Remembrance (The Water Tower Book 2) - Chris Vobe

Remembrance (The Water Tower Book 2) by Chris Vobe

Book excerpt

The room was spinning around him. His vision was hazy. There was nothing except the ring, spiralling to a standstill on the coffee table. She was talking, but all he could hear were abstract words; disconnected, detached half-sentences that reminded him of that night in the club with Jake and Melanie; when Judith had called and her voice, like a protracted shadow, had drowned out everything beyond small snatches of conversation. It was happening again.

“—not what you think — calm down — please — promise you — can explain—”

Victoria was in front of him now, her hands on his chest, a piteously imploring expression grafted onto her usually sublime features as she tried to compel him to react, to respond; to do or say something. But he couldn’t move. He didn’t dare speak. It was as if he were rooted to the spot, his gaze fixed squarely on the ring – her wedding ring – as it came to rest on the table.

“Listen to me!”

She practically screamed the words, tears coalescing at the edges of her vision, blurring her line of sight and threatening to obscure him completely.

He noticed her hair as she edged backwards to block his view of the ring; for the first time, it looked out of place, something less than immaculate, ruffled first by the wind outside and then the force of her every motion as she’d shaken her head, dragged her fists anxiously through it, tangling it in strands of fear and apprehension.

The hum in his ears, which he now realised was the heavy throb of his own heartbeat, dissipated. Gradually, the room stopped spinning. His vision settled. He was pulled from his grey miasma and back to her. The piercing cry of her plea shook away the fog that had threatened to consume his surroundings entirely.

“I have to go…” he said, hoarsely and made for the door.

She blocked his escape, tugging at the sleeve of his coat. “You can’t go. We need to talk,” she implored. He tried to shake himself loose, tried to grasp the handle, but she pulled at him, refusing to relax her grip; as if she could somehow wrench him back from the edge of the abyss upon which they both stood by sheer force of will.

“I have to… I need to go…”

“Please – Adam – listen to me. Please! Just, just – listen to me, you bastard!”

He stopped instantly. His arm dropped limply to his side. She released his sleeve. He turned to her, and saw a face filled with…

What was that? Fear?

“I’m – I’m sorry – I’m…” she stammered. “I didn’t mean that…”

“I know you didn’t,” he breathed, finally. He reached out to put his hands on her shoulders and watched the last flicker of fear ebb away. “I know you didn’t…”

All he could do until he regained his breath was look at her. Suddenly, there was nothing else in the world that mattered. Just the sound of her voice, the cadence of her footsteps, and the deep pools of her coffee eyes. Exactly as it had been on the day they’d first met. He imagined himself sitting in the armchair across the room, the two of them alone together, wishing that the world could begin and end within the sanctuary of those four walls. He thought of them on the couch, skin against leather, surrendering themselves to one another, feeling the press of her lips against his neck as his hands skated over her bare flesh.

“Please,” she whispered, suppressing her tears now as she gained a handle on the words she needed. “Sit down. I promise I’ll tell you everything.”

He nodded. He felt numb inside. All he could see in his mind’s eye was the ring – her wedding ring – taunting him as it spun on the glass, its single diamond catching the light with every turn.

It was an endless spin, one that felt like it would never stop.

***

“I wasn’t lying when I told you what I ran from,” she said. “More than anything else, it was the thought of staying.”

They sat facing each other; Victoria on the couch and Adam in the armchair. He’d removed his coat and draped it over the back, his only concession to normality. She had tucked her legs underneath her, the same way she’d done on the night of their first kiss. She lowered her voice as she spoke; it was more than a whisper, but less than her usual confident tenor. She’d made them both a hot drink; Adam’s lay untouched on the side table beside the chair. Victoria nursed hers between her hands, her fingertips stroking the rim of the mug as she gazed into the steaming liquid. She was doing her best not to cry, but the ragged breaths that intermittently tore through her words betrayed her. Mostly, she kept her head down, lifting it from time to time in the hope of finding the reassurance she longed for. Adam kept his face impassive, saying very little, preserving his peace as she talked.

“I was 26 when I met him. We got married three years later. God, we’re all so cocky at that age, aren’t we? Well, everyone except you, I mean. We think the whole world’s been waiting for us. Holding off on opening all its doors until we’re ready. We think we’re untouchable. We can’t imagine what could possibly go wrong, any of us. Until it does.

“I was looking for a door to run through. My dad – oh, my dad was my hero, but he died when I was teenager. Mum and I — well, let’s just say we didn’t exactly see eye to eye. I wanted to be someone else. I was hankering to get swept away on that wave everyone seems to ride in their 20s, you know – before life gets serious.

“His parents paid for the wedding. They booked this big hotel in the country, out in the middle of nowhere. The photos made it look like something from a dream, but actually, it was a nightmare for everyone to get to. We said the words, made all the promises, but even then I’d started to doubt myself. Oh, it’s nothing new,” she added quickly, catching the surprise on his face, “I’ve always done it. Running for election. Saying my vows in front of a room full of people on what’s supposed to be the happiest day of my life. Even ordering a takeaway. I can’t help it. I think some of us are pre-conditioned to doubt everything.”

Adam watched as a veil fell across her eyes. She stared into the corner, no longer seeing the sitting room of a house on White Chapel Lane, but the grounds of a country hotel, twenty years in the past. Her voice changed, as if she was suddenly very far away from him. Adam remained steeped in silence, wondering what she was contemplating in the mirror of her mind.