Page 80 of Death Kiss

The well.

All of it.

Reggie manages to get his fluffy face into the bin bag, sending us chasing him as he runs around the flat with a takeaway box over his head. For the first time in a long time, we laugh until we can’t breathe, trying to catch the ginger beast and free him. Hamish joins in, licking the leftover Chow Mein from Reggie’s face, much to his disgust.

Capturing the pets, we lift them, and Kat pulls the four of us into a cuddle, snapping a selfie. We look… happy.

Maybe we can finally be happy.

The picture is going to be the first thing I put up in our new home. A reminder to keep moving forward, no matter what.

THIRTY-EIGHT

KAT

It’s not until I turned my key in the towering front door earlier that it occurred to me that I never had a key until a few days ago. Not even as an adult. Not for emergencies. My parents have only ever seen me as an extension of their lives, not as a person in my own right.

We’ve spoken only through lawyers since the sale, and I wonder if we’ll ever get past that. Will age bring them wisdom? I’m their only child, but their lives have continued mostly unaffected by my presence. It was easier to pass me along to paid help than to change their lifestyles at all. There’s no reason to believe that will change.

Liam humphs in the last box, adding it to the small pile near the stairs after bumping the door closed behind him.

Reggie yowls as I finally open his crate, letting him out. You’d think we’d left him in there a whole week, given the look he gives me upon exiting.

‘It’s not my fault, Reggie. Look at this place; you’ll love it.’

The cat categorically does not look excited about the house. Looking around me, I can’t really blame him. Devoid of furniture, it’s cold and harsh, and so very empty. Our little stack of boxes pales in the vastness of the hallway.

Reggie tails Hamish, who is happily sniffing around the place. Our silly sausage dog is pretty oblivious to everything, so he happily trots around the house without a care.

I know every inch of the house. It’s been the tower I’m trapped in and the pirate’s ship I escaped on. The stairs have been a pyramid I slid down as an adventurer and the mountain I scaled to save a teddy. The house has been just about everything except a home.

Liam wraps his arms around me from behind, kissing my neck until I melt against him. God damn, I love it when he does that.

Each day that passes brings us a little more ease. Less chance of being arrested. Less chance of anyone digging out the well.

The well will be the first thing to go. The concrete level is below ground level, so we’ll cave in the mossy stones and bury it. It may still be findable, but it'll be much harder to spot.

‘How does it feel to be home?’ I ask Liam, aware that his feelings about the house come from a whole different place than mine.

‘It’s a bit weird that my tattoos match it. That’ll take some explaining.’ He grazes his teeth over my ear, and I lose myself in the sensation. ‘I have something to celebrate.’

‘What is it?’

‘Patience, Princess.’

Liam goes over to the boxes, checking the top of each before finding the one he wants. Using the knife from his belt, he splits the tape and draws out a bottle of champagne.

‘Liam! You didn’t?’

‘I heard it’s customary for the previous homeowners to leave a bottle for the new owners, but I thought we might be out of luck there. There are only mugs, though.’ He gives me a crooked smile that has me clenching my thighs. The way this man can upend my senses with one pointed look deserves to be studied.

‘I’d drink it from your mouth at this point, crack it open.’

Liam’s eyes darken. ‘Oh really?’

There I go again, soaked like a paddling pool on the first day of summer. ‘You bet.’

His arms flex as he uncorks the bottle, sending the stopper flying before taking a sip of the champagne. He crooks his fingers, and I go to him, stopping just short. Tilting my face up, he uses his thumb to open my mouth, letting the fizz drip from his mouth into mine. It’s so filthy with the way he’s looking at me that I may as well have turned into a cucumber with the percentage of my body that identifies as wet.