The Apartment - K. L. Slater Page 0,43

is clear.

There is no sign of her.

‘Skye!’ I yell and run towards Adder House. The road at the top is so busy . . . oh God, she could have fallen off the kerb on her unicorn. I shouldn’t have taken my eyes off—

‘Mummy!’ I see the unicorn’s head first, then her sweet face follows, beaming at me as she darts forward from behind the hedge. She clocks my expression and her cheeky grin falters. ‘I was waiting to make you jump!’

I grab her hand tightly and jerk it. ‘Don’t ever do that again, do you hear me?’ Her eyes instantly fill with tears and I look around guiltily. ‘You scared me, poppet, that’s all.’ I soften my voice and release her hand, shocked at my own reaction.

I look down the street at Mark again. He signals to ask if everything is OK, and I nod, wave back at him.

‘You were talking to that man for ages,’ she objects, her lip trembling. ‘I was bored.’

‘I’m sorry. But you mustn’t play tricks when we’re out, Skye. You really made Mummy panic.’

‘Sorry,’ she says in a small voice, and I pull her to me, her words muffling into my side. Then she gathers herself and looks up. ‘What was he talking to you about?’

‘Just about how nice the street is,’ I say brightly, pushing his shocking revelation from my mind. ‘He said we’re lucky to live here. His name is Mark, he seems quite nice.’

I look up at the towering fa?ade of Adder House in front of us. At this dramatic angle, it looks foreboding.

I hesitate, a thousand things swirling around in my head. Everything I first loved about this place is being swamped by a rapidly growing sense of apprehension. I’m pinning so much hope on our new life here, and Skye has had enough upheaval to last her a lifetime.

The critical voice from the past echoes in my head again.

You muck everything up; you never stick at anything.

My last foster mother would say it every time I got a low mark in a test or started attending a kids’ club and gave it up. She was so critical, as hard as nails, and I know that. Yet . . . it’s who I believe I am. Someone who makes a mess of everything she does in life.

Skye pulls on my hand and we climb the steps together.

But before I can reach for the keypad, the door opens seemingly of its own accord.

25

I jump away from the entrance of the house as the door flies back. It gapes open, revealing the dark mouth of the wood-panelled hall behind it.

Skye squeaks and looks up at me fearfully.

Dr Marsden steps into the light from behind the door and holds up his hands. ‘Sorry if I startled you, Freya. I heard footsteps approaching and thought I’d save you the bother of . . .’ He peers at my face. ‘Is everything alright? You look a little upset.’

Skye ducks under his arm and into the house on her stick unicorn. Dr Marsden’s head tracks her.

‘Excuse me, young lady, you need permission to keep a pet here!’ he jokingly scolds, and Skye bursts into a flurry of giggles as she canters inside and disappears from view.

Dr Marsden is dressed in a pair of black trousers, an open-necked shirt, and a burgundy knitted pullover that he’s knotted around his shoulders.

He looks back towards the stairs and the sound of Skye singing there.

‘Let’s get you inside,’ he says kindly, waiting to close the door behind me. ‘Is there a problem?’

My heart sinks as I step inside the house. I can hardly just blurt out, Did someone die in our apartment?

My fingernails are pushing deep into my palm as my chest tightens.

We can’t stay here if it happened, we just can’t! I have to keep my daughter safe at all costs. As this occurs to me, I feel like the great weight of my own self-disappointment has gained its foothold again.

Can’t I make anything work any more? Why does every chance of happiness seem to dissolve around me? What is it doing to Skye’s own feelings of safety and groundedness, experiencing all these big life changes in so short a period?

My heart sinks to my boots when I think about going back to Brenna with my tail between my legs and asking if we can stay in the spare room after all, until I find a job with a good-enough salary that will pay double my Adder House rent