Last Night

by Kerry Wilkinson

  ‘Wait and see.’

  ‘Is Liv here?’

  ‘Wouldn’t you like to know?’

  Tyler mumbles something and I turn to look at him as he slides to the floor. I want to help but I’m not sure what I can do.

  ‘What did you do to him?’ I ask.

  ‘He was a late addition. Bit of an accident, really. He’s dropped around a couple of times to pick up Liv after her class. Always seemed like a good kid to me – not that you thought so. You always see the worst in people. He was stomping down the road looking angry the other night. I asked if he was all right and he said you’d been on at him. I asked if he wanted a smoke or drink back at mine. Quick couple of dissolvable painkillers in his beer and out he went. I told you they knock me right out. They did the same for him.’ She pauses and I can imagine her licking her lips. ‘…And Liv.’

  She said Olivia was sleeping and I can only hope it’s true and nothing more. I wonder if I can get to Ellie, perhaps wrestle the knife away. The moment I take a step forward, the sandy dust crunches underfoot.

  Ellie tells me to stop and I do. Any movements I make are a giveaway. I’m stuck in the corner next to Tyler until she decides otherwise.

  ‘Have you had Tyler here the whole time?’ I ask.

  ‘Course not. He was in my basement most of the time. Heavier than he looks, mind. Getting him up the stairs and into the rental car was hard work.’

  ‘That’s how you got his blood?’

  ‘Obviously. For a while I hoped the police might latch on. Find the blood on your car, then I realised you’d done a good job cleaning. Had to leave a little more.’

  I suppose that explains the little things around the house. Keys being moved, a faked break-in, the missing money. All little bits and pieces to keep me on edge. Ellie waited for me to leave the house and then used her keys to get in and out.

  ‘I told Tyler I’d kill Olivia if he tried to escape,’ Ellie says. ‘He really does care for her. He’s been as good as gold all week. I guess the sedatives help, but still… Good job the doctor was so happy to dish out the prescription. I was only turning it on a bit to try to get a whiplash claim in. Didn’t realise he’d give me more drugs than a Colombian war lord.’

  ‘What did you mean when you said you were going to take Liv?’

  ‘What do you think?’

  ‘She’s not dead…?’

  Ellie lets it hang, taking a while to reply. ‘I’m not going to do anything,’ she says. ‘You’ve already done it. Going off the rails, remember? Erratic. Unpredictable.’

  It suddenly dawns properly that it’s her aim to pin on me whatever she has planned for Olivia and Tyler.

  I shiver, my words trembling as well: ‘People won’t believe I did any of this.’

  ‘Really? Not even after Olivia texts her father to say you’ve been acting really weird? That she’s worried about what you might do? Not after your many arguments with Tyler? All the rows with Dan? The blood in the garage? You don’t think that perhaps there’s a speck of blood you might have missed in your car? Did you find his chain? After all that, you don’t think people will believe you could do any of this…?’

  She’s right. She was right before that people are desperate to believe others are mad and she’s right about this. I’ve left a trail of destruction around me for seven days and it’s all too easy to believe I’ve lost it.

  ‘Were you at the hotel?’ I ask.

  ‘I didn’t think you’d make it so easy. Simply enough to invent Luke and set up an email and website. Suggest a hotel. Took me less than an hour. Keeping track of mobile phones was a nuisance, though. I almost texted you from the wrong one. After that, it wasn’t hard to persuade someone to slip something into your drink. Expensive but easy. There was something cathartic about driving you out to the middle of nowhere and then dragging you into the driver’s seat. The whole time, I was thinking about how you’d done exactly that to my brother. I wondered if it might trigger some memories. A bit of guilt for once. Perhaps you’d own up to your own actions, instead of blaming others?’

  I’m silent but I slide myself forward a couple of steps without raising my feet. It’s the only way I can manage to move without making a noise. I can only see Ellie’s shadow but, if she’s in the dark, that means she can’t see much of me either.

  ‘What I didn’t expect,’ she adds, ‘is that you’d be suspicious of so many other people. You’re so self-centred. It’s been hilarious watching you this week. You even ran over wanting to borrow my car. What is wrong with you?’

