In Chains Page 2

  “Yeah, I met him this morning.” I want to ask about the spasms but Kayden is still in the living room and I’m sure he’ll be able to hear me. I don’t want to embarrass him or myself, I’ll ask Simon later. “Where does he go at one?”

  “I’m renting it out to my neighbour till eight.” The idea of renting out a human being doesn’t sit right with me and I don’t like the way he keeps referring to Kayden as ‘it’ but I don’t want to upset Simon on my second day here by mentioning it. “I was thinking, we could go to my local pub tomorrow night and have dinner there. You can meet my girlfriend.”

  I put the bread into the toaster. “I didn’t know you had a girlfriend. How long have you been together? What’s her name? Where did you meet?”

  He laughs. “You’re so excitable. Her name’s Christina. We’ve been dating six months and we work in the same building.” I place our coffee and eggs on the table. “If you have any more questions you can ask her yourself when you meet her tomorrow.”

  “Do you love her?”

  “It’s too early to say,” he says, through a mouthful of egg.

  “You’ve been dating for six months. You must know by now if you love her or not.”

  “Unlike you Savannah, I prefer to take things slow. You rushed into your relationship and look how that ended.” Oh, that was a low blow. My fingers clench the handles of my knife and fork. “I’m sorry Savannah. I didn’t mean to say it like that.” He finishes his egg, puts his plate into the sink and kisses me on the head. “I’m an arse. You didn’t deserve that. Do you forgive me?”

  My neck feels stiff. “Yeah I forgive you. Dan was a mistake but we all make mistakes.”

  “I must get ready for work, maybe I’ll see you tonight, or in the morning if you’re asleep when I get back.”

  As he goes back upstairs I hear the front door closing. I guess Kayden has finished with the fire.

  After washing the breakfast dishes I head outside to wander around Simon’s land. As I pass the chicken coop I notice a run-down, rusty caravan. I’ve got nothing better to do so I decide to have a nose around. Opening the door I realise someone lives here, Kayden I suppose. It smells musty and there’s not much furniture, just a single size bed. In the far corner there’s an upturned metal bucket and on top of it rests a bar of soap and a cut-throat razor. Above it on a small shelf is a battered looking tin mug and plate, along with a spoon. Beside those is half a loaf of bread, a carrot and a lump of mouldy cheese. A towel hangs from a nail below the shelf.

  The bed is covered with a dirty sheet. A blanket is neatly folded at one end and there’s a flat pillow at the other end. On the floor there’s a wind-up alarm clock and a pile of paper. Glancing through the papers I see they are junk mail. Beside them is a chewed, stubby pencil. I wonder what he’s doing with these. Two pieces of paper are stuck to the wall above his bed. Looking closer I see they’re drawings, one is of the cockerel, the other is of a mouse nibbling at some cheese. They’re good, he’s talented. I guess he must use the scrap paper for his drawings.

  Suddenly I feel like an intruder. This is his home and these are his personal things, I shouldn’t be snooping around like this. Closing the door, I turn around and gasp, my breath catching in my throat. Kayden is standing right in front of me.

  “I’m sorry. I just opened the door. I didn’t go in. I’m exploring the farm.” I hate lying but I don’t want to admit I was snooping around in there, what would he think of me if I told him that?

  He smiles at me. “That’s okay. I’ll show you around if you want.” He opens the door to his caravan. “Welcome to my home.”

  “Err, thank you.” I walk back in, trying to pretend I haven’t already seen it. “Those drawings are really good. Did you draw them?”

  “Yeah. The mouse comes in here every day, he keeps me company. He likes cheese, he eats the mouldy bits.”

  “You don’t eat it, do you?” God, his gaze is intense. Every time he looks at me I feel like a deer caught in headlights.

  “Sometimes, if I’m really hungry.”

  “Are you hungry now?”

  He laughs. “I’m always hungry.”

  I don’t know if he’s joking or being serious. I hate the thought of anyone going hungry. “Well after you’ve shown me around, I’ll make us both lunch.”

  I almost melt on the spot as a grin lights up his whole face, his beautiful eyes sparkle at me. “Thank you. You can smoke in here if you want.”

