Home Intruder: An Extreme Horror Novella Read Free

here crying like a god damn girl .
    “Ed?”
    The voice came from behind them. A familiar voice with a strong Cornish accent.
    He twisted round his head and found himself staring up into the face of his childhood sweetheart.
    “Oh my God, I knew it was you.”
    “Linda. God, hello. How are you?”
    He jumped to his feet, walked round the bench and pecked her on the cheek.
    His first thought was that time hadn’t been kind to her. She was thirty-three, the same age as him, but she looked a decade older. Her obviously dyed blonde hair looked garish against her weathered face and she was no longer the slender girl he had known.
    “Ed,” she said, the delight shining in her eyes as she gripped his shoulders, holding him away from her at arms’ length. “What are you doing back here? Oh, of course, stupid me. I’m so sorry about your mum.”
    Jesus, was nothing secret in this town?
    “Yeah, well, thanks.”
    “I guess you’re going to put the house on the market then? Or maybe you’re going to move back?”
    Her look of moist eyed eagerness was all too obvious and it embarrassed him.
    “Linda, I’d like you to meet my wife, Jaz. Jaz, this is Linda,” he said, dodging the question.
    “Did you say wife ?” Linda asked.
    “Yep, I sure did.”
    Linda turned pink. A funny look came over her eyes, like she was about to burst into tears, but just as quick it was gone again. Ed decided he had imagined it.
    “Hi,” Jaz said, getting to her feet and extending a hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
    Linda accepted the offered hand. “Likewise.”
    The two women stared at each other for a fraction too long than was polite, leaving Ed feeling distinctly uncomfortable.
    Not that he had anything to feel uncomfortable about, he reminded himself. Linda was ancient history and there were absolutely no pangs on his part, nostalgic or otherwise. They had ended because he had fallen out of love with her and university had been a natural break.
    “It’s just so good to see you, Ed. What are you doing tonight?”
    Ed was crap when put on the spot. At work he thrived under pressure but when it came to his personal life, he was a total pushover. His mind went blank and out came the classic:
    “Nothing.”
    “You are now. Me and Boko are going to come round tonight with a takeaway. I’m just dying to go inside the house again, I haven’t set foot in it since you left. And you can tell us all about you getting married.”
    “Well, I… Yes. That would be lovely. Who’s Boko?”
    “You know Boko. He was in our year at school. Boris Coleman.”
    Boris Coleman?
    For a moment Ed just couldn’t think. He pushed his glasses back up his nose as he tried to place the horribly familiar name. Then it came to him.
    Bully Boris Coleman? The same guy that once flushed my head down the toilet?
    “Yeah. Now I remember.”
    “Good. Me and Boko have been together years now. That’s that settled then. Nice to meet you, Jaz.”
    Ed and Jaz stood side by side, watching her retreating figure.
    “The ex?”
    “Uh huh.”
    “Cosy.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “It doesn’t matter.”
    Although he could tell from her tone that it probably did.
    “How about I buy you that pint now? I have a feeling we’re both gonna need one.”
     
    They chose The Fox and Goose opposite the harbour slipway. It was a popular spot with tourists and locals alike, who congregated in the busy, concrete beer garden overlooking the fishing boats. Ed and Jaz elected to drink inside, away from the crowds.
    “Nice pub,” Jaz said, instantly soothed by the dark interior and black wood.
    “Yeah. I didn’t really come in here much. Wasn’t much of an underage drinker.”
    “Bet you made up for it when you went to uni.”
    “Yeah. I guess I did.”
    Her tone was light, but truth was, she was shaken up by the meeting with Linda. Not to mention slightly pissed off. How the hell had that woman managed to wheedle her way into their home tonight? Honestly, when he wasn’t