Dark Spaces by Helen Black Read Free Book Online Page A

must concede.’
    ‘Mine’s not exactly sparkling,’ Lilly replied.
    ‘Then that’s something else we have in common.’
    The directness of his gaze matched that of his observation and Lilly wilted under both, taking refuge in the menu.
    ‘On a day like today we need carbs,’ Harry declared. ‘Tell me you’re not one of those awful women who only eat fruit and vegetables.’
    Lilly raised her eyebrows at him. Did she look like she lived on lettuce?
    ‘How about steak and chips?’ she said.
    ‘And sticky toffee pudding to follow.’ Harry rubbed his hands together. ‘It is snowing after all.’
    When they’d ordered their food, which frankly took far longer than need be as the waitress giggled and fawned over every word Harry uttered, he poured them both a glass of Châteauneufdu-Pape.
    ‘Why don’t you tell me what you thought of Lydia?’
    Lilly took a sip. The wine tasted expensive. She hoped Harry was paying.
    ‘Attention-seeking. Compulsive. No filters.’ Lilly paused. ‘And deeply, deeply unhappy.’
    He smiled, the wine leaving a small stain on his bottom lip. ‘You’re good.’
    ‘To be honest it wouldn’t take Freud to work out that the girl’s got problems.’
    ‘Will she go to prison?’
    ‘That depends on what you tell me about why she did it,’ Lilly said.
    ‘I haven’t a clue why she did it,’ Harry said. ‘What did she say about it?’
    Lilly shrugged. ‘Not much. She was drunk and didn’t know what she was doing. But I sense there’s something more complicated at the back of it.’
    ‘I’m sure you’re right,’ said Harry. ‘There usually is.’
    Lilly had met a lot of damaged kids in her time, their back stories all different yet violently familiar. Poverty, family breakdown, drugs and despair. But what about Lydia Morton-Daley? Lilly wasn’t naive enough to believe a privileged lifestyle protected kids like that from every sling and arrow. Something had sent a girl with everything to live for on a downward spiral of alcohol, sex and self-destruction, but it would be a lot harder to pinpoint why.
    What led a person from anger, frustration and sadness to full-blown mental collapse? Why could some kids hold on and others, like Lydia and Chloe, were unable to stop themselves falling off the edge?
    The thought of Chloe’s sweat-covered face, the manic look in her eyes as she passed the note made Lilly take a long gulp of wine. The thought of what the note said made her take another.
    Harry topped up her glass. ‘Are you okay?’
    Lilly nodded. ‘I met another patient this morning,’ she said. ‘A girl called Chloe.’
    ‘What did she tell you?’ Harry asked.
    ‘What makes you think she told me anything?’
    Harry smiled. ‘Chloe always tells people things. That someone’s poisoning her food, or that the nurses have put the evil eye on her. She’s delusional and, sadly for her, those delusions are mostly negative in ideation.’
    ‘Would it make any difference if they were positive?’
    ‘I think so, don’t you?’ said Harry. ‘If I could make my imaginings reality, I’d rather they were deliciously in my favour. I could quite enjoy my life as King of England or winner of
The X Factor
.’
    ‘But it’s not like that for Chloe?’ asked Lilly. ‘She’s paranoid?’
    ‘Utterly,’ said Harry, then his face lit up as their food arrived.
    *   *   *
     
    Gem calls in the fish shop on the way home and orders a bag of chips. It’s cheaper to buy a bag of frozen but you have to factor in money for the meter as well. And that thing eats money. It’s a lot cheaper if you pay the bill directly, but Mum keeps forgetting. Or they never have enough. So some men came round and fitted the meter and the fucker swallows pound coins like a slot machine.
    She’s waiting for the fresh batch of chips to fry, listening to the crackling sound of the oil, when some bloke comes in and asks for fish, chips, a battered sausage and mushy peas.
    ‘You hungry, Ted?’ the