One by One: A brutal, gritty revenge thriller that you won't be able to put down.

by Robert Enright

  “I should have paid more attention to her needs.”

  Helen reached across the small, glass coffee table and retrieved the box of tissues. She softly offered them to him and he accepted, weeping tears into a handful.

  “Kurt, we have already spoken about this. You did everything you could. Sometimes, bad people do bad things.”

  He sniffed a few times, composing himself.

  “I don't think she is a bad person, though.”

  “Maybe not,” Helen said, calmly but with an undercurrent of authority. “However, everyone does bad things in their lives. Everyone. You, me, my husband, even the Queen. It's what people do when they do these bad things that define them.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well you can either try to put things right, or you can try to twist it to your advantage.” Helen glanced up at the clock on her wall. She was five minutes over Kurt's allotted time. She closed her pad and stood up, her patient looking slightly disappointed.

  “What should I do then?” His words were empty, full only of false hope. Helen smiled at him as he stood up.

  “Go away for the weekend and think about it. Think about how you reacted and what you could do to stop it from happening again.” She walked over to the office door, her heels clattering against the wooden floor. “Then next week, we can discuss how we can put that in to practice.”

  She smiled her warm smile again, her blue eyes locked on him as she opened the door. He shuffled over slowly, wiping his eyes with the now soaked tissue.

  “Thank you, Helen.”

  “No worries, Kurt.” He walked through the door. “Speak to Sarah on the way out and she will book you in next week. Enjoy your weekend.”

  He nodded weakly and then slowly meandered towards the receptionist’s desk, which overlooked the waiting area. Four low, black sofas lined the wall, an array of magazines sprayed out over a long, oak coffee table. A few patients sat on opposite sides of the room, showing little interest in anyone else. With Dianne on maternity leave, Helen had taken on her patients which led to back-to-back days like today. She had told her best friend that it wasn't a problem, but she was beginning to regret not hiring in another therapist to cover.

  “I'll be with you in a minute, Janine.”

  Helen smiled at the teenage girl who sat furthest from her office, her eyes thick with eye shadow behind her jet black hair. She grunted a response as Helen closed her door and walked slowly back to her desk. As she rifled through the folders to find the young girl's past visit reports, she thought of how cruel Kurt Chalmer's wife had been to him.

  How could someone claim to love someone but treat them so badly?

  She shook her head and then looked at the photo of Lucas on her desk. It was the two of them together, sitting on a plane and making the most horrendous face they could into the camera.

  It made her realise how much she had to be grateful for and how she was glad she had never given up on him. She checked her phone and saw a text message from him and shrieked in delight as it described his promotion. She replied instantly, her words of pride accompanied with a promise of organising a celebratory dinner. She put her phone back in her bag and then did her utmost to remove the beaming smile that adorned her beautiful face.

  Her finger pressed down on the intercom.

  “Sarah, could you send in Janine, please?”

  She straightened her suit jacket as the door opened, as she promised herself to hide her happiness until the work day was done.

  “To Lucas!”

  Alex lifted his glass of water, proudly looking at his friend. Lucas smiled sheepishly as Helen and Dianne, Alex’s wife, all held up their glasses and clinked them in unison.

  “It’s unlucky to cheers with water.” Lucas stated, getting a playful shove from his wife. Helen looked as beautiful as Lucas had ever seen her, wearing a classy red dress. She had insisted they dressed smartly to celebrate his promotion, leaving Lucas feeling a little uncomfortable in the blazer and fitted shirt he usually reserved for christenings and weddings.

  “The man has a point. I want a beer.” Alex said, turning around in his chair, looking to signal a waiter. He too was wearing a blazer but had also matched it with a stylish bow tie which Lucas was sure Dianne had picked out for him. Dianne and Helen had studied together at university, where they’d become best friends and now worked together as psychotherapists in town. Dianne was a small woman, no more than five foot two, which made it more obvious that she was almost eight months pregnant. Despite his playful charm and faked disregard for parenthood, Lucas knew that Alex was excited for the arrival of his first child. Despite the large swelling of her stomach, housing the child seemed to be working for Dianne, her face having a beautiful glow beneath her long, flowing brown hair. She gently rubbed her husband’s back as he caught the waiter’s attention.

