Keep Your Friends Close: A gripping psychological thriller full of shocking twists you won’t see coming
‘So, what are we celebrating tonight?’
It was Louie.
Aaron didn’t answer. He seemed to be leaving it to Karin to respond. ‘Oh,’ she said, fixing her eyes on Aaron. ‘Erm. My birthday. It’s my birthday. Today.’ Karin had no choice but to look at Louie then. Becoming aware that she was using Aaron’s hand as a stress ball, she immediately slackened off, giving him another apologetic smile.
‘Well in that case, let me get you something suitable,’ said Louie. ‘I’ve been informed you used to work here, so it’s with our compliments.’
‘Very generous. Thank you,’ Aaron replied, beaming at Karin. Then when Louie had gone, he asked: ‘Do you know that girl?’
‘I can’t really remember. It’s a while since I was here. Staff come and go all the time. Listen, do you think we could step outside for a bit of air?’
Aaron got up, coming round to Karin’s side of the table. Covering her shoulders with her cardigan, he pulled out her chair and waited patiently for her to stand. On their way out, he caught someone’s attention and had a quiet word to explain, pointing over to their abandoned table. It didn’t seem to be a problem.
The evening was hanging on to its unusually warm air as they stepped onto the terrace, but Karin was grateful for the relative coolness. From here the sea was a glistening mass, breathing its dark silky waves, in and out. It made no sound, a silent predator awaiting its next victim. This was a dangerous stretch of beach.
‘It’s beautiful,’ said Aaron, putting his arm around Karin’s waist to steady her down the steps.
‘Yes. I did love it here,’ she replied, her eyes drawn to the pier. She pulled on Aaron’s arm to go in the other direction, away from the pier, and they began to stroll along the promenade towards Heysham, holding hands.
They’d celebrated her twentieth birthday on the end of that pier. Louie had suddenly produced a cheap bottle of wine and they each took a drink saying: ‘Meet me at the edge’. Karin wasn’t even sure what she meant by it, it was just a feeling back then, but it was always there. She remembered the sea beating against the pilings beneath them as they hung their heads over the side, dangling their arms into the inky-black waves, daring one another to let go.
‘Should we head back?’ said Aaron, coming to a standstill. ‘We’ve probably walked far enough. You feeling any better?’
‘Sure,’ she replied, allowing him to turn her round. She would carry on to Blackpool if she could, all twenty-eight miles of it in her heels. Karin was surprised to learn they had already been walking for over ten minutes.
‘Must have been great to live by the sea,’ Aaron said, as they strolled back in again. ‘I’d love to do that, one day.’
‘Yes,’ said Karin, shuddering at the memories she had left here. Then she felt Aaron’s arm across her shoulders and wondered if he meant the two of them together. ‘Oh. Well I’d really like that too,’ she added, looking into his eyes. He gave her a half-grin and Karin realized that, yet again, she sounded foolish.
Walking with her head down the rest of the way, the fear of running into Louie returned.
The champagne was waiting for them when they arrived at their table, sitting in a bucket of ice ready to be popped and poured into flutes. Louie was hovering nearby, but held off for a moment, giving them time to get settled. As Karin saw her approaching, she was also aware of Aaron rummaging in the inside of his jacket.
‘What are you doing?’ she asked, keeping a close eye on Louie.
He pulled out a box. Black velvet, expensive-looking.
Did he have to do this now?
She didn’t dare check on Louie again. She must have seen what was happening though, and maintained a professional distance. All Karin could think about as Aaron placed the box down in front of her was Louie’s pain. How much this would hurt her.
‘Happy birthday, Karin,’ he said, nudging the box towards her. ‘Open it.’
Her fingers were trembling; she could barely lift up the lid. Karin let out a gasp, no longer pretending to be surprised. It was a cross-over design, white gold set with tiny diamonds. A label was looped through the ring which said:
Marry me, Karin xx
‘Oh Aaron, it’s beautiful.’
‘Well?’
She hesitated.
‘Yes! Of course, yes.’
Plunging the ring down her finger she clasped both her hands round Aaron’s, until she was aware of Louie coming over and quickly released them again.
When Louie reached their table, her face was set. She pulled the cooling bucket in nearer. A droplet of water dripped onto the tablecloth as she lifted out the bottle. She gave it a wipe before opening it and began to pour.
‘Happy birthday,’ she said, handing Karin a glass.
Then one for Aaron.
The sound of the bottle crashing back into the ice sliced through Karin’s nerves, leaving her conscience in shreds. But she had to be strong. She had come a long way since Morecambe.
‘Actually, it’s more than just a birthday,’ she heard Aaron say, feeling her fingers being flaunted under Louie’s nose. Karin almost shouted, No, don’t do that. It was too cruel, but Aaron wasn’t to know. In any case it was too late.
Louie flinched.
Karin recovered her hand as soon as it felt appropriate to do so. Her betrayal was pulling both ways; she felt as though she might snap in two. Aaron picked up his glass and Karin did the same; the jubilant tap of crystal, bubbles fizzing up her nose. The only way Karin could cope with this was by pretending that Louie wasn’t there at all.
‘In that case it’s double congratulations,’ said Louie, somewhere in the background.
Karin felt her whole body collapse as Louie walked away. But then saw her spin round again, as if she had remembered something. Karin let out a gasp, seeing her return to their table. She tightened her fingers round her wrist in her lap, trying to make the moment end quickly.
‘Someone saw you drop this over by the toilets,’ said Louie, placing an earring in front of Karin. ‘Looks like one you really wouldn’t want to lose.’
A dog was barking outside. Mel rushed to the window, banging on it as loudly as she dared, fearing it might break if she did it too hard. Next door’s dog was squatting down in their poor overgrown excuse of a lawn and wasn’t taking a bit of notice. Even when the neighbour came to retrieve it, he wasn’t going to clean up its mess either, not until Mel banged on the window again. He put up his hand as if to say sorry, but probably wasn’t.
Mel slumped back into her chair and sighed. Not only was she fretting about Karin, she was also distracted by the number of adverts on her computer suggesting she should jet off somewhere, instead of sitting here on a Friday night in a shabby rented house, all alone except for some weird homeless man watching TV downstairs. Mel would like nothing more than to retire to some sunny part of the world. Who wouldn’t? But daydreaming was certainly not going to get her there and she needed to get back to work.
In the end she couldn’t resist sending a text to find out how Karin was getting on:
WELL? HAS HE POPPED THE QUESTION YET?
MEL XXX
It