The Circle (Hammer) - By Elfgren, Sara B.,Strandberg, Mats Page 0,110

to the floor. She splutters and coughs until she gags, and then, at long last, she can draw air into her lungs. A little water comes with it and she coughs, again violently. This time she’s close to vomiting.

Minoo stands up on shaky legs and almost falls in the bath. Supporting herself on the sink, she climbs out and has to sit on the toilet. Water runs from her hair and from her pyjamas. She breathes heavily and a big pool of water forms on the tiles at her feet. She doesn’t dare believe it’s over.

She jumps as a sudden pounding on the door. Someone pulls at the handle. ‘Minoo!’ her mother cries.

The relief is so powerful that she starts to cry. She wants to unlock the door and throw herself into her mother’s arms. But how would she explain her drenched pyjamas?

‘What’s going on in there?’ her mother calls, and beats on the door again.

Minoo takes a few deep breaths. ‘It’s all right. I fell asleep in the bath,’ she calls back. Her voice is hoarse and cracked. She barely recognises it when it echoes from the tiles.

‘Good Lord, Minoo! I told you, didn’t I!’

Minoo rests her forehead in her hands. Her whole body is shaking.

‘I’m sorry,’ her mother says, in a softer voice. ‘I just got so frightened. Would you like me to come in?’

Minoo forces a smile in the hope that it’ll make her sound normal. ‘It’s okay. I’m just going to clear up in here,’ she says.

She takes off her pyjamas, which land heavily on the floor with a smack. She hesitates before she dares to put her hand into the water and pull out the plug.

*

Anna-Karin sits down on the unmade bed. She’s still wearing her bright pink dress. Her hair flows out over the pillow when she lies down. She closes her eyes to stop the room spinning, but feels worse.

She’s sobered up a little during the long walk through the forest and now she’s very nervous. ‘What if your parents wake up?’ she whispers.

‘They won’t. Their room is on the other side of the house.’

Jari pulls off his shirt. He’s not wearing a vest underneath. His skin is pale, smooth and taut over his muscles. Anna-Karin hardly dares look but can’t stop herself. He unzips his jeans and bends down to pull them off, his face hidden beneath his long dark hair.

Then he’s in a pair of black boxer shorts that are so tight she can see the contours of what lies underneath. He moves towards the bed, still wearing his socks. For some reason she focuses her panic on them.

Take them off! Take them off!

He stops short and yanks off his socks as if they’re on fire. Then he smiles apologetically at her and crawls into bed. They lie beside each other for a moment as he plays with a wisp of her hair. His knee slides up her legs as he moves closer. He kisses her probingly as he reaches for the hem of her dress and pulls it up towards her hips.

You and I both know he’d never do it voluntarily.

Anna-Karin stops him. She lays a hand on his cheek, and looks deep into his eyes, trying to read his lustful, slightly glazed expression. Does he really want to be here? Does he really want to do this?

She takes a deep breath and holds his eyes. Then she switches off, cuts the power flowing out of her.

At first nothing happens. He looks at her with a patient but confused smile.

Then something changes in his eyes. It’s as if a film is lifted. A spark is suddenly reignited.

Jari looks away, scratches his arm distractedly. Looks at her again. And really sees her.

She knows that look. She’s seen it before.

‘What the fuck are you doing here?’

The room starts to spin again, as if she’s falling backwards in endless slow motion. A powerful twinge of nausea surges through her, like a convulsion. It can’t be ignored.

She leaps out of bed and tears open the door. The force of the bile builds in the pit of her stomach. Anna-Karin looks around the darkened hallway in panic. Lots of doors.

And here it comes, erupting into her mouth with the speed of a cannonball. She bolts into the corridor, keeps everything inside her mouth by clenching her teeth. Some shoots up her nose and that alone is so disgusting that she’s certain more will come at any moment. Her stomach groans, and she sees the little