  Helen leaned over, sliding her hand over Lucas’s thigh and squeezing it gently. He looked into her ocean blue eyes.

  “I’m proud of you, honey.”

  She leaned over and kissed him gently, a wave of physical attraction washed over him. Every kiss from her since their first had that effect on him. Alex turned just as they kissed and scrunched his face in disapproval.

  'No, stop that. We know what kissing leads to.' He gently patted Dianne’s stomach, getting a playful slap on the arm. He blew a kiss at his wife and then turned to Lucas.

  “So now that you are a manager man, I guess that means any hopes I ever had of getting you to fight competitively are gone?”

  “Alex, I’ve already told you...” Helen interjected immediately, her voice tinged with firmness.

  “I know, I know…” Alex held up his hands protectively. “You don’t want Lucas fighting in case it messes up his beautiful face. It’s the same reason Dianne doesn’t let me compete anymore.”

  They all laughed at the comment and Helen leaned into Lucas who smiled at her reassuringly.

  “Not that your face isn’t beautiful, honey. But that’s not what I’m worried about.”

  “I know.” Lucas looked down at his hand resting on the white table cloth, ashamed to look at his wife.

  “You are a good man.”

  Lucas sat back, pulling his lips into a thin line to hide his discomfort. She rubbed his arm lovingly and when he did turn to look at her, she looked at him with so much love in the swirling blue lakes that were her eyes, Lucas couldn’t help but return the smile.

  “You make me good.”

  He reached out and held her hand, feeling her squeeze it immediately. He ran his finger over the modest wedding ring on her finger as the waiter approached the table. It was the symbol of their love binding them together.

  “Sorry for the wait,” the waiter said apologetically, fumbling with the pages of his notebook. “Are you ready to order some drinks?”

  “Yes, I think we are.” Lucas looked at the two women around the table. “Ladies?”

  Dianne gently rubbed her bulging stomach and smiled at the young waiter, who could have been no older than eighteen. Probably just a student trying to make a little extra cash in his spare time.

  “Can I just have an orange juice please?” Dianne gave him her best smile, which he returned as he scrawled it down.

  “Me too. Show of support,” Helen raised her fist in the air. “Girl power!”

  Lucas and Alex both looked at her, their faces conveying how unimpressed they were. She shrugged and Lucas turned to the young man.

  “I’ll just have a mineral water, please.” Lucas said softly, nodding as the waiter noted it down. Alex shook his head.

  “Wow! You guys really know how to celebrate, huh?” He turned to the waiter. “Sorry about them, I’ll have a beer. Thanks buddy.”

  The waiter thanked them and scurried away to action their request.

  “Unbelievable. I’m the only one drinking…” Alex said, faking disappointment.

  “No alcohol during the week for me.” Lucas said, looking at his friend across
the table. “I have this real pain in the arse Muay Thai instructor that would cut my balls off if I turned up hungover.'

  “Is that so?” Alex goaded.

  “Yup. Massive pain in the arse!” Lucas returned in kind.

  “He sounds like a very handsome man,” Alex replied, posing like a model with his hand on his chin and pouting. Both of them started laughing and Dianne, not for the first time in their marriage, rolled her eyes. She turned to Helen.

  “To think, I am having his child.”

  “And therefore providing evidence of why you are the luckiest woman in the world.”

  Alex flashed his loving wife a grin, proving his wonderful talent for having an answer for everything. Lucas admired Alex’s confidence, his quick wit often making him the life and soul of the party. It was very easy to like him. Alex turned to Lucas.

  “I take it you will be having a few drinks on Saturday night, then?”

  “Maybe.”

  “You would've earned them, mate.”

  “This Saturday?” Helen questioned, her eyebrows raised. The reaction of realisation that covered Lucas was immediate.

