The Border Part Two by Amy Cross Read Free Book Online Page A

honestly believe that there could be much of anything bubbling away under the surface?”
    “If you’d asked me yesterday,” he muttered, “I’d have said no. But now? Now I’m starting to think I might have been the biggest fool around. I think there might be something here, Ruth. Something that just got real good at keeping out of view. And the worst thing is, even now I know it’s there, I still can’t see it.”
    ***
    Lowering herself slowly into the bath, Katie winced as soon as she felt water against her torn and scratched skin. Every nerve in her body seemed to be screaming out to her, telling her to stop, but she kept going, forcing herself down until she was sitting on the submerged mat, with water up to her shoulders.
    Finally, unable to hold back any longer, she let out a faint gasp.
    After a few minutes, she lifted her left arm and looked at the cut that ran from her elbow to her armpit. The skin on either side of the cut itself was red and sore, but the wound was already healing over. She lowered her arm again, trying to ignore the stinging sensation as she felt hot water against her injuries. Although she wanted to close her eyes, she didn’t dare. She knew she’d see Mr. Crutchlow’s grinning face again, the same face that had seared itself into her mind during her second night at The Border.
    A moment later, she heard her phone start ringing. She’d left it on the closed toilet lid, and when she leaned over and took a look she saw to her horror that it was Simon, the man from the office, who was trying to get in touch. She waited, daring herself to answer, and finally the ringing stopped.
    Silence.
    And then she flinched slightly as it started again.
    “Go away,” she whispered. “Please…”
    Reaching out with a wet, dripping hand, she picked up the phone and looked at the screen. She knew she should answer, that she’d promised to always be available for The Border whenever they needed her, but at the same time she’d been hoping for a night to herself. Finally, she felt a hint of relief as the phone once again stopped ringing.
    If it rings again , she told herself, I’ll answer. Three times would mean he’s really desperate and -
    Suddenly the phone began to ring again in her hand, and she realized it wasn’t going to stop. After taking a moment to regather her composure, she tapped the screen and held it to the side of her face.
    “Yes?” she said cautiously.
    All she heard was a burst of static, with a human voice lost in the noise. She held the phone away from her face until it stopped.
    “Hello?” she continued. “Look, I can’t make out a word you’re saying. It’s… It’s just like the intercom, it’s all garbled.”
    She waited, and then the static came back. There was definitely someone speaking on the other end, but the distortion was so great that it was almost like a kind of primordial, digital howl.
    “I can’t hear you,” she said firmly. “Simon, I know it’s you, but -”
    The howl returned, a little louder than before, as if he was trying harder to be heard.
    “Do you want me to work tonight?” she asked. “Is that it?”
    Again, the only answer was a static howl.
    “Could you maybe text me instead? I really don’t know what you’re saying.”
    Another howl.
    “Okay, fine,” she continued, “I’ll be there. I can’t make out a word of this, but I’ll show up for work tonight, at the same time as before. Is that okay?”
    She waited, and finally she heard a brief burst of static that she figured might be him agreeing.
    “I’m going to hang up now,” she added. “Oh, and you really need to get your phone fixed. It’s, like, crazy trying to work out anything you’re saying.”
    Cutting the call, she set her phone back on the toilet lid before leaning back in the bath. The pain from her injuries wasn’t so bad this time, and she figured that with a few hours to go before she had to be at work again, she could probably recover enough.