out, she’d chop off his nuts and sprinkle them on her muesli for breakfast.

  It was nice of him to drive her to the hotel. That hill was hard enough to walk up without wheeling a suitcase behind her.

  If only he wore the pants in his marriage instead of Elvira. He wouldn’t have fired her. He’d always treated her with respect. Not that he was home very much. He felt like more of a shadow than an actual person who lived in that house.

  She’d always thought it was Elvira he was avoiding but wondered now if she had that wrong. Perhaps it was Bianca he was avoiding—or at least the memory of her.

  Or perhaps it was himself. He had to have some kind of raw emotion lurking below his placid facade. Maybe when he was at work he could pretend he was someone else. It was always harder to fool yourself that your troubles didn’t exist when you were at home looking them in the face.

  There was a knock at her door.

  Tino.

  She leapt out of bed and ran towards the door, desperate to feel his arms around her.

  He smirked when she opened it.

  “You look shocking,” he said.

  “I know.” She buried her face in his chest and he held her.

  She felt her worries slide away as she drew in the familiar woody scent of his cologne.

  “Can I come in?” he asked, laughing.

  She broke the hug, pulled him inside and closed the door.

  “I warned you Elvira was a bitch,” he said.

  “I don’t want to talk about her.” Tessa lifted her tee-shirt over her head and undid the button on her shorts, letting them slide to the floor.

  All she wanted was to lose herself in Tino. He, and only he, could wipe all thoughts of Millie from her mind. The way he touched her, the way he made her feel, that was all her brain could process when he was in the room.

  “Should we go to the bathroom?” he asked.

  “What?” She frowned.

  “You seemed to like screwing in the toilets earlier, you dirty girl.” He nipped at her neck, and she squealed.

  “The bed’s fine,” she said, wishing he wouldn’t be so crass.

  “You know—”

  “Shh,” she hushed, not wanting him to say anything else to ruin her new opinion of him. She needed to spend the night with the perfect man she’d imagined him to be. She didn’t need reality getting in the way.

  “Don’t speak,” she said. “Just do what you do best.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He scooped her off the floor and carried her to the bed.

  She arched her back and raised her arms above her head as he disposed of her underwear and nestled his head between her thighs, preparing to do his best, just as he’d been told.

  And, boy, did he do it well.

  5 Days Before The Break

  Elvira hadn’t thought it would be possible for Amelia’s crying to go for so long. She’d ended up lying down on the floor next to her and crying tears of her own.

  She cried for Amelia. She cried for Bianca. She cried for her mother. She cried for her crumbling marriage. She cried for her lost brother. She cried for her lost self.

  Her eyes burned from her tears. Her soul ached from her pain, and she wondered if she’d ever find a way to escape her misery.

  Eventually, Amelia fell asleep on the carpet in front of the door. Her little body was curled up, her knees and arms tucked into her chest as if protecting herself from the cruelty of the world. Or the cruelty of her mother, more like it.

  Elvira knew that’s what Amelia thought. But one day she’d understand she had Amelia’s best interests at heart. She wasn’t trying to be cruel.

  She’d carried Amelia to her bed and fallen asleep beside her with one arm draped across her tummy. Amelia wasn’t likely to want to hug her when she was awake so she may as well make the most of it while she slept.

  The apartment was quiet when Elvira woke up. If Paul was home, he must be asleep, too. Or working on his laptop. She glanced at the clock, surprised to see it was well after midnight.

  She got up, careful not to wake Amelia, and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Her throat was so dry.

  She knew she must look wretched. She could feel her eyes stinging from the earlier assault of tears. She turned on the light and caught sight of her reflection in the kitchen window.

  Yep. Wretched was the right word. It would take days for the bags under her eyes to disappear.

  Paul was on the sofa, his long legs dangling over one of the arm rests. He squinted and put his arm over his face.

  She filled a glass with water. “Sorry to wake you.”

  Paul sighed as he swung himself into a sitting position and rubbed at his temples, his dark hair standing up in a tuft on the crown of his head. He really needed a haircut.

  “Why are you sleeping out here?” She carried her water into the living room and perched on the end of the sofa.

  He shrugged.

  “Gee, you’re chatty.”

  “How chatty do you want me to be at three in the morning?” His voice was clipped. Maybe it was better when he wasn’t speaking.

  “Looks like someone got up on the wrong side of the sofa.” Elvira forced a smile to her lips, wanting him to return some warmth. It wasn’t like Paul to be so cool with her.

  He made a grunting sound to show he heard.

  “She stopped crying eventually.” Elvira took a long sip of water. “She’ll be okay, I think.”