  I suppose she has me there. Something is wrong with me. There has to be. I leave carnage in my wake. Look at Dan. He’s intelligent with a good job. We’ve created a talented, smart young woman in Olivia – and yet I’ve spent years arguing with both of them.

  ‘Why go through all the effort?’ I ask. ‘The hotel, the car, the house, Tyler…’

  ‘Because I wanted you to feel a fraction of the confusion, the anger, the pain, I’ve had of being by myself for twenty years – all because of you.’

  Ellie’s shouting now, drowning out the roar of the river with the snarl of her voice.

  ‘You can’t know what it’s like to have a twin, to share a womb, and have that ripped away. At least you’ll get to feel some of that now.’

  ‘Where’s Olivia?’

  Ellie has crescendoed to a peak of fury but when she speaks next, she’s measured once more – and terrifyingly direct. ‘She’s already dead.’

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  It doesn’t sound real. I’ve heard what Ellie said but she speaks with such disdain that I can’t take it in.

  ‘She’s… dead?’

  ‘Drowned in the river outside by a jealous parent. What a tragedy.’

  ‘No…’

  ‘See for yourself.’

  It takes a second or two for my legs to move. They’re heavy with fatigue and the burden of everything I’ve done.

  As well as the front door, the watermill has a second that leads almost onto the river itself. It opens onto a wooden platform adjacent to the waterwheel. All of that was rotting twenty years ago.

  Ellie disappears into the shadows, allowing me to stagger my way to the far wall. I can make out the door because of a faint rim of light around the edge. It’s held in place by a flimsy hook and I’m blinded as the white-grey of the sky pours inside. I’m squinting as I clumsily fumble my way onto the platform. The wood is soft and springy, like a trampoline. The combination of that and the dazzling light leaves me on my knees, crawling towards the waterwheel.

  Decades back, we’d run along the platform and leap onto the wheel, trying to scramble up as the water drove the paddles in the opposite direction. Like trying to walk up an escalator that’s going down.

  I turn in a semicircle, looking at the water for any sign of Olivia. She’s not here.

  Except… there’s a dark shape next to the waterwheel… under the waterwheel. At first I think it might be a flapping piece of plastic or rubber – but then I recognise Olivia’s leather jacket. I hurl myself flat onto the edge of the platform, trying to scoop my arms around her as the torrent surges into me. Olivia is face-down, held in place by a piece of the same washing line rope with which Tyler is tied. It’s strung across two hooks embedded in the wheel. There are many other hooks and nails protruding from the sodden wood and, as I reach for Olivia, something slices into my other arm. At least I’ll have matching scars.

  I unhook the rope and, for a terrifying second, Olivia drops limply under the surface of the water. The only reason she isn’t carried away is that she catches on the paddle board itself. It takes all my effort to get an arm underneath her and then yank her clear of the river. I fall backwards onto the platform with her on top of me.

  She’s a mass of ruffled pink hair and sodden, torn black clothes. When I turn Olivia over, her eyes are closed, her skin waxy and grey. My only hope is that she was somehow able to breathe in the air pocket under the paddles of the wheel, rat
her than being dragged completely under by the river flow. I say her name but there’s no response. Her chest isn’t rising.

  ‘Shame…’

  I glance backwards towards Ellie, who has emerged onto the platform. Tyler is at her feet, slumped and seemingly unconscious.

  ‘How long was she under?!’

  I’m shouting but get no response. We were talking inside for a good while and I have no idea how long I was unconscious before that. I turn back to Olivia, pushing down hard in the centre of her chest, pumping five times and then pressing my ear to her lips. I’m hoping for a miracle.

  ‘You drowned your own daughter,’ Ellie says. ‘Then you drowned her boyfriend.’

  I pump five more times on Olivia’s chest. ‘No.’

  ‘People will believe it.’

  I risk another glance and Ellie is closer to me, knife in her hand.

  Five more pumps. Olivia’s not moving.

  ‘I figured I could get rid of your body somewhere in the woods,’ Ellie says. ‘Let someone discover poor Liv and Tyler in the river. Let everyone make up their own minds about you. They’ll probably assume you’re on the run. Either that or killed yourself and floated downstream. Doesn’t matter which.’

