Horror Stories from Horrified - Volume One (2)

I was alr eady tir ed of gr appling for excuses ar ound the constant thr ob of dr ead. It had
follow ed me that mor ning fr om the tube stop to the office, slinking thr ough r ailings and
br ambles and half-lit lamp posts, always str aying at the ner vous edges of my eye line. On
the back of r estless empty nights, I had little left for Mandy or anyone else w ithout such
tr oubles.
?I?m sur e you?ll have a good night.?
?Alr ight, love.?
She str utted back to the safety of her desk, yanking her skir t. I delved back into the for est
of little black pixels dotting my spr eadsheets and w or d docs.
29th November
?After noon. You know w e?r e going to mum?s later ??
The war mth of pancakes and coffee had dr agged me up. Sw ir ls of fr ost laced the kitchen
w indow s w ith a fanciful flour ish, her alding the fir st r eally cold day of the season. He
kissed my bar e shoulder and plated up.
?Will the C-w or d be mentioned?? I asked.
?Don?t talk about Jess like that.?
He always makes me smile no matter how thick-headed I wake. I dr ank tea, too hot, and
cur sed.
?Chr istmas,? I pr ompted.
He didn?t use the w or d ar ound me, par tly because his family made holidays mor e of a
chor e than a joy to him. He had also stopped asking about seeing my mum.
?I?m sur e it w ill. Mum wants to see the boys but Jess w ill say they have their tr aditions so
they?ll go at it for a bit. Then they?ll lay into Jodie instead, that?s their favour ite bonding
exper ience. We just have to eat lasagne and dr ink w ine, put the boys to bed - Noah and Josh
love their pumpkin nightlights, by the way - and then w e?ll be out of ther e. Minimum
C-w or d talk, I pr omise.?
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