The Housetrap by Emma Read EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Author: Emma Read
- Language: English
- Genre: Friendship Fiction
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 9.0 MB
- Price: Free
The END
Deliah McDeery sat cross-legged on the thick carpet of Claude Laurent’s
lounge doing a Killer Sudoku. She had a feeling she’d put a wrong
number in somewhere but carried on regardless. Feelings were not facts and
anyway, if she had made a mistake, it wasn’t her fault. It was because her mind
was elsewhere.
Upstairs to be precise.
She twirled her pen over the combinations of numbers on the page, the
possibilities for each dotted shape, the boxes and lines and rows, all adding up
to the same total. Regular, logical . . . comforting. Still, it wasn’t enough to
properly distract her from the laughter coming from above.
In two days’ time, Deliah’s supposed best friend, Claude, and his family
would be moving to Cornwall. Deliah and her mum were there to say
goodbye. To celebrate their decade-long friendship, make promises to visit,
hug and cry a bit, and help move boxes.
But somehow Deliah was alone, while Claude and his new best friend from
school, Sam, were in the game snug playing Escape Room II on the Switch.
And that was fine. Totally fine.
Deliah scribbled over the failed puzzle, folded up the newspaper and threw
the pen on top of it. She scanned the room for something else to do but the
shelves were bare, apart from a single framed photo, left there, Deliah
assumed, for her benefit. It was cringingly awful, an ancient Polaroid of her
and Claude in a paddling pool. They couldn’t have looked more different –
Deliah, all lobster-pink sunburn, next to Claude’s brown skin – but back then
they might as well have been the same person. And there was the proof:
identical plastic sunglasses, matching T-shirts, his and hers grins.
Claude’s mum, Sara, pointed it out all the time. ‘Adooooorable!’ she’d say,
her faint French accent creeping through as she rolled the ‘r’. If they were
unlucky, they’d get a cheek pinch, as if they were still four years old. ‘Look at
those gorgeous little smiles.’ They did look happy.
Deliah imagined the picture torn down the middle, separating them for ever.
Sara came in with a glass of iced tea for Deliah. ‘I hope you’re not letting
those boys leave you out?’
‘I’m fine Sara, honestly. I’m not really a fan of Escape Room.’
And anyway, what’s the point? Our friendship is done.
Sara Laurent raised her eyebrow and stirred her own tea. ‘Well, it’s about
time you lot got some fresh air anyway.’ She strode to the bottom of the stairs.
‘Claude, Sam, get your butts down here.’
Apathetic grumblings about ‘just saving’ drifted from above and then the
boys tramped down the stairs, letting gravity do most of the work.
Claude led the way, looking more like his dad than his dad did. These days
he wore designer shirts, even on a Saturday, and his trousers were ironed, with
perfect turn-ups to complete the look.
Deliah finished her tea and it tasted of summer.
‘You sure you haven’t played that before, Claude? Anyone would think you
have some kind of sixth sense.’ Sam slapped Claude on the back and tied his
faded hoody round his waist.
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