  Five more pumps and then I stand and spin. Ellie is a couple of steps away, the knife tight in her grip, the blade angled towards me. I ball my fists, trying not to shiver.

  ‘Really?’ Ellie’s laughing. ‘When have you ever been a fighter?’

  And then Olivia coughs.

  Chapter Fifty

  It’s a beautiful sound.

  I spin back to Olivia and she rolls onto her side, spitting water onto the platform. She would have swallowed so much water but must have found the air pocket. I drop to my knees, cradling her head as she groans and continues to spit up nastiness. I want to stay with her but there’s a creak from behind and I turn quickly, rising to face the advancing Ellie.

  ‘Stay away,’ I hiss.

  I felt defeated before, perhaps deserving of whatever happened to me. But Olivia doesn’t warrant this, and neither does Tyler. Ellie’s face is twisted with wrath, the knife raised. She lunges towards me, but it’s hard to get a sound footing on the saturated wood and she slips. It’s not enough to send her tumbling but plenty to telegraph her move. I step to the side, which only makes her angrier. This time, I don’t wait for her. I hurl myself at Ellie’s midriff, throwing an arm around her in a rugby tackle. I slip but my momentum is enough to send us both flying.

  Something hurts… lots of things hurt. I have scratches along both arms, the thumping at the back of my head, the old rib injury. For a moment, everything is spinning but I blink it away as we slide towards the water. Ellie is thrashing and fighting but I’m on top… or think I am. The moment I try to stabilise myself, my knee sinks into the plasticine-like mush of wood. That shifting of weight is enough for Ellie to ram an elbow into my side, which is quickly followed by a second that connects with the spot where I broke my ribs all those years ago.

  I see stars for a second as everything swirls. There’s blood in my mouth, more drooling across my eyelid. When I open my eyes, Ellie is on top, knees straddled across my chest, pinning my elbows to the floor. She’s foaming at the mouth, eyes frenzied.

  She raises the knife with both hands, sacrifice-style.

  ‘Goodbye, Rosie.’

  I close my eyes, anticipating...

  And then the weight lifts.

  I open my eyes, feeling the sting of the light. The shadow of an angel is standing over me. Big and strong David. Always my saviour.

  I blink.

  It’s not David. There’s an army jacket and scruffy boots.

  Jason.

  He’s torn the knife from Ellie’s hand and hurls it into the river as she aims a slap towards him. He deftly steps away, somehow making it easy to balance on this sponge.

  ‘No,’ he says.

  Ellie flings herself at him but he holds onto her wrists with poise and control.

  ‘This is for you! For us!’

  Ellie is howling, practically spitting in her brother’s face, but he doesn’t react.

  ‘She was driving. She killed Wayne. It was always her. Look what she’s done to us.’

  Everything is hazy, like watching through greaseproof paper. I might imagine it, but I’m sure Jason glances to me. He doesn’t speak, doesn’t do anything other than offer the briefest of glimpses, but in that moment he tells me that’s he’s always known. Ellie might have been taken in by me switching seats in the car, but never Jason. He knew I killed his brother and yet he willingly started a relationship with me anyway. I’m hardly blameless but this is why he went off the rails. I may have broken his heart – but he’d already betrayed his flesh and blood.

  ‘I don’t want this,’ Jason says.

  Ellie flaps and tries to fight but Jason is far stronger than she is. My head flops back as pain surges through me. I wonder if Ellie has broken my ribs again, or if the blow to my head did more damage than I thought. I want to open my eyes and watch what’s happening, to see how it ends, but it hurts so much. I want to cradle Olivia, to make sure she’s safe. My last thought before everything goes black is to wonder whether this is a dream. Perhaps there is no Jason at all. No angel. Not this time. Ellie stabbed me and it’s all over.

  Chapter Fifty-One

  The lights are so bright that it feels like I’m burning. It’s either the fiery brimstone of hell, or the pearly gates of heaven. Except it’s neither, of course it’s not.

  ‘Hi…’

  Dan.

