It was 5:00 in the morning, and I found Daniel sitting in the dark, staring at nothing. He hadn’t slept again. I knew that look—the one that meant his mind was chewing on something he couldn’t swallow. He said it was the VAT, the fine, the paperwork.
But I’d seen him like this before, and it was never just paperwork. He mentioned Megan, how she’d run off to school without a backward glance, how she’d actually done her homework—a poem, no less. He’d had to step outside to catch his breath. I told him he was a good teacher, to stay strong.
He nodded, but I could see the weight pressing down on him. Then Asha came by, and they talked about Theo. The man who’d been found dead in the alley behind the yard. It was awful, they agreed, something like that happening so close to home.
Asha mentioned Sammy, how she was in a state. Everyone’s got their breaking point, she said. We all knew that was true. Later, I found Gary in the kitchen, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.
He’d been wound up since Theo died, snapping at the kids, staring into space. I told him we were family, that whatever one of us did affected us all. I asked him straight: did he hurt Theo? He didn’t deny it.
He told me he’d smashed Theo’s van. He wanted to send a message, he said, to make Theo pay for what he’d done to Todd. I felt the blood drain from my face. He swore no one saw him, that he’d deleted the CCTV.
He said we had nothing to worry about. I wanted to believe him. I had to believe him. But then the police came.
They took Gary in for questioning. They’d found a text he’d sent Theo: “I’m coming for you. ” Gary said it was just mouthing off, that he was sticking up for his mate. They didn’t buy it.
They wanted to check the yard’s CCTV, but Gary had already wiped it. I had to lie to them, told them I was with him that night, that we were together. I said we’d been having a bit of private time. They let him go, but I knew it wasn’t over.
Meanwhile, at school, Hope was causing trouble. She’d been accused of cheating on a poem, and she’d lashed out, making a scene in front of everyone. She even made a crude rhyme about the headteacher. I tried to calm her down, but she was beyond reason.
Mrs. Crawshaw was furious. I was sure I’d be sacked. And then there was the other thing—the men from the haulage firm.
The ones who’d been threatening us. We’d been keeping quiet, hoping they’d go away, but they hadn’t. I told Gary we had to go to the police, tell them everything. He said we’d give it one more day.
If the girl didn’t come back by tea time, we’d go. I didn’t know if we’d make it that long. I felt like I was drowning. George tried to comfort me, said I was still in shock, that I just needed time.
But time wasn’t going to fix this. My husband had confessed to a crime, I’d lied to the police, and my job was hanging by a thread. And somewhere out there, the real danger was still lurking. I looked at Gary, sitting there with his pint, and I wondered if I even knew him anymore.
He said he loved me, that he’d always have my back. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were both in way over our heads.
