Authors: Heather Atkinson
Half Life (10 page)
She looks in the direction I indicate and instantly she looks happier.
“
It
’
s my dad,
”
she breathes.
She beams brightly and it is so good to see her smile again.
The man holds his hand out to her and I see the same swirling light vortex open up behind him.
“
Looks like it
’
s time to go,
”
I say.
“
You
’
re coming with me?
”
“
If that
’
s what you want.
”
“
It is, more than anything. Can you finally leave this house?
”
I take one more glance about my beloved home then look down at Kate.
“
I can because my love lies elsewhere now.
”
She smiles radiantly and kisses me then hand in hand we walk towards Kate
’
s father, who holds his arms out to us both
…
Georgia watches her daughter and who she takes to be Thomas Galbraith head into the light with her husband and she is filled with peace. Robert had told her only last night he would see Kate home safely, that she was still here lost and confused, although she did have a friend. But now Kate knows Michael will pay for his crime she is free to move on and be happy.
Georgia has been able to see spirits ever since she was a young girl and Kate had inherited the same ability. She
’
d hadn
’
t even known it herself, her invisible friend being the spirit of a little girl named Dorothy who
’
d died in the Victorian era. But Georgia herself had suffered so much for her gift that she didn
’
t want her daughter to endure the same, so she
’
d schooled her not to believe in the supernatural. Her own denial made her sixth sense lie dormant, until she
’
d moved here and Thomas Galbraith had set it off again. Georgia is glad she
’
s had him to lean on because death can be so terribly confusing. Lightness replaces the sadness weighing her down. One day she will join them and they
’
ll be a happy family again. She is keen to meet Thomas too, he seems such a nice boy.
THE END
The chatter of her guests drifted into the kitchen as Sabrina plated up the main course and she frowned as she tried to make out their words. It was mundane talk about work, the weather, what the kids were up to. Nothing about her. The paranoid knot in her stomach eased and her grip on the fish slice loosened.
Alright breathe, relax, everything
’
s going well. They
’
re all having a good time and they loved your scallops,
she thought to herself.
Just keep calm and you
’
ll get through tonight.
She repeated this mantra over and over to herself as her therapist had suggested. Concentrating on the words helped focus her mind, keeping her thoughts off the catastrophe that had been her last dinner party.
A plate in each hand, she plastered the smile to her face and strode confidently into the dining room. The first thing she saw was her husband Peter
’
s water glass sat on the table cloth and not the coaster where it belonged. A drop of moisture slowly slid down the exterior of the crystal, widening the stain that already defaced the pristine white material.
The knot of anger twisted inside her, causing the muscle at the base of her jaw to pulsate angrily.
“
Sabrina are you alright?
”
said Janet, her best friend with concern.
She realised the whole room had gone quiet and everyone was staring at her uncertainly as she stood rigid in the doorway, clutching two steaming plates of beef wellington.
Just keep calm
.
The artificial smile returned.
“
Fine thank you,
”
she chirruped, putting one of the plates before her friend.
“
Looks lovely,
”
Janet smiled and everyone nodded in agreement.
When she put Peter
’
s dinner before him she placed the water glass back on the coaster with a meaningful look. He bowed his head and glanced nervously at the rest of the table, who all appeared glad they weren
’
t him.
“
Sorry Sabrina,
”
he mumbled.
Just keep calm.
“
It
’
s fine,
”
she replied with forced cheer.
The conversation gradually recovered as she brought out the remaining four plates and they all tucked in eagerly.
“
Another triumph Sabrina,
”
smiled her brother, Dale.
Everyone mumbled their concurrence through enthusiastic mouthfuls.
“
Thank you,
”
she preened, basking beneath the praise. The tension inside her relaxed and she took a swig of wine to steady her nerves.
It
’
s all going well, they like it.
At that moment, her other friend, Kelly, scraped her knife across Sabrina
’
s best china plate, setting her teeth on edge. The room filled with an anxious silence, all seven heads slowly turning to look at Sabrina whose hand gripped the stem of the wine glass so tightly it threatened to snap. She glared at Kelly with barely-concealed fury.
Just. Keep. Calm.
They all leant back in their chairs, as though expecting Sabrina to leap across the table at the offender.