  How does he know I smoke? “I guess you can smell it on me huh.”

  He frowns. “No. I saw you smoking this morning when you were sitting on the bench.”

  “Do you smoke?”

  “Never tried it.”

  I can feel his eyes on me as we stroll along. I look around at the trees surrounding us, most of them are bare branches but a few still have leaves. It’s cold, my breath is coming out as smoke. I stuff my hands in my pockets. I need to go shopping for a hat and gloves. The wind is picking up and I keep having to take my hands out of my pockets to brush my hair out of my face. I should have thought to tie it back. My cheeks feel numb. He leads me to a large field and tells me how he’s growing potatoes, beetroot, cabbages, carrots and turnips. He must have green fingers, even pot plants don’t last five minutes with me. He picks up a watering can and sprinkles water on the potato plants. I hunch my shoulders against the wind.

  “Are you cold Savannah?”

  “Yeah.” He’s not even wearing a jacket and for the first time I notice his arms are covered in goose bumps. “You look cold too.”

  He shrugs. “I’m used to it. Do you like strawberries?”

  “Yeah.” I’m definitely going back to the warmth of the house in a minute.

  “In the summer I grow strawberries over there,” he points to another part of the field, “and blackberries in the autumn.”

  “Thank you for showing me around. I’m sorry but I need to go back to the house, I’m freezing.”

  His shoulders droop and he lowers his head. “Oh.”

  “I’ll give you a shout when lunch is ready.”

  His eyes meet mine again. “Okay.”

  I kneel in front of the fire, my body needs warmth. It never gets this cold in the city. I don’t know how he can bear to be out without a coat, he’s made of stronger stuff than I am. Me and Dan had central heating in our flat, which did make the place nice and warm but nothing beats a real fire. Just looking at the flames warms me up. I may add a scene in my novel and have my hero and heroine toast marshmallows over a fire. It’s kind of sad that the only romance I’ve ever known is what I’ve read or wrote about. Dan wasn’t the romantic type and I’m not likely to get another boyfriend anytime soon, if at all, I’m not exactly a catch. My mum and dad were lucky, they fell in love when they were teens and were still romantic in their fifties. I wish they were still around, I miss them.

  “D’ya want me to put more logs on there for you Savannah?” comes a deep voice from behind me.

  Dear God, how long has he been there? He needs to stop doing this to me or I’m not going to make it through the week without a heart attack. “Err…yes please. I haven’t started lunch yet, I was warming up.”

  “I know. I have to clean the house. I did knock but you didn’t hear me.”

  Moving out of his way so he can get to the fire, I can’t help but admire him. I don’t think he shaved this morning because he has dark stubble along his jaw. I can see the muscles flexing in his arm as he pokes at the fire and I want to reach out and touch him. There are white scars around his wrists, like bracelets, I wonder how he got those. I suddenly realise I’m leaning in towards him and quickly sit back. I should go start lunch. As I stand up, he asks, “What things do you like Savannah?”

  “What do you mean?”

  He stands up too and traps me again with his hypnotic gaze. “Well, I think I bored you when I was talking about growing stuff and…,” he shrugs, “I want to talk to you about things you like to talk about.”

&n
bsp; “You didn’t bore me, I was cold. I like reading and doing crosswords. I’m writing a book. I’m pretty boring really.”

  “You’re not boring, you’re clever. Do you write books like my owner has?”

  “No, Simon only has academic books, mine’s a romance.”

  He looks at me, puzzled. “What’s a romance?”

  “A love story.” I can feel my face going red again. What is it with this man and the way he affects me? “You know, boy meets girl and they’re attracted to each other.”

  He fixes me with a long stare, then lowers his lashes and bites his lip. I swallow hard. “I’ll go and fix lunch.”

  Toasted cheese sandwiches will be nice and I find a couple of tins of tomato soup to go with them. I can hear Kayden moving around upstairs - I hope I haven’t got any dirty underwear lying around up there. By the time I get the food on the table he’s vacuumed the ground floor. His eyes light up when he sees the food and he licks his lips. I sit down but he’s still standing there. “Sit down Kayden.”