  “It's your conference, isn’t it? Oh shit, I’m so sorry. I told John that I would do the trial work on the new cars. That Draper guy is dropping them round at eight in the morning.”

  “Lucas, its fine.” She reached out and squeezed his hand.

  “I mean, I could work through lunch and then drive straight down afterwards. I’ll probably get their a bit late but we can always grab a late dinner?”

  “Lucas,” Helen turned and looked directly at him, something she always did when she was being firm. “It is fine.”

  “Really?”

  “Of course. Don’t be silly. This is such a great opportunity for you and I know you're really not too keen on going back to London anyway.”

  Lucas shuffled in his seat. She was right about that.

  “Besides, the conference is going to be very boring,” Dianne interjected, supporting her friend.

  “At least you have a good excuse for not being there.”

  “You’re welcome.” Alex stated as he patted his wife’s stomach, and received a playful slap in return. Helen grinned and then turned to Lucas, whose eyes were screaming a thousand apologies.

  “I’ll give Mary a call. She was excited that I was going to be in London for the weekend so I will see if she wants to have a catch up.

  “Are you sure?”

  Helen leaned across and gave Lucas another heart fluttering kiss.

  “Positive.”

  She flashed her perfect smile at him one more time and eventually he squeezed her hand. He turned back to Alex, who had been patiently watching his best friend.

  “Well to answer your question, yes. I may very well have a beer on Saturday.”

  “Whoa! Calm down!” Alex’s sarcasm was never hard to detect. “There’s a big night of Ultimate Fighting on pay-per-view. I figured it would be pretty good to watch. There’s this new fighter, Ryan Turrock. I think he'll be worth watching.”

  As the two fighting enthusiasts began to discuss the upcoming event and the possible fighting styles, the waiter approached the table carrying a small, circular tray. He carefully lifted each drink individually and placed the beverage in front of the corresponding person. He smiled politely and left them to their conversations. Dianne shuffled her seat around the table a little and leaned in to speak to Helen, lowering her voice to just above a whisper.

  “That orange juice,” She pointed at Helen’s glass as she took a sip from her own. “It’s not really a show of support is it?”

  Helen looked anxiously at Lucas, who was deep in a discussion about the benefits of connecting with an elbow to the back of someone’s head. She then smiled at Dianne, a buzz of excitement radiating off of her.

  “No.”

  “Oh my god!” Dianne had mastered the low volume shriek. “How far are you?”

  “Only seven weeks. Dianne, I am so excited.”

  “I’m so happy for you. Have you told...” She nodded in the direction of the still oblivious Lucas.

  “Not yet. I was going to save it for London this weekend, give him a nice memory of the city for once. But I think I’ll surprise him with it when I get back.”

  She looked at her husband, who was laughing at something Alex had said and was slightly overwhelmed by how much she loved him.

  “I’ll tell him I’ve got him a surprise and then bam! I’ll hit him with it. Do you think he’ll be happy?”

  “Oh without a shadow of a doubt.”

  Helen clenched her fists and shook a little in excitement and then lifted her glass and took a sip of her juice. No more alcohol for her. Not now that she was with child. She knew Lucas doubted the man he was, but she could see it. She could see that all he ever wanted was to love someone, to have someone to put first. And the idea that she could put a second person on that list, a person created by the unconditional love that they felt for each other made her place her hand over her stomach and close her eyes.

  A warmth spread through her body and it took every ounce of her strength not to cry at the realisation of what true happiness was. She was snapped back to reality by Dianne.

  “This is so exciting!” She grabbed Helen’s hands and squeezed them.

  “What’s so exciting?”

  The two ladies turned at the sound of Alex’s voice and realised that their husbands were staring at them with curious eyes. Dianne released Helen’s hands and sat back, flattening the dress over her protruding mid-section.

  “Oh... erm... there’s talk that they are making another Sex and the City movie,” Helen lied, although she lied with a measure of calm.