“
S
…
sorry Sabrina. I d
…
didn
’
t mean it,
”
stammered Kelly.
Deep breath. Relax.
“
I know,
”
she smiled, the muscles in her face aching with the effort of twisting her features back into that insincere grin.
As Sabrina returned her attention to her plate there was a collective sigh of relief. The main course passed uneventfully and everyone drunk deeply of the wine to settle their jangling nerves. By the time dessert was finished the majority of the guests were rather inebriated. Sabrina brought out the cheese board, her forced smile turning into a happy, relaxed one.
I
’
ve done it,
she thought with relief.
Almost there.
Her calm was shattered when she saw Dale quietly arguing with Anna, his perfectly blond perfectly botoxed wife.
“
Would you care to share with the group?
”
frowned Sabrina, green eyes narrowing.
“
It
’
s nothing,
”
spat Dale, his furious gaze fixed on his wife.
“
Anna?
”
said Sabrina, her voice icy.
“
You
’
re all too afraid to say it but I
’
m not,
”
she snapped, getting to her feet and staring at Sabrina defiantly.
“
I
’
ve had enough of tiptoeing about, afraid of upsetting you. I want to know what happened at the last dinner party. What made you go mental and start throwing hot food at us?
”
“
Anna sit down,
”
thundered Dale, horrified.
“
No I wont. For God
’
s sake Dale she scalded you with gravy and Janet, you had second degree cauliflower cheese burns.
”
She glared at Sabrina rebelliously.
“
And you ruined my brand new Karen Millen dress.
”
There was a moment of silence as they all watched Sabrina cagily, uncertain of what she was going to do. However she just stared at Anna, a half smile playing on her lips as she twisted the stem of her wine glass absently.
“
For God
’
s sake say something,
”
exclaimed Anna, unable to tolerate the silence any longer.
“
You really want to know, do you?
”
“
Yes because this has gone far enough. Dale dropped a carrot under the table earlier and he
’
s too scared to tell you.
”
“
Anna, for Christ
’
s sake,
”
said Dale, trying to pull her back down in her seat but she shrugged him off.
“
Well I
’
m not scared of you. Your pastry was dry, do you hear me? Dry.
”
There were shocked gasps from the other guests while Dale screwed his eyes tight shut, as though he couldn
’
t bear to watch. Everyone subtlely shifted their chairs back from the table in case they needed to get out of the way quickly.
But Sabrina merely leaned forward in her seat, wearing the same creepy half smile.
“
Alright. I
’
ll tell you.
”
The smile disappeared and her eyes turned cold.
“
I saw you Anna. With Peter.
”
Anna flushed bright red and her eyes widened momentarily before she recovered and decided on denial.
“
What do you mean?
”
Sabrina
’
s gaze remained steady and hard as she continued.
“
I mean I saw you both together in our bedroom. On. Our. Bed.
”
It went so quiet it seemed all the sound had been sucked out of the room.
“
What do you mean? What is this?
”
demanded Dale as his wife slumped back in her chair, eyes filling with tears.
“
I
’
m so sorry,
”
Anna wept.
Slowly Sabrina turned her gaze on Peter, her husband of twenty years, who looked completely dejected.
“
I don
’
t know what to say,
”
he muttered weakly.
“
I
’
m not surprised. I waited and waited for you to work up the nerve to tell me but you never did, you pathetic gutless little worm,
”
Sabrina snarled, the disgust clear in her voice.
Sweat broke out on Peter
’
s brow and his hands shook.
“
Twenty years of my life I wasted on you,
”
she continued.
“
I even let you give me a nervous breakdown. Well no more Peter. We
’
re over.
”
“
Sabrina, please
…”
His words were cut off as he clutched at his stomach in agony, face paling.
“
I put poison in your beef Wellington,
”
said Sabrina icily.
“
Just yours,
”
she added when she saw the panicked expressions on everyone
’
s faces.
“
I warned you when we first married Peter, don
’
t ever cheat on me.
”
He released a horrible choking sound before falling forward onto the table, his head connecting with the wood with a loud thud. As he fell he knocked over the crystal water glass which broke, making Sabrina wince. Even dead he still had the ability to get on her nerves.