  “Thank you.”

  Taking a couple of bites of my sandwich, I look up to see him gazing longingly at his food but his hands are in his lap and he makes no attempt to eat. His stomach rumbles. “Kayden, are you going to eat?”

  “Am I allowed to eat now?”

  Oh God, he was waiting for my permission. “Yes, please eat,” I mutter.

  “Thank you.”

  He shovels the food into his mouth. Actually closes his eyes and moans a couple of times. His tongue is now doing another circuit of his lips to make sure he hasn’t missed a bit. He’s cute. As he wipes the back of his hand across his mouth, I realise he’s eaten the entire meal in the time it’s taken me to have four bites of my sandwich. “Thank you Savannah, that’s the best food I’ve ever eaten.” He’s gazing into my eyes again and I’m having trouble swallowing. “I’ve gotta go, will you be okay here on your own?” he says.

  “I’ll be fine; I’ll sit by the fire and read a book.”

  “D’ya want anything before I go?”

  “I’m fine Kayden, thanks.” I smile at him and he jerks in his seat and bashes his knee on the table leg. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, maybe I’ll get to see you later,” he mutters as he quickly gets up and places his dishes in the sink. “Leave those Savannah; I’ll wash them up tonight.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Savannah

  Settling down in the armchair by the fire I spend the next couple of hours working on my novel. The heat starts to make me drowsy, so I fix myself a mug of coffee and sit at the kitchen table, flicking through the newspaper, looking at the employment ads. Maybe I can find a job; I don’t want to sponge off Simon. Being a financial newspaper, most of the ads are for high flying jobs in the city, which I wouldn’t have a chance of getting. When I go shopping later I’ll pick up a local paper, maybe I can get a job at a local pub or cafe, or even a supermarket.

  I log in to my e-mail. I have a reply from Dan.

  Babe, what’s wrong? I don’t understand. Come back home and let’s talk about it. Where are you? I’m worried about you. I’ve been trying to call you. Are you with your brother? You know I love you. Just come home, we can work it out, we always do. You know I don’t mean to upset you. I’m sorry, I promise I’ll change. Just come home, I miss you xxxx

  Realising I’m holding my breath; I let out a sigh. I’ve heard this so many times before, he promises to change and its better for a while but he soon goes back to his old ways. I tried to get him to go to counselling with me but he wasn’t interested. I’m not willing to be his punch bag. I’m not going to reply, there’s nothing more to say.

  I curl up in the armchair with my e-reader and continue reading the romance I started earlier. As usual I get lost in the book and when I glance at my watch I see it’s almost seven. Damn, I’m supposed to be going grocery shopping. Hopefully the stores stay open late here. As my laptop is still on, I do a quick search for the nearest one. It’s only about fifteen minutes’ drive and it’s open until ten.

  My car feels like a fridge. Shivering, I put the heater on, which is a futile gesture, by the time it warms the car up I’ll be at the store. I dislike driving in the dark and it’s even worse here, there are hardly any street lights and the roads are narrow. I crawl along at twenty miles per hour, hoping no one comes in the opposite direction because there isn’t room for two cars. Glancing in my rear view mirror I’m relieved there are no cars behind me. I can do without an irate driver tooting his horn because he’s used to doing sixty along this stretch. Feeling around for my cigarettes I pull one out of the pack and flick my lighter, trying to locate the end of the cigarette while keeping my eyes glued to the road. I open my window a fraction and shiver as a cold blast of air comes in. It’s so desolate here, tall hedgerows line either side of the road, they look eerie in this darkness. The only sound is the hum of the car engine. At the end of the road I turn right and relax a little, this road is much wider and has streetlights. I pass by a newsagents and a cafe. I might pay a visit to the cafe another day, see if they need any staff. Finally I spot the supermarket. There are only a couple of cars in the car park; it’s obviously not busy so this shouldn’t take long.

