How to Kill Men and Get Away With It(66)
Amazingly though, the flat is immaculate. There’s not one empty bottle of wine or packet of pills in sight.
‘Rita came in and cleaned while you were away,’ Charlie says, seeing my confusion. ‘We didn’t think you’d want to come back to, well, it was pretty disgusting.’
I make a mental note to give Rita a massive tip when she next comes in. I head gingerly into my bedroom, where I see myself in the mirror again and almost scream.
I look like the girl from The Ring.
‘I’m going to take a shower,’ I say. ‘I feel hideous.’
Charlie looks at me, his face a knot of worry.
‘Charlie, I can take a shower. I’m not going to do anything to myself. I promise.’
He gives me a sad smile. ‘I don’t want to feel like your jailer.’
‘Then don’t act like one.’
I head into my en suite and turn the shower on. I take my clothes off and examine my skinny frame in the mirror. My ribs are showing too. Maisie would be so jealous. I think about taking a selfie and sending it to her, but realise this might be in bad taste. I also realise that I don’t actually know where my phone is. I step into the shower, turning the water up as hot as I can bear it. I squeeze shampoo into my hair and rub expensive shower cream over my body and immediately feel more human. I rinse and slather on a handful of conditioner and decide to give my legs a quick shave while it does its job. But as I drag the blade up my legs, I realise my hands are still trembling and I nick my skin several times. I watch the blood make a whirlpool as it runs into the drain. It makes my head swim and I have to sit down on the cold porcelain. That’s when I notice that I’m crying too. I desperately swallow the sobs back down so Charlie doesn’t hear and burst in, deciding that I’ve made another attempt on my life. I stay like that for about ten minutes, trying to stop the flow of blood and tears, before gingerly stepping out and wrapping myself in one of my giant bath towels, that are even more giant on me now. I dry off, give my hair a quick blast, put some PJs on and head into the lounge, where Charlie is pacing, reading something intently on his phone. He sees me and immediately clicks the side button and shoves it in his pocket.
He smiles and claps his hands, business-like, which makes me jump. ‘Sorry,’ he says. ‘So, do you want the sofa and duvet? Or bed?’
‘Sofa please.’ I sit awkwardly on it, while Charlie shuffles around, bringing me pillows and a blanket. He makes tea. I want vodka.
‘Do you need anything else?’
‘My phone and laptop please.’
He looks at me and there’s a beat of silence between us. ‘Actually, I’ve been advised to keep you away from social media.’ He sounds awkward.
‘What? Why? That’s my job!’
‘Well, considering what you’re going through, you probably could do with having a bit of time off, don’t you think?’
‘I’m not going through anything. I’m fine. How many times do I need to tell you that I wasn’t trying to kill myself!’’
‘Kitty. I found you slumped unconscious in your bed, surrounded by fuck knows how many empty bottles of booze and pills. I thought you were fucking dead! You had to have your stomach pumped, for crying out loud. That is not the behaviour of someone who is fine.’ He runs his hand through his hair, then sits down on the sofa by my feet. ‘Is this because of us? The baby?’
Wait. What? He thinks I did this because I was pregnant and he dumped me? Men are really ridiculous sometimes. Even the non-sociopath ones.
‘Charlie. This is nothing to do with you or the miscarriage. I promise. I didn’t try to kill myself either, I just overdid it a bit trying to deal with some other stuff, okay? Now can I please have my laptop? I want to read the news and catch up with my life.’
He looks dubious.
‘You can sit right there and if I start to spin out, I’ll let you know.’
I can tell he’s still reluctant, but Charlie gets up, locates my computer and hands it to me. I need to find out what the fuck is going on with Ruben Reynolds.
In all honesty, I was surprised when there wasn’t a prison guard sat outside my hospital room. I quickly put his name in the search bar and hundreds of links fill the screen. I head to Apple News. It’s not great news.
No leads yet on football star’s murdered brother
Police investigating the brutal murder of Ruben Reynolds, younger brother of England International star Raphe, are set to hold a press conference later this week after admitting they are yet to find any strong leads connected to the case.
Ruben was last seen with friends and teammates of his brother in Raffles nightclub in Chelsea, Southwest London. But witnesses say they saw him leave the venue early and alone. CCTV confirmed this but it’s unknown how Ruben got back to the luxury apartment he was house-sitting for his brother who was enjoying a pre-season holiday in Spain. Anyone who has any information about Ruben’s movements after he left the nightclub are requested to get in touch with the police.
Raphe – who has been capped four times for England – said in a statement: ‘We are desperate to find out who killed a much-loved brother and son. Our family is devastated that something so horrible could happen in my home which is fitted with state-of-the-art security. We are determined we won’t rest until his killer is brought to justice.’