An Ordinary Epidemic Read Online Free PDF

had taken up the other half of this room, and its only view was of the side fence. The ghosts of the old Zac, Sean and Hannah sat at the ghost of the old kitchen table, andthe ghosts of the walls she had pulled down cut the room in half.

    Sean sat in the dark on the edge of one of the garden beds, backlit by the string of coloured fairy lights on the fence. Next to him were two glasses of wine. He held one out to her. ‘Here, I thought you might need this. To recover from your big day.’ She sat down on the cold brick and let the tension dissipate as she leant into him. He was warm, even through their clothes.
    Light spilled from Natalie’s side of the fence, escaping through the glass doors that spanned the back of her house. Hannah could hear voices—they had friends over, again. The sounds were reassuring, other lives going on, completely independent of her own. She couldn’t make out words but the voices rose and fell, sometimes interrupted by an outbreak of laughter, maybe four people in all. From time to time she heard Ella squeal. Hannah was happier to sit in the quiet of her own garden listening to the sounds of Natalie’s dinner party than to be at it. It seemed odd to Hannah that a doctor would have people over now, with the case in Newcastle and everything happening overseas.
    A thought drifted across her mind. ‘How was your sister?’
    â€˜My sister? Oh, I couldn’t get on to her.’
    Hannah sat up. ‘Did you try?’
    â€˜It was late there when I got to work, so I missed their day. I tried just now when you were reading, but no answer. I’ll try her again before bed.’
    â€˜Did you ring work and home? She’ll be at work by now.’
    Sean shrugged. ‘I checked the time. I rang work, she wasn’t there so I rang home.’
    â€˜Why wouldn’t she be there?’
    â€˜Because she’s on her way to work? Because she didn’tgo home? Because she drank too much last night and slept through the phone? I don’t know.’
    â€˜It doesn’t bother you?’
    â€˜No, it doesn’t bother me. She’s hundreds of miles from Manchester. Her biggest risk is being scared to death by fearmongering tabloids. She’s in no more danger than us.’ He rubbed the back of her hand. ‘Which is none, right? Which is as much danger as Zac is in.’
    â€˜You and the doctor. You should get together and take turns telling me I’m imagining things.’
    â€˜Doctor? Did you have an appointment I forgot? You didn’t say anything this morning.’
    â€˜You don’t need to know about every appointment.’
    â€˜Everything all right?’
    â€˜Fine. Some young doctor that knows everything. He thinks I’m a hypochondriac.’
    â€˜You’re paranoid, that’s very different from hypochondria.’
    â€˜You’re very funny.’
    â€˜I know,’ he gave her a goofy grin, ‘it’s my only skill.’

The noise was muffled, irritating, persistent. She tried not to think about it, tried to go back to sleep.
    It was still there. But it wasn’t in the room and it wasn’t coming from the street. She turned over and hoped it would wake Sean. He could deal with whatever it was.
    He didn’t.
    It invaded her sleep, some kind of an alarm. It wasn’t her phone, or a car, or even a burglar alarm. She pulled the pillow around her ears, waiting for it to stop by itself. Hoping. But if anything, it was getting louder. There was no possibility of sleep for her and no chance that Sean would wake. She got out of bed, wrapped her dressing gown tight and followed the noise.
    To Zac’s room. And his clock, still set in the absence of its owner.
    She whacked it on the top to make it go away. It took a moment for the numbers to make sense. She rubbed her face. Six o’clock. His alarm from yesterday, set early to get to the bus. Why couldn’t he have turned it off before