Distraction: The Distraction Trilogy #1

by A. E. Murphy

  Great, now I’m hungry.

  “Go have your lunch. I need to get back to the hall.” Eloise pushes her friend towards the exit. “Call me later.”

  “Remember to plan something for your birthday!” Hayley calls as she walks backwards away from us.

  “Okay,” Eloise responds flippantly as her thumbs scroll over her phone screen. We walk in silence for a few steps before she stops and curses. “Sorry, I just closed something I needed open.” I stand and wait and realise there’s no reason I should be standing and waiting.

  But I am.

  Why?

  “I should go.”

  Eloise looks at me and tilts her head, seemingly confused at what I just said.

  “Unless you need something?”

  “No, I just forgot what I wanted to ask you.” Well that explains the confusion.

  “You wanted to ask me something?” Now I’m interested.

  She scratches her neck and looks around as if willing the answer to appear. “Yeah, it couldn’t have been important.” She shakes her head and starts walking, her eyes on her phone once more. “Speak to you later, Mr Price.”

  My body goes tense and my heart beats painfully for a few seconds. I can’t decipher the pain or why I’m feeling it. “Speak to you later, Miss Blackburn.”

  She waves a hand at me as she saunters away, her mind in another place.

  I watch her vanish through the double doors of the hall and that pain returns. It’s sharp and irritating. It’s something I’ve never felt before.

  I should start eating healthier; it feels like it could be my heart.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Eloise

  “Eloise, would you please be a dear and warm my tea up for me? I’m afraid it’s gone cold during our engaging conversation.” Mrs Price, who insists I call her by her actual name, Judith, says and holds her mug out to me.

  I smile, happy to help, and take the mug into the kitchen.

  Mr Price Senior asked me if I’d come and keep his wife company whilst he supervised the installation of a bunch of equipment that I don’t recognise at all. I know it’s for Judith and her illness, but not what it’s for exactly.

  Isaac would have been here to keep his mother company, but he is currently running through a script and helping everybody prepare for the scare night which, as expected, is the talk of the town. My nerves on this subject are way above the danger level.

  I feel badly for Mr Price Senior. He’s got so much going on and I wonder if he ever gets the chance to have a break, although I’m not sure if he’d take it if he did. You can see he loves his wife dearly and I can only hope I find that kind of love one day.

  When the kettle boils and I’ve made Judith a fresh drink, I take it back into the room on a tray, with a few biscuits stolen from the tin on the side, and place it on her lap.

  “What is that racket in the dining room?” She gasps, her hand to her chest as the sound of a hammer hitting the wall shakes the house.

  Even though I’ve only visited a few times, I’ve figured out it’s better to not point out Judith’s memory mistakes and instead to just repeat yourself. She gets upset otherwise, knowing she’s forgotten something. I’m not sure if it’s the healthiest manner in which to treat her, but for now it’s the only way I know.

  “It’s your husband, setting up some new equipment to make things easier for you.”

  “Oh.” She blinks, clearly shocked. “Easier for me how?”

  I shrug and laugh as I answer. “I genuinely don’t have a clue. I haven’t asked, but I’m sure Mr Price will tell you later.”

  “Well I hope it doesn’t last much longer. My head is pounding.”

  “If it’s not finished by tomorrow afternoon, let me know and I’ll take you out in your chair. We can go for coffee at Crystal’s and eat those chocolate twist pastries that you love.”

  She nods, finally appeased. “That would be delightful, wouldn’t it?”

  “Definitely.”

  “Bloody hell!” Mr Price yells from the next room and I hear two of the work men start laughing.

  When he comes through with dust and plaster in his hair, I laugh with them.

  Apparently I’m in detention for the rest of the year. I’ve let his wife rob his wallet time and time again and now I’m laughing at his expense.

  He’s all talk.

  I hope.

  Isaac

  I enter my father’s home with Katherine, both of us exhausted and ready for our promised meal. My mother sits patiently in the living room with her legs up on the foot rest.

  Katherine follows me into the room and waits as I kiss Mum on the cheek. “Did Dad cook?” I motion to the plate of food on her lap, taking note of the sliced lamb, sitting on a bed of potatoes and aubergines. It smells divine.

  “My dearest Eloise made dinner before leaving. It’s wonderful. A shame you just missed her, but I’m certain she left you some. She said it’s in the pot on the stove.” Mum takes a bite of her dinner and nods slowly. “It’s extremely good.”

  “Eloise?” Katherine whispers, her brow furrowed.

  “She visits my mum sometimes.” I brush past her and head into the dining room where my dad is sweeping the dust from the wooden floor. “Still not finished?”

  “Tomorrow, definitely.” My dad taps the glass box that vanishes into the ceiling. “They only need to wire it up correctly and perform a few checks.”

  The newly installed elevator, which is small in comparison to a normal elevator, stands in the corner of the room but takes up most of it. “Looks good.”

  “It’s a bloody sight for sore eyes!” My father hisses angrily, throwing the gathered dust from the dustpan into an open bin bag. “I just hope she doesn’t hate it entirely.”