  “You think?” he snapped. “You really think? I don’t think that you think at all.”

  She reeled back, unsure what to say. Who was this man? Paul always backed her up.

  “I don’t need this right now,” she said. For god’s sake, her mother had just died. He could be a little more supportive.

  “Well, if you didn’t need it, why did you do it?” He looked away from her and stared at a spot on the floor between his bare feet.

  “What the hell, Paul? Where’s this all coming from?” She set her glass down on the coffee table and moved closer to him.

  He fiddled with the sleeve of his black tee-shirt. “Why did you fire Tessa?”

  “I couldn’t trust her. She was seeing Tino behind my back.” She th
rew out her hands. “I have to trust the person looking after my…our daughter.”

  “Tessa’s a grown woman! She can see whoever she bloody well likes.” He glanced at her, his eyes burning with fury.

  Elvira’s mouth fell open as she tried to find words to fill it with.

  “It’s not like she took Amelia with her when she saw him,” Paul continued. “You really over-reacted.”

  “I hired Tessa. It’s my decision if I want to fire her.” Elvira crossed her arms, unsure what to do about this new husband she seemed to have found sleeping on her sofa.

  “But did you have to do it like that?” His voice dripped with disappointment.

  “It was her decision to leave straight away.” Elvira crossed her arms. “Did she tell you that? Or did she twist the story to suit herself?”

  Who knew what Tessa had said to Paul. Clearly, she’d said something to turn him against her. He’d never treated her like this.

  She put her hand on his leg, aware that if he’d behaved in his usual apathetic manner she’d be unlikely to be trying so hard to seek his approval. “Darling, Amelia’s going to be fine. I promise. Her obsession with Tessa wasn’t healthy. It had to end sooner or later. Better now while she’s still young. Soon, she won’t even remember her.”

  “But Tessa will remember Amelia. She loves her.” He shook his head. “It’s not right to tear them apart like that.”

  “I think you’re forgetting that Tessa was our nanny. Our paid help. She’s not her mother. I am.” Elvira fought at the tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. She thought she’d run out of tears, but it seemed she was wrong. There was a never-ending supply sitting behind her eyes ready to launch into action at any time.

  “Nobody’s questioning that you’re her mother.” His voice softened. “Even Tessa never questioned it. She was always respectful of that.”

  “Since when did you become Tessa’s biggest fan?” she asked. “You’re even worse than Amelia.”

  The way he was talking was making her start to wonder. Was there something between Tessa and Paul that she’d missed? Surely, not. Although, she wouldn’t be the first woman whose husband cheated with the nanny without her suspecting.

  “Don’t do that. You always twist things.” Paul rubbed at his eyes. “I really don’t have the energy for it.”

  “I just didn’t realise you had such a strong opinion about Tessa,” she said. “You hardly ever saw her, given you’re away so much.”

  “It’s not me who has the strong opinion about her. It’s our daughter.” He pointed to the bedroom where she was sleeping. “I hated seeing Amelia like that today. And no matter what you say, I can’t see her being any different tomorrow. Or the day after.”

  “Kids bounce back quickly,” she told him. “You’ll see.”

  “Are you trying to convince me or yourself?”

  She winced. He’d hit a nerve. She was worried about how quickly Amelia would bounce back—and if she ever would.

  “It’s too late now,” she said, letting defeat slip into her voice. “It’s done.”

  “Tessa’s still on the island. We can ask her to come back.” He looked up at her hopefully.

  She shook her head. “And how confusing would that be for Amelia? No, we can’t do that.”

  Paul sighed. He was tired. She was tired.

  “Come to bed.” She put out her hand. “We can talk about this in the morning.”

  He ignored her hand. “I don’t want to come to bed. I’ll sleep here.”

  “Come on,” she said, leaning down to kiss him gently on the cheek. “I’ll make it worth your while.”

  He didn’t move.

  She couldn’t stand this new angry husband. He was worse than the new angry self she’d become. If he made love to her, she’d know everything was okay. She’d know she was okay.

  She pulled her shirt over her head and undid her bra. Clearly, he needed a little more enticement.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, his voice still hot with anger.

  “You know what I’m doing.” She undid the top button of his shirt.

  “Sex won’t fix this.” He stood up and stepped away from her.

  “Then what will?” she asked, crossing her arms to cover her bare breasts.

  He raised his eyebrows. “I’ve had enough of this conversation.”

  He went to the hall table, slipped his feet into his sandals, and left.

  Elvira’s tears erupted once more.

  When Bianca died, she’d been cast out to sea. Paul was her life raft keeping her afloat, reminding her of her reason to exist.