  His voice is soft and kindly and I feel something – him – stroking the back of my hand. For a moment, I’m twenty-one and in love – and then I sit up so quickly that my head spins.

  ‘Liv!’

  ‘She’s safe,’ Dan says.

  I’m in a bed, surrounded by a blinding white.

  ‘You’re in hospital,’ Dan says. ‘You both are. She’s a couple of rooms down. Tyler’s here, too. Everyone’s fine.’

  ‘But Ellie—’

  ‘I know. Everyone knows. The police are looking for her.’

  A hazy grey still taints everything around me. When I turn slightly to see what else is in the room, it’s like I’m seeing everything in slow motion.

  It’s as if he’s read my thoughts as Dan says: ‘You’re on some pretty strong medication. You’re supposed to be sleeping.’

  ‘Ellie got away?’

  I think Dan nods. It’s hard to tell. Everything is swaying. ‘Jason saved you but, yes. You’re safe here.’

  ‘I want to see Liv.’

  ‘I don’t think—’

  I don’t wait for him to say no, pushing myself up and trying to free my legs from the tightly tucked sheets. Dan tries to stop me but he doesn’t get much choice when I slump into him, using his hard body to hold me up. It’s been such a long time since we touched in any way that I’ve forgotten how well we fit together. My head slots into his shoulder as he supports my weight.

  ‘The doctor said—’

  ‘Please,’ I say. ‘Please take me to her.’

  Dan stops protesting but he’s practically dragging me as we head out of the room into an equally white corridor. I think I close my eyes because the next thing I know, I’m at the side of another hospital bed in another white room. So much white.

  Olivia is sleeping, her chest rising and falling slowly and rhythmically. Her hair is tufty and dirty, some of it plastered to her forehead. I feel like such a fool for all those arguments over hair colour, tattoos and who knows what else.

  ‘She’s safe,’ I whisper.

  There’s no reply and, for a moment, I wonder if I’ve actually spoken. Perhaps I only thought the words. It’s all very confusing.

  ‘Yes,’ Dan says.

  ‘She’ll be okay?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘What about Tyler?’

  Dan lowers me into a chair and then stands at my side, hand on my shoulder. I grip his fingers and, for th
e time in years, there’s reassurance there.

  ‘He’s stable at a different end of the hospital. His dad’s with him but it sounds like he’s going to be okay. Liv’s been asking for him in between sleeping. They had to give her something to calm her but she will be fine.’

  I want to wake her, to hear her voice and say I’m sorry. I know I can’t, though. It’s not all about me.

  ‘Why’d you call him?’ Dan asks, unexpectedly.

  ‘Who?’

  ‘Jason.’

  It’s only now that Dan brings it up that I remember. When I was in the car and the stupid voice assistant on my phone couldn’t call Olivia, I was trying to think of who I trusted. I’d doubted Jason, suspected him of being in on whatever was happening to me, but then I’d remembered our shared history. The times we had before and after Wayne died. And for once, I ignored the self-doubt and I called him, saying I was on my way to the mill because Olivia was there. I didn’t know I was walking into a trap but figured he might be able to help if Tyler was a problem.

  ‘Why not me?’ Dan adds.

  ‘Because…’ I screw my eyes closed, partly because my head hurts less when it’s dark but mainly because I don’t want Dan to look at me. ‘Because I’ve been doubting myself,’ I say. ‘Doubting everyone.’

  ‘Including me?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Why? I know we’re separating but it’s all been amicable. I know we’re not in love but I didn’t think we were enemies.’

  That word stings. Enemies. I didn’t think Ellie was an enemy, either.

  ‘A lot’s happened,’ I say.

  ‘Like what?’

  I tell him about the hotel, Stephen, waking up in the field, being told by Mr Rawley that Dan was home on the day the house was broken into and everything else I can remember. He listens without reply and then, when I’m done, he squeezes my shoulder gently.

  ‘Our neighbour is wrong,’ he says. ‘I wasn’t home on that day. He must have been mistaken.’

  I believe him. Mr Rawley from over the road has always been a nosey so-and-so. There’s every chance he got the wrong day.