Page 218 of Under Her Skin
‘I’m sorry did I wakeyou?
She smiled. ‘No, I’m sorry. Come in, please.’ As he passed her, she rubbed her eyes, trying to wake her brain up. She led him into thekitchen.
‘I am sorry for coming so early. You must think me veryrude.’
‘Not at all, it’s really good to see you again’ She snagged two coffee cups from the cupboard then realised that the t-shirt she was wearing was riding up her thighs and giving Ollie a free show. She snuck a look at him but he was gazing discreetly out of thewindow.
‘You know… I could make the coffee if you want to…’ He said, still not looking at her and Jess smiledgratefully.
‘That would be good, thank you, I’ll be twoseconds.’
She darted upstairs and tugged on a pair of jeans, went to the bathroom to quickly brush her teeth. When she got back downstairs, Ollie was putting two mugs of steaming coffee on the table. He grinned at her and she started laughing, then, shaking herhead.
‘Sorry again,’ he said but she put a hand up to halt hisapology.
‘Please. You’re very kind, my brain’s not fully engaged in the mornings. So… hello, I’mJess.’
Chuckling he shook her hand. ‘Ollie Barnes. Theo said you might need a lift to the farmer’s market…’ He looked down and laughed, once. ‘Okay. I’ll startagain.’
Jess frowned, nonplussed by his seeming confusion. He smiled ather.
‘I’m snooping, I admit. I’ve known Theo for years – since we were kids – but I’ve never seen him bring anyone out here sinceKelly.’
Jess looked up sharply. ‘Kelly?’
Ollie nodded, not noticing her tone. ‘My sister. Before she died, she and Theo used to come back here to get some space…. Jess, are youokay?’
She could feel the blood drain from her face, her skin cold. For a second she struggled to talk, to form the words then she shook herself. Theo was allowed to have secrets, wasn’t he? She had enough of her own. She touched Ollie’sarm.
‘I’m sorry, Ollie, please go on. I’m so sorry about yoursister.’
Ollie was studying her. ‘He didn’t tell you, didhe?’
She shook her head but smiled. ‘No, hedidn’t.’
Ollie’s breath hissed out between his teeth and he seemed to be considering something before he gave her a little grin. ‘What a jerkwad.’
She laughed, grateful for his saving her – again. ‘Total dillhole.’
They both laughed. ‘Tell me about Kelly – if it’s not toopainful.’
Ollie looked out of the window. The sun was streaming in and Jess could see the dust motes swirling in the beams hitting the kitchen floor. ‘Feel like awalk?’
They strolled along the riverbank, the air so fresh and with a slight bite still from the earlymorning.
‘Kelly and Theowere off and on for years in their teens,’ Ollie explained. ‘When Theo graduated from college, they got back together. About a year later, Theo came home from work one day and she’d slit her wrists in the bath. He couldn’t save her. Kelly had always suffered from depression and over the years, she’d become an expert at hiding it. She thought if she told him about it, he’d leave her.’ Ollie sighed. ‘He wouldn’t have, he has a white-knightcomplex.’
‘That I know,’ Jess muttered. ‘God, Ollie, that’s so sad, so – why didn’t he tellme?’
‘Theo blamed himself for not seeing the signs – we all did but Theo took it the hardest.’ Ollie looked at her. ‘Should I be telling youthis?’
Jess shrugged. ‘I don’t know, honestly. I won’t say anything to Theo if you don’t want me to. If he and I go the distance, I’m sure he’ll tell me himselfeventually.’
She wasn’tsure of that at all and later when Ollie had gone, she thought about what he’d said. It made her wonder how much they really knew about each other. Theo knew loss as much she had. It made her sad that he hadn’t shared that with her yet. Her thoughts drifted to Camilla and the heavy feeling in her chest came back. Fucking Jules… she wanted to rip him limb from limb for what he’d done. In the days after the murder, she’d considered going to the police but the cops who had visited Theo’s apartment had obviously looked back in their files and their attitude to her had been colored by Jules’ remarks all those yearsago.
‘They don’t take me seriously,’ she’d said bleakly to Theo who couldn’t help agree with her. She saw the anger in his eyes and he’d begged her to let him tell them about the attacks on her. She couldn’t face it though and there was something else. She wanted to make Jules pay. She wanted him to lose everything. She wanted him tohurt.
She wantedrevenge.
