Road Closed Read Online Free PDF Page A

not daring to breathe. The house was silent.
    ‘Silly,’ she mouthed. If she showed she didn’t care, the footsteps would go away.
    Cal would have laughed at her. ‘There’s nothing there,’ he’d say. Brenda waited. It was all right for Cal, but you couldn’t be too careful when you were in the house on your own. Anything could happen. They came in through the walls.
    ‘Go away!’ she shouted suddenly, surprising herself. ‘I’m not frightened!’ They knew she was lying. Aching all over, she went back downstairs and fell into her chair. She couldn’t settle. Cal and Ray had gone out on a job. She hoped Cal wouldn’t come home in a temper again.
    Brenda trembled as she thought of his rage. But if he was angry with Ray, that was good. She gave a wary smile.
    Pressing herself into the safety of her chair she screwed up her eyes and looked round the room. A strand of dry hair clung to her face, scratching at her eye. That wasn’t what made her flinch. Something was lurking in the shadows. A voice whimpered nearby. Brenda pulled herself to her feet and limped over to Cal’s chair for a light. A moment later a flame shot from her fingers. She fought for control of her body. Her legs kept jerking which made it difficult to light her spliff.
    At last she leaned back in her chair and watched as a thin trail of white smoke trickled out of her nose. It didn’t help. Dope might soften the pain but it couldn’t stop her shaking. Feeling nauseous she sat up without moving from her chair. When she threw up, Cal made her scrub the carpet until the stink of dettol made her sick all over again. Experience had taught her to know when she was only going to retch.
    Craving wrenched at her guts but Cal had gone out. He never left anything in the house. Said he couldn’t trust her. Viciously she stubbed her spliff on the arm of the chair and watched it singe a ragged hole in the fabric. Glowing threads faded into grey.
    With a soft fizzle, the naked light bulb above her head went out. The whimpering began again.
    ‘I know you’re there,’ she whispered. Her eyes flicked round the corners of the room. In the darkness, something stirred.
    Cal dismissed her night terrors. ‘There’s nothing here.’ He would stamp his foot in the corner of the room. ‘So much for your snake. I’ve squashed it. Flat.’ Then he would throw his head back and laugh. Nothing frightened Cal. But Cal had gone out. She was alone in the darkness.
    ‘He’ll be back soon,’ she whispered, glaring into the darkness. Her voice was feeble. In the corner, the snake hissed. Brenda whimpered. She lit a cigarette and forced herself to think about Cal.
    He had been complaining again. ‘If it weren’t for you, we’d be fine. As if I haven’t got enough to worry about with the rent due and the fucking TV, you’re always going on, never bloody satisfied.’ His face had been red and sweaty. She had waited, trembling. But afterwards he’d brought out the skag and everything had been all right. ‘You’re a lucky girl,’ he told her as he wiped a dribble of blood off her chin. ‘Don’t say I don’t take care of you.’ Brenda had nodded, too far gone to speak.
    She trembled in the darkness. Salty tears stung her split lip. ‘Bastard,’ she muttered. She would never dare speak to him like that to his face. If only he had left her a fix. ‘It’s not so much to ask,’ she whined. She began to cry in earnest and the whimpering fell silent. As long as she was crying she was safe from the voices. Her eyes throbbed. They felt as though they would burst, but she couldn’t stop crying. ‘Let me sleep,’ she pleaded with the silence. ‘I want to sleep.’ Her eyes were sore. They hurt when she shut them. With shaking fingers she clutched at her cigarette and leaned back in her chair, inhaling deeply. She didn’t know when Cal would be back.
    Cal took care of her. She pressed herself against the back of her chair, clutching a cushion to her chest. Cal