  There aren’t many people in here. The aisles are deserted except for a few staff who are stacking shelves. I wander around, putting anything that takes my fancy into my trolley. I still have some money in my bank so I can cover this; I may as well stock up. As I near the checkout I freeze. He’s standing there. Dan. I quickly dart behind a display. I don’t want to deal with him right now. He’ll try to persuade me to go back with him and he’ll keep on and on until he wears me down. After what seems like a few minutes have passed and he hasn’t approached I peek back around the display. He’s with a woman. They’re packing groceries. I can see his face clearly now and I realise it isn’t Dan. My mind was playing tricks on me. I make my way to the checkout, pay for my shopping and take it to my car.

  I’ve just turned back onto the narrow country lane when I spot Kayden. It’s not long after eight; he must be on his way back from working for Simon’s neighbour. It’ll be nice to have some company for this stretch of the journey, so I pull over and wind down my window. “Do you want a lift Kayden?”

  He bends down and smiles at me. “Thank you.”

  He gets in the passenger seat and glances around. “Is this your car?”

  I look at the sweet wrappers littering the floor and the ashtray that’s overflowing with cigarette butts and I’m tempted to say it belongs to someone else. I can’t even remember the last time I cleaned it. “Yes it’s mine,” I reluctantly answer.

  Parking in the driveway I open the boot and begin taking out the shopping bags. “Let me get those for you,” he says as he takes the bags from my hands, and then grabs the remaining bags from the boot. I take my keys but don’t bother to lock the car because we’re on private land in the middle of nowhere, so I’m sure it’ll be safe and no one would want my little old car anyway. The door to the house is unlocked but Kayden waits outside. I open the door and he follows me inside, placing the shopping bags on the kitchen table.

  “Do you want my help to put things away?”

  “No, I’ll be fine,” I say, taking off my jacket. “You’ve been working all day, go back to your caravan and relax for the night.”

  “I don’t mind helping.” He lowers his gaze to the floor. “I get bored just sitting on my own anyway.”

  “Okay, if you don’t mind, I appreciate it. I’m going to have a glass of wine while I unpack. Do you want one?”

  “Err…yeah, thank you.” I pour us both a white wine. He takes the groceries out of the bags and I put everything away where it belongs.

  “Have you eaten, Kayden?”

  “Yeah, I had lunch with you,” he says, a confused look on his face.

  “Have you eaten anything since then?”

  “More food? Err…no,” he says, shaking his head.

  “I’ve got a
couple of ready meals. Shepherd’s pie. Do you like that?” I ask as I get them out of the freezer where I’d just put them a couple of minutes ago.

  “I dunno what that is, but I eat anything.”

  I put the shepherd’s pies in the microwave and sit down to look through the paper I picked up from the store. There are only a couple of ads for plumbers and electricians, which are no good for me. “I don’t suppose you know of a good place to look for jobs, do you?” I ask. He’s gazing at me confused again. “I’m trying to get a job so I can give my brother some money for letting me stay here,” I explain.

  “Won’t he look after you?” he asks, frowning.

  “Yes, but I’d like to contribute something.”

  His elbows are resting on the table and he’s chewing his fingernails. I don’t know what work he did for the neighbour but his hands are red and raw. “You don’t have to work if you don’t want to. You can rent me out to people, they’ll pay you,” he says. “I have to work during the day but you can rent me out at night. Your brother probably won’t mind.”

  I can feel my face going red. I would never use him like that. I look over at the microwave, willing it to ping. It doesn’t, so I get up and stand in front of it, my eyes glued to the tray spinning round and round. “No, no. I’ll get a job. It’s fine.”

  “I’m sorry. I just wanted to help you.”

  I turn to face him. His head is lowered and he’s picking at loose pieces of skin on his hands. I swallow and force my lips to smile. “It was kind of you Kayden, thank you, but you work hard enough. I’m fine with getting a job.”

  I dish the food up and put it on the table. Telling Kayden to eat whenever he wants to. He’s eating much slower this time, though still faster than me. I guess he must have been really hungry this afternoon. I’m halfway through mine when he finishes. “Thank you Savannah.”

  “You’re welcome.” It was nice to eat with someone rather than eating alone.

  “Have you left your boyfriend for good?”

  “Err…yes. How did you know about that?”