Run Away With Me : A fast-paced psychological thriller by Daniel Hurst (free e novels TXT) 📗

is usually so relaxing to come to a place like this, but now, our stay promises to be anything but.

Adam brings the car to a stop just outside the cottage, and I stare at the pretty stone-build through the windscreen. It’s not a large property by any means. There are two levels to it but only three rooms on each. There is a living area and kitchen downstairs with a small pantry coming off it leading to the back door, and two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs.

Back when Kat first talked about buying this place, she told me she had visualised her family driving up here for the weekends or for a longer break in the summer. She’d pictured them spending the days enjoying long, winding walks in the countryside and the evenings curled up on the sofa in front of the fire watching films, reading books or just chatting over a bottle of wine with her husband, Martin, while their kids were in bed. Her and Martin liked the idea of having an affordable and private place to retreat to whenever the stresses of life got on top of them, and I have to say it did sound ideal and almost too good to be true. Alas, it has almost turned out that way.

Kat and Martin hardly ever come up here unless it is to do some urgent maintenance on the property. They just never seem to be able to find the time to load everything up into the car and make the drive. Essentially, it’s been a massive waste of money for them, although it has been great for Adam and me because we are allowed to use it when we wish. We don’t come here as often as we would like either, but we have been more than Kat and her family, which always felt a little awkward considering they had paid for it but never mind. I do like it here, though. Having a little country hideaway to get away from it all for a few nights is everybody’s dream, I would imagine. Yet here we are, my husband and I, with our luggage in the boot and our minds weary from the drive up, and it now feels like a nightmare to be here.

These were not the circumstances I expected to be at this cottage under, but I’m just glad to have somewhere to rest now.

It’s late, and I’m exhausted.

Adam is already out of the car and grabbing the bags from the boot, but I take my time getting out of the vehicle because my back is aching and I don’t want to make it worse. I’ve been pretty fortunate that I haven’t suffered too many of the negative side effects that can come from being pregnant, but my back has been progressively stiffening up over the past few months and the car journey tonight hasn’t helped that issue. I need to lie down, stretch out and close my eyes. But first, we need to get inside, and I suddenly panic that we have forgotten the key. Fortunately, Adam is one step ahead of me, as he has been for most of the night so far, and he takes out the silver key from his pocket whilst walking towards the entrance to the cottage.

He opens the door, and even though I know there is no alarm set inside, it’s still nice to hear the silence within. I recall a previous conversation we had the first time we visited here when I noticed that there was no security system in place.

‘Your sister never worried about anybody breaking in?’ I had asked Adam as we had walked through the front door.

‘Who would break in?’ he had replied. ‘There’s nobody here.’

It was a good point, and I think about it now as I look around at the dark hills that surround us. I’m not sure if I would be more relieved to see a light in the distance or whether the isolation is a source of comfort.

Adam grabs a few of our bags before stepping inside the cottage and I follow him in, turning the lights on and seeing the interior that I recognise from previous visits. The cushions on the two leather sofas facing the flatscreen TV. The small open-plan kitchen that is mainly for preparing sandwiches or soup rather than cooking a full-blown meal. And the stairs leading to the two small bedrooms and the bathroom on the upper floor, well decorated and neatly presented and all adding up to this being the perfect place to spend a few lazy days away from the hassles of real life.

Of course, it’s a lot more than real life that we are trying to get away from now.

‘It’s freezing,’ I say, rubbing my hands over the arms of my coat.

‘I’ll put the heating on and grab the rest of the bags,’ Adam replies. ‘Why don’t you head upstairs and get yourself ready for bed?’

I nod at the plan and head for the staircase, too tired to disagree or lend my help with the rest of the luggage. Climbing up to the dark floor above, I entertain a brief and nonsensical moment of fear about somebody hiding up here in the pitch-black waiting to jump out at me. But it’s a silly thought, and I push it from my mind, although it’s easier to forget about it once I have turned the lights on on the upstairs landing so I can now see where I’m going.

I’m a little too old to be scared of things in the dark.

I know that there are much worse things to worry about than fictitious monsters.

I reach the bedroom and turn on the light before a loud popping noise almost makes me jump out of my skin. A small yelp escapes from my throat, and Adam must have heard it because he comes running up the stairs to check on me.

‘What is it?’ he asks as he reaches me in the bedroom doorway.

‘The bulb’s