  “Oh wow! That is exciting!” Lucas’s sarcasm was a lot more blatant than Alex’s. “I can’t wait.”

  Helen stuck her tongue out at her husband. Before Lucas could retort, the waiter once again approached the table, this time carrying four menus.

  'To be continued.' Lucas warned, an air of playfulness wrapped around his words. The waiter warmly re-entered their evening, which continued on down a path well-worn by good friends enjoying their lives together.

  Lucas pulled up outside the house and came to a slow and steady stop. He looked out at the small, quaint house he shared with his wife and felt that feeling of relief to be home. It had been a very long day. Helen stroked his hand which was still on the handbrake.

  “Come on. Let’s go in.”

  He nodded and pulled the key from the ignition and pushed open the car door. As he turned to close it, he noticed that Alex had left his wallet on the back seat. He had driven the Thornleys home en-route and wasn’t prepared to make another trip back. He reached back in over his chair and scooped it up, the leather cold in his hands. He would give it to Alex at tomorrow’s session, which he knew was going to be a more exercise based morning due to the amount Alex had drunk.

  He closed the car door quietly, noticing the coldness of the night was being chauffeured by the faint drizzle falling from the moonlit sky. Helen had already scarpered to the front door and turned the key in the lock, opening the door and stepping into the warm hallway. Lucas jogged up the path, past the unkempt garden and jumped through the doorway. He closed the door, shutting out the coldness of the night and the sleeping world surrounded by it.

  “Hello house!” Helen said adorably, flicking on the lamp on the hallway table. She immediately picked up a white paper carrier bag resting next to it and handed it to a confused Lucas. The bag was folded over and its contents were pushing against the sides.

  “What’s this?” Lucas looked at his wife with a suspicious eye.

  “I didn’t have time to wrap it when I got in.”

  She looked on nervously as he unfolded the bag and reached his hand in. He immediately felt the quality of the leather on his palm and his fingers brushed against the small, metal teeth of a zip. He pulled his arm out and unfolded a black, leather bomber jacket. He looked at it in disbelief and th
en back at Helen who was standing cautiously to the side, the nerves of whether he would like it had made her wrap her arms around her body and she gently bobbed on the spot.

  Lucas was speechless.

  Three months ago, they had been out for a walk through some of the neighbouring countryside, stopping for a Sunday lunch in a local pub and enjoying their time together. As they’d walked through the cobbled streets of a sleepy village, Lucas had stopped in front of a small, privately owned leather shop. He saw the jackets hanging in the window, the lights of the shop were out and the sign said closed. But he and Helen cast their eyes over the potential jackets, the calibre of the leather reflected in the hefty price tags. He had wanted to return at some point and buy one and here he was, holding one in his hands, a gift from the best gift the world had ever given him.

  “Thank you. So much!” His voice was soft and conveyed how moved he was by the gesture. He twirled the coat around and slid his arms through the sleeves, pulling the front collar forward, the jacket wrapping comfortably around his imposing frame. Helen walked up to him and flung her arms around his neck, her face arched up towards his.

  “I’m proud of you, Mr Manager Man.”

  She kissed him softly, which grew in intensity and passion for a few moments. Lucas pulled back, a gentle smile on his face.

  “I love you, Helen.”

  “How much?” She cheekily swung from side to side, her arms still draped around her husband’s broad shoulders.

  “Oh. Too much.” Lucas said, adding a stern head nod to underline the point. She kissed him again.

  “More than muay Thai?”

  “More than anything.” She kissed him again, slower, her tongue gently sliding over his. She leaned back again.

  “More than the potential new Sex and the City movie?”

  “Hmmm,” Lucas frowned. “That’s a thinker.”

  She laughed and gave him a gentle punch in his solid arm. She then looked up at him, almost giddy. She raised her hand and stroked the stubble on the side of his face. He closed his eyes and enjoyed her soothing touch. Her hand glided across and with her index finger, she pushed up the front of his nose and oinked at him. He smiled at her; her cheeky grin was inviting.