Save Her by Abigail Osborne (novel books to read .txt) 📗

button. She remembered the dubious look he had given her when she told him about the incident in the swimming pool, and the way he accused her of being sensitive. Also, it was 3.35am. She could picture him, blond hair sticking up at all angles, reaching blindly for the phone, cursing violently at the person that dared to wake him at this ungodly hour. He did not do mornings, not even for her. Did this even qualify as an emergency? She didn’t think so.

No, there was only one person she could call for any reason and they would always be there. Trying to take deep breaths to calm herself, Flora fumbled with the phone and dialled Sophie’s mobile.

‘What do you want?’ asked a gruff male voice.

‘Greg?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Where’s Sophie?’

‘Why?’

‘I want to talk to her.’ Her voice breaking in her desperation to hear Sophie’s voice.

‘Why?’

‘I just do. Please.’ She sounded so pathetic, like a child. But she had just been lying in a bed of worms. The thought made her shudder once more.

‘Whatever. Don’t know why you’d want to talk to that crazy bitch anyway.’ Greg sounded like he had been drinking. The venom in his voice was shocking. Flora didn’t know what to say. There was a crackle and then Sophie’s voice came down the phone.

‘Flora. What’s wrong?’

‘Sophie.’ Flora came undone, unable to talk anymore. The terror at what had just happened had overcome her.

‘Just give me a few minutes to deal with Greg and I’ll be right there,’ said Sophie.

‘So how do you think they got in here?’ Sophie asked whilst she picked up the worms with a ladle and scooped them into a bin bag. Too focused on making sure none of the worms came near her, Flora could hear Sophie’s voice but could not process her words. With the light on, the worms looked more menacing, their pink and brown bodies vibrant against the bright white duvet cover. The veins on their bodies rippled as they expanded and contracted in a disgusting convulsive dance that made her chest feel tight.

‘Flora, you’ve gone green. It’s only a bunch of worms, not snakes!’

‘Sorry?’ Again, she wasn’t really listening to Sophie. Sophie scooped up the last of the worms and shook out the duvet cover. Flora screamed and ran into the bathroom, honestly believing she would pass out if she had to experience another cold, slimy worm on her body. Flora heard Sophie moving around, then the front door closing and opening again a few minutes later.

‘They’re gone now!’ shouted Sophie. Flora got up from the edge of the bathtub where she had been deep breathing to return her heart rate to normal. She opened the door and stuck her head out first, needing visual confirmation before she would risk leaving the safety of the bathroom.

‘Oh come on. I’ve said they are gone,’ snapped Sophie.

Defensive, Flora snapped back, ‘You know my history with creepy-crawlies!’

Sophie wrapped a conciliatory arm around Flora. ‘I know, but they are gone now. Sophie to the rescue, remember?’

‘Okay, but can we just go downstairs? I can’t stay in here anymore.’

In the kitchen, Sophie ordered her to sit down. ‘I’ll make us a drink.’

Obediently, Flora sat at the kitchen island, head in her hands. She could hear Sophie pulling out the cups from the cupboard and turning on the hot water tap. The cutlery drawer opened. Sophie let out a screech, jumped backwards and hit her back against the worktop. ‘Oh my god!’

Flora jumped to her feet. Sophie was staring at the cutlery draw in horror, hand over her mouth. Flora gingerly moved around the island to see what Sophie could see. Inside the drawer, there were worms crawling over the knives and forks leaving trails of slime and crumbs of dirt in their wake.

Flora let out a scream, fled into the living room and jumped onto the sofa. She remained standing there listening to Sophie swearing in the kitchen.

‘I’ll sort it. Don’t worry!’ Sophie shouted through to her.

Knowing Sophie was dealing with the worms, Flora sat down on the sofa and started rocking backwards and forwards, trying to keep her panic in check.

She had never had a problem with creepy-crawlies until her aunt had punished her by making her sleep in the pitch-black attic among the spiders and mice. The whole night she was terrorised by the feel of little legs as they scurried past her or sometimes over her. Ever since then even money spiders had her pale and shaky.

Why the hell are there worms inside the house? Her skin crawled at the phantom slime of hundreds of worms all over her body. She was close to a mental breakdown.

Who is doing this to me?

28

Worms were disgusting creatures. She knew that every creature had a place, but worms – seriously. Ugly, pink contortionists that gave her the creeps. Sophie chucked the last of the worms into the bin. They were everywhere in the kitchen, in most of the drawers and cupboards. It was foul. She wasn’t scared of them, just grossed out.

Grabbing the bin bag, she walked out of the front door and tossed it into the black bin. It reminded her of all the times she had had to clean up her mum’s vomit after another drinking binge. She wasn’t sure which was the more disgusting. She shuddered and went back into the house and washed her hands twice, desperate to cleanse herself of the slime and dirt she was sure was sticking to her.

She found Flora rocking backwards and forwards looking demented, her arms hugging her body, face pale and sweaty. Ever since they were young, Flora had hated bugs and creepy-crawlies. She’d freak out if an ant went near her, let alone long, slimy worms. Sophie sat down next to her and began to rub her back, making the soothing noises like she would with a baby. It worked like a charm, as always, and Flora sank into her. Sophie wrapped her arms around her.

But then Flora pulled away, frowning, her