The Apartment - K. L. Slater Page 0,55

walk up the street, Audrey falls quiet, tapping away on her phone as we walk.

After a few minutes, though, she lays her hand on my shoulder.

‘She’ll be fine,’ she whispers. ‘No need to worry. No need at all.’ Easy for her to say.

When we get back to Adder House, Audrey is as good as her word. She insists we stay downstairs and enlists our help. We carry a jug of lemonade, glasses, and a plate full of biscuits out into the garden.

I’m overcome when we walk outside to see balloons and the small group of now-familiar faces who say in unison: ‘Congratulations on your first day at school, Skye!’

Despite her earlier melancholic mood, my daughter’s face breaks out into a wide smile. Susan Woodings rushes forward with a small gift wrapped in brightly coloured paper for Skye, and she asks me how I am, commenting how proud I must be.

I’m truly overwhelmed and Skye is in her element, enjoying all the fuss. Audrey must have arranged this impromptu little gathering via text as we walked back from school.

I glance through the throng and see Miss Brockley appear around the corner of the house, clutching her bag of bird seed. I wave to her, and Audrey, who’s standing next to Skye, follows my gaze.

She unceremoniously plonks her glass down on the grass, turns and stalks over to Miss Brockley. Audrey has her back to me but I watch as Lily’s face drops and she says something as if to defend herself, but Audrey folds her arms, all the time talking and jerking her head and then jabbing her finger, as if to make a point.

I can’t help but wonder what might be being said and I’m concerned for Lily. I know Skye would love her to be part of the celebration.

After a few more obviously tense exchanges with Audrey, Lily shrugs and turns on her heel, disappearing back around the corner.

I push my curiosity aside because I don’t want anything to spoil Skye’s moment.

I know everyone looks happy to be here; there’s just this discomforting feeling I have that niggles me. Something is slightly off, almost as if everyone is playing some kind of a role.

What I really want is for my daughter to have a sense of belonging, to know that she has people around her who care. Not just me. My greatest hope for us both is to have a happy family unit again.

Susan and Matthew Woodings want to know all about what Skye did in class this afternoon and Susan is animated and charming, far from the troubled soul she seemed to be in the garden.

After all this and a spot of hide-and-seek with Dr Marsden, Skye starts repeatedly yawning. After profusely thanking Audrey and the other residents, who’ve shown such thoughtfulness for Skye, we finally head back upstairs to the apartment.

We pass Lily Brockley’s door and I’m tempted to knock, but I think Skye has had enough interaction for today and I don’t want to dampen the mood of excitement for her if Lily seems upset.

Once we get to the top floor, I unlock our apartment door and Skye ambles in before me. When I step inside, my skin prickles and I immediately stop walking and stand stock still for a moment to identify exactly what has spooked me.

The air feels different in here since we left. And there’s a smell – not unpleasant – just different to how it was.

I snap on the light in the dim hallway and look around. There are a few flakes of plaster on the wooden floor and when I look up and see the cause of it, I take a sharp breath. My face feels like it’s on fire.

‘What’s that, Mummy?’ Skye says in a small voice as she follows my stare to up above the doorway.

A small, unobtrusive camera is pointing down the hallway, a tiny red light flashing rhythmically on it like a watchful, blinking eye.

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I beat back the feelings that are threatening to overwhelm me and settle Skye on the couch with her blanket. I start the latest Boss Baby movie on Netflix and kiss the top of her head.

‘Back in five minutes, sweetie,’ I whisper.

‘Where are you going? Where has that camera come from?’ She sits up on her elbows.

‘I’m just going down to ask Audrey about it now. No need for you to worry, just relax and watch the movie.’

Reluctantly, she lies down again.

Downstairs I hammer on the door of apartment one.

Dr Marsden comes to