  If he left her, she may as well let the ocean pull her under. Things were too hard here on dry land.

  Amelia would be better off without her. Paul could marry Tessa and they’d live happily ever after.

  They didn’t need her.

  She got up from the sofa and went to the bathroom to find her pills—the same pills she’d had to try hard over the years to take only one at a time. She just hoped there were enough left to do the job properly.

  She couldn’t take it anymore.

  Just like with Tessa, it was time for her to go.

  Tino was a little concerned about the way Tessa was talking. Didn’t she realise the reason there was so much electricity between them was because it was a holiday fling? If they woke up next to each other every morning, the spark would soon disappear.

  Fortunately, she needed to fly to Melbourne to pack up her stuff at Elvira’s house. Maybe she’d sort things out while she was there and end up staying.

  He’d enjoyed spending the night with her, although if he was honest, he’d probably enjoyed fucking her in the toilets more than in her hotel bed.

  Pressing her up against the wall of the cubicle had felt dangerous and wrong. When that woman had called them disgusting he’d gotten so hard he’d found it difficult to hold himself together. But, thankfully, he had.

  He prided himself on his ability to give as much pleasure as he took. There was no better feeling in the world than watching a woman panting and shaking under his fingertips—or his tongue, as had been the case with Tessa the night before. It made him feel powerful in a way nothing else did.

  He wondered if his insatiable sex drive came from being so sick as a teenager. He’d honestly thought he was going to die. His parents had, too—he could tell by the way they’d looked at him. All he could think about was what a shame it would be to die a virgin. The thought of that frightened him more than any of the hundreds of medical procedures he’d had to endure. As soon as he’d gotten better, he found himself a girlfriend, then another, then another, until he found one who was willing to erase his fears.

  Tessa had looked like crap when she first opened the door to her room. Her face was red and blotchy with puffy bags under her eyes. Although, once she’d taken off her clothes, he had other parts of her to distract him from her mess of a face. She had a hot body, that much was for sure. It didn’t matter how long she’d been crying, her tits were still soft, and her arse was still tight.

  He’d managed to successfully avoid conversation with her until she fell asleep with her head resting in the crook of his arm. Elvira had given him enough headaches over the years without him having to listen to the ones she was now giving Tessa. From the look of her, it hadn’t just been a headache, it was a full-blown migraine.

  The morning hadn’t brought the same luck and he quickly realised he wasn’t going to be able to avoid letting Tessa talk.

  She’d woken revived and chatty, ready to make plans for her future—plans that seemed to have far too much to do with him.

  He tried to escape by telling her he had to be at the airport early, but she decided to come with him and try her luck with a flight to Melbourne. She wanted to clear out her bedroom at Elvira’s house before the family returned.

  He was surprised Elvira hadn’t taken her key from her when she’d fired her. She’d probably have the locks changed instead.

&nbs
p; The shuttle bus pulled in at the airport and Tino helped Tessa off with her suitcase. She beamed at him appreciatively. It really wasn’t that hard to keep a woman happy.

  As soon as they entered the terminal, he knew something wasn’t right. It wasn’t that anything looked as it shouldn’t. It was more abstract than that. It was a feeling in the air.

  “What’s wrong?” Tessa asked when he came to a halt.

  “I’m not sure,” Tino said, looking around.

  Two policemen appeared from behind a counter. There was no doubt in his mind they were there for him.

  He turned back towards the entrance, assessing his options.

  Two more policemen were standing in front of the door, looking directly at him.

  “Tino, what’s happening?” Tessa’s voice was shaking.

  “Not sure, but we’re about to find out.” He braced himself for another day wasted being questioned by a bunch of shit-for-brains cops.

  The two policemen approached. The younger one was tall and lean, the other was well-built with an expanding waistline and a smug look about him. Nothing would give Tino more pleasure than wiping that smirk off his face with his fist.

  Arsehole.

  “I’ve got a flight to catch,” Tino told them.

  The older cop shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

  “You said I was free to leave.” Tino held up his hands.

  “That was before we found your DNA on the victim,” the younger cop said.

  Tessa gasped, taking several steps back, her hand plastered over her mouth. A policewoman who seemed to have materialised out of nowhere grabbed her by the arm.

  “Listen here,” the older cop said, stepping so close Tino could smell coffee on his stinking breath. “We can do this a couple of ways. You can come with us quietly and we’ll arrest you at the station, or we can do it here. Be a shame to upset all these families though, wouldn’t it?”

  “I want a lawyer,” said Tino. “I’m not saying another word without one.”

  “Oh, you’re going to need one, mate,” said the cop. “A real good one, too.”

  “This is fucked up,” Tino hissed.