  “She’ll be fine.” I back out of the room. “Have you eaten?”

  “No, Eloise left us something on the stove. There’s bread in the oven too.”

  “I’ll make you a plate.”

  My dad notices Katherine and gives her a polite nod before returning to his work. I make my way into the kitchen and set about serving up the concoction that sits in the metal casserole dish.

  “She comes often?” Katherine pulls the bread baguettes from the oven and starts slicing them on the cutting board by the sink.

  “Sometimes. My mum enjoys her company.”

  “I imagine your mum gets plenty of visitors? I hope Eloise isn’t bothering her.”

  The hairs on the back of my neck stand up. “Nobody visits because nobody gives a damn. It shows a lot about the character of such a young girl when she takes time out of her busy schedule to visit a terminally ill woman. Don’t you think?”

  Katherine bristles and quickly tries to excuse herself. “I could visit… I have plenty of time on my hands.”

  I don’t respond. I don’t know why, but her offer annoys me. I don’t want her to visit just because she feels obliged or threatened by a seventeen year old girl. It’s petty and I won’t have my mother being an object in said pettiness.

  “This is actually really good,” Katherine grumbles, seemingly displeased at the fact said seventeen year old girl can cook.

  When I take my first bite I can’t help but agree with her. It is exceptionally good and the bread dipped in the juice is beyond words.

  We sit in the living room with my mother and eat with simple chatter.

  It doesn’t take Katherine long to make her play. “I’d be honoured to visit tomorrow, if you don’t have any plans, Judith?”

  My mother smiles warmly at Katherine. “That would be wonderful, but I’ve already made plans. Young Eloise promised to take me out in my chair to Crystal’s café. We’re going to eat those fabulous chocolate twists she makes.”

  I smirk but manage to hide it from Katherine’s view. “I’d join you, but I’m at the school supervising again.”

  “That’s okay. It’s mostly to get me away from the noise. My head has been pounding.”

  Katherine’s
jaw clenches. “I bet. Well, you have my number. Call me when you’re free.”

  “I’ll make sure to do that.” My mum responds cordially, her eyes once again on the TV. “How are the preparations coming along Isaac?”

  “Brilliantly. You should see it; it actually looks really good. The students have invested a lot of their time preparing it.”

  “It was an excellent idea.”

  “That it was.”

  “We should do something nice for the students to thank them when it’s all done.”

  I was thinking that myself. “We’ll think of something.”

  “I think most of them are just happy to have their names in the paper,” Katherine jokes and she’s not wrong. “It’s funny, because half of the kids that are working on this are the kids I’d consider the naughtiest. They’re the ones I’d least expect to help a good cause.”

  My mum sighs softly. “It just goes to show that these kids are good kids. They just need something to focus on.”

  She’s not wrong.

  As I’m driving Katherine home, the subject that is Eloise’s pregnancy comes up. I wish I had never said anything. It wasn’t my business to share.

  Katherine believes differently. “Maybe you could leave a note for her father or mother… I just feel so bad knowing what I know and not being able to do anything about it.”

  “I don’t see why. It’s none of your business; keep it that way.”

  “I overheard her and her friends talking about a possible night out clubbing. If she goes, she’s endangering that poor foetus.”

  “And again,” I snap, my hands tightening on the wheel. “It’s none of our business. Besides, they haven’t even made plans for her birthday.”

  “Oh, and how do you know that?”

  “Because when I dropped the costumes off, Hayley, Eloise’s closest friend, told Eloise to make a plan for her birthday.” I’m exasperated. “Look, I told you that in confidence. If you say anything, you’d be breaching student confidentiality, which could cost you your job.”

  Her mouth drops open. “You’re the one who told me, remember?”

  “Yes, but because as a fellow teacher I know I can trust you to do the right thing by the law. If you break that trust, it’s on you.” I finally pull up outside of her house, hoping she’ll climb immediately from my car and bugger off. “Goodnight, Katherine.”

  “I won’t say anything, okay?”

  “I’m tired; it’s been a long day.” I lean over her and pull on the handle to open her door. She huffs but finally exits my vehicle, storming towards her house.

  I drive away quickly, wanting to put as much distance between myself and that woman as possible. Lord knows I can’t stand her anymore. Sure she’s nice enough and she cares about her students, but sometimes she can be intolerable.

  When I pull up to my apartment building, I make quick work of grabbing the rubbish that is littered across the floor of my car. I stuff it into an empty carrier bag and dig under the seats for more. My hand connects with something small and soft.

  Pulling it out from under the passenger seat, I frown in confusion.

  Did Katherine leave her bag in the car?

  I’m almost certain she grabbed it on her way out. Plus I’m sure it was bigger than this one.

  I turn the overhead light on and run my fingers over the dark red velvet. It’s a very small bag. I doubt it could fit more than a purse and a phone.

  Opening it up, I find nothing but two packets of chewing gum, a purse and an empty carton of apple juice. The second I see the carton I know who it belongs to, but I open the purse to check. It’s empty, save for Eloise’s ID and, hidden between the card slots, a condom. Nice. I thought only men carried condoms this way.

