Save Her by Abigail Osborne (i can read books .txt) 📕

‘Not right now. Maybe later. I just need to calm down.’

Sophie had watched her for an hour crying on the bed. It was so frustrating that Flora was alone and upset. Sophie knew if Flora would just let her be there, she could make everything better. Unable to watch anymore, she had turned off the camera and driven home. Taking off her coat and shoes, she went upstairs and lay on her bed, switching between various cameras trying to locate Flora once more. Unable to spot her in the house, Sophie got up and looked out the window. She saw Flora on her patio nursing a glass of wine in the waning sunlight. Her hair the colour of coffee beans shone and even from this distance, she could see strands being blown gently in the breeze. Sophie was overwhelmed by an urge to know what Flora was thinking at that exact moment. Was she thinking about Sophie? Was she still going to keep her promise and leave with her? Or had she been corrupted? Where was Sam? Why wasn’t he there? The unanswered questions bugged her.

Sophie wanted to be with her in the garden, to see Flora’s face crease into a smile when she was amused, to watch the laughter light up her beautiful earth-brown eyes. She took a deep breath. It was time for Plan B. She couldn’t risk Flora’s future anymore. She’d tried Plan A. Now it was time for a more ruthless approach. Flora would thank her in the end.

When she had told Flora that people with money could buy anything, she was talking from experience. It took a quick Google search to realise that she needed to get her hands on some ketamine. Cecelia had horses, not to ride but to be able to say that she had horses. They had a family stables and a personal vet. It had not taken long or as many bank notes as she had thought to persuade the vet that she needed some ketamine for back pain. For another few fifty-pound notes he demonstrated how to draw up the dose and explained the best places to inject it for immediate effect.

Sophie pulled out her phone and thought hard about what to put. It needed to be something that would leave Flora no choice but to come and find her. Standing in front of the wardrobe she pulled out her hair dryer. It was not human nature to do something that was going to cause pain. Taking the cable, she let the hairdryer hang, it swung ominously before her. Without letting herself think about what she was going to do, she swung the cable hard and the hairdryer slammed into her back. The pain was incredible. She fell to her knees, breaths coming in rasps. Before she could talk herself out of it, Sophie grabbed the hairdryer and gripped it tightly. She smashed it into her side. Once. Twice. Three times. The pain overwhelmed her, and she dropped the hairdryer and clutched her side. Tears escaped her eyes, running away down her face. She curled up in a ball on her side, still clutching it. Taking deep breaths, she breathed through the pain. When the pain subsided to a manageable level, she inspected her work.

Angry red welts marked her side and the top of her shoulder. She had hit bone instead of flesh, she needed to do better. Taking the hairdryer by the cable, she whipped it around once more so that it struck her between the shoulder blades. Quickly she grabbed it and rammed it higher into her side, aiming for the fleshy part above her hip bone.

Breathing hard, trying to ignore the pain, Sophie placed her hands around her neck. She gripped as hard as she could and began to squeeze. It took all of her mental acuity to not let go. Her instincts were screaming at her to stop, her hands were trying to relinquish their hold, but her mind was stronger. She forced herself to grip harder, ignoring the pain in her throat and her lungs that were screaming for air. In the end, weakness overcame her and she could no longer keep going. She allowed her grateful lungs to suck in air and examined her neck in the mirror. It was slightly red, only visible if someone was really looking.

Steeling her reserve, she placed her hands around her neck. It was harder to do a second time around. Her brain was still reeling from being unable to breathe. The feeling like her lungs would burst was not something she ever wanted to repeat. But she did not have a choice. It was all for the greater good. She put her shaking hands back around her neck and braced herself for suffocation, digging her fingernails in this time.

The image of Flora floated in her mind, reminding her why she was doing this. It was the only way to save them both. Flora would forgive her in the end. They were best friends.

53

There were some days that Flora believed Sophie had superpowers. Or a tracking system. She was sitting in the garden thinking of her friend when her Fitbit told her Sophie had sent a text. The old Flora would have opened it straight away. But today’s Flora was unable to cope with anything else. She didn’t want to see anyone or talk to anyone. She’d had enough.

Leaving her key in the front door had stopped Sam from getting in the house. He had knocked so hard the door vibrated. He kept at it until she had screeched at him through the letterbox, begging him to just leave her alone. It had been quiet ever since. Or maybe it hadn’t, and the wine had dulled her sense. How much had she drunk now? It didn’t matter. She needed to drink herself into an abyss. Her world, her perfect – if you didn’t count Cecelia – world had been blown up and everything she held