  It’s a shame she didn’t use it when she needed it.

  I immediately make note of the girl’s birthday. She turns eighteen the day before Halloween. How unfortunate for her, having to share her birthday back to back with a famous holiday.

  I’ll give it to her tomorrow. She seemed to forget about it, so it’s not like she needs it urgently. Although I am passing her house, it might be a bit odd if I take it so late. She could be at work.

  I’ll just drive by and see if any of the lights are on, though I don’t know what that will prove.

  Her house, which isn’t huge but is larger than most and definitely fancy with its fresh paint job and controlled ivy climbing the walls by the main door, is completely dark. I pull up by the gates guarding the long driveway and notice a lack of cars. I’m sure she mentioned that she uses her mum’s car on occasion, which means her dad probably has his own car.

  I should just knock. I don’t know why I’m making a huge deal out of it.

  Eloise

  I pull my dressing gown tight around me and pad down the stairs, flicking on the light as I go.

  Maybe Mum forgot her keys. It wouldn’t surprise me, although her coming home this early would definitely surprise me.

  I open the door and almost slam it shut again when I see who’s standing on my porch.

  “Mr Price.” I run my fingers through my hair as my other hand clutches my gown closed. “Is there a problem?” He holds up a small bag and a memory hits me. “I completely forgot about that.”

  “I figured you did. I just found it in my car and was driving past so…” He holds it out, a smile on his face. “Here.”

  I take it and place it on the table by the door. “Thanks for bringing it back.”

  “No problem,” he answers and chews on his thick lower lip. He stands there for a moment and I’m not sure why. When he realises that he’s lingering, he blinks and stuffs his hands in his pockets. “Well, goodnight, Eloise.”

  “Elle,” I tell him before he turns away. “You should umm… call me Elle. Everybody else does.” My heart stutters and panics before fluttering with a thousand butterfly wings when he smiles that charming smile I think I might have a mini crush on.

  “Right…” He clears his throat and takes a step back. “Goodnight, Elle.”

  I nod, my face flushing. “Goodnight, Isaac.”

  His shock is apparent but I close the door before I can apologise and then lean my forehead against the cool plastic. I can’t believe I just said that and with a smirk too… what is wrong with me?

  I don’t move away from the door until I hear his car drive away and even then I can’t seem to steady my heavy beating heart.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Isaac

  I can’t believe I agreed to this.

  Seriously, why did I agree to this?

  As I stalk behind the latest group of unsuspecting people, I scrape my prop knife against the lockers, barely stifling my laughter when the lights flicker, showing them my form for only a brief second. The lights go off, plunging us into darkness. Not a single light can be seen and only their screams can be heard.

  I stand beside one of the young girls in the group and tug on her hair. The lights flicker and, still screaming, they take off towards the next area and I quickly return to my original position to wait for the next group.

  I have to admit, this job does have its perks.

  The ear piece glued to the inside of my ear crackles before I hear my father’s gruff and quiet voice. “Be ready. Here they come.”

  Luckily Eloise’s Dad was nice enough to lend us the equipment his personal team of builders use to communicate when on a larger job site. I’m grateful to have communication with at least one person throughout this evening.

  The ear piece crackles again, but this time it’s another voice whispering into the device that controls each ear piece individually. “Mine and Hayley’s parents are in this group. Scare them good.”

  “I’m on it,” I murmur to myself, smiling wickedly when I hear the doors creak open.

  I’ve made a few fully grown men scream in the past hour, but these really take the cake. The women laugh out of fear as the men use them as shields. I’m not sure who is who in the dark, but I make s
ure to get as close to the men as possible after the lights go out and I wait until they flicker, forcing one of the men to stumble into the other in a bid to escape.

  I have no idea how anybody does this kind of thing without laughing. I’m no actor and this is hilarious.

  “The next group will be in soon. Are you ready?”

  I shake my head and pull the mic clipped to my shirt closer to my mouth. “Give me a second,” I pant through my laughter and race back to my slot in the wall. “You should have seen that.”

  “Miss Hart just told me my dad wants to go home.” Eloise giggles. “I can’t wait for him to step through that exit.” She pauses and clears her throat. “Your dad just sent the next group in.”

  “I’m on it.”

  Eloise

  The walk through the school lasts about ten to fifteen minutes, depending on how fast the groups move, but everybody exits unharmed and looking as excited and as scared as I hoped they would.

  I accept their appraisals of the event before throwing the walky-talky type device back to Mr Price Senior and going outside to check on the food sales. There are a few stalls set up where people can buy food, drinks and souvenirs. It’s actually really amazing. Not only are people getting an awesome scare, but they’re also able to sit and laugh about it with their friends with hot and cold drinks in hand.

  Unfortunately I haven’t had a chance to truly appreciate the walk yet, not like the rest of the helpers have. I’m too busy keeping the event from falling apart.

  The waiting line is massive, but it’s moving along quickly. More than half of the town have arrived already and are enjoying the creepy music blasting through the outdoor speakers. More and more arrive with their kids in costume and, by the size of their sweet bags, I’d say they’ve just been trick or treating.