Free Watched: When Road Rage Follows You Home by Kerry Wilkinson Page B

still rickety, the grass still long and the windows unbroken.
    Inside, everything seemed as they’d left it too. They carried in the shopping and put everything away together, with Esther having the final say on what went where.
    After that, Charlie went into the living room and, for the first time since moving in, relaxed in front of the television. He began flicking through the channels with the sound on low, listening as Esther moved from room to room upstairs.
    Rattle-rattle, shunt-shunt.
    After each set of checks, she’d move on to the next room and start again. When she came downstairs, she headed straight for the kitchen, where he heard her unlocking and then relocking the back door, before doing the same with the window. After apparently convincing herself the front door was also secure, Esther finally entered the living room. She’d changed into her pyjamas and curled up next to Charlie without a word. As she pressed back into him, he could smell the fabric conditioner of her clothes, then the faint trace of shampoo from her hair. Charlie wrapped an arm around her, allowing her to pull it tighter until she was almost enveloped into him.
    It was after ten o’clock but Charlie still couldn’t find anything to watch. He continued hopping from channel to channel until Esther whispered a delicate ‘stop’. It was only an episode of some American sitcom but they watched in silence, not laughing but not becoming restless either. Perfect for falling asleep to. After a while, Charlie felt his eyelids beginning to go and then, from nowhere, Esther’s lips were on his. He jumped slightly, waking up and feeling instantly alert.
    Her bottom lip was pressing almost aggressively onto his top one and suddenly they were in their final year at university again; rolling around on the sofa, hands in each other’s hair, the sizzle of fingertips on skin, giggles as their noses knocked together and buttons wouldn’t come undone.
    Dinnnnnnng-donnnnnnng.
    Esther froze momentarily before pushing Charlie away. They stared at each other for a few moments before she started re-buttoning her top.
    As she drew her knees up to herself, Charlie plucked his trousers from the floor and peered up to the clock – almost half-past-eleven. He really must have fallen asleep. Esther didn’t need to say it because the way she had shrunken into the sofa explained it all: the moment was well and truly lost and it was his job to answer the door.
    He peeped through the blinds, squinting into orangey glow of the streetlights.
    ‘There’s a police car outside.’
    Dinnnnnnng-donnnnnnng.
    Esther’s face was almost concealed as she slumped lower, hiding behind her knees. Charlie headed into the hall and unlocked the front door. On the other side, a uniformed officer was standing, hat in hand. He had mousy fair hair and faint acne-scarred skin, deliberately angled sideways so Charlie could see the second officer waiting in the car.
    ‘Are you Mr Pooley?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘I understand you’ve been having a good time this evening?’
    ‘Er…sorry?’
    ‘We’ve had reports of loud music, shouting and arguing.’
    ‘From who?’
    ‘I can’t reveal that but there have been complaints about noise emanating from this property. Obviously I can hear that the party has ended, but—’
    ‘—Party?’
    The living room door opened as Esther drifted into the hallway, hugging herself into Charlie’s side.
    The officer eyed the pair of them suspiciously, lips pursed, before speaking. ‘…Obviously it’s good that the music has now ended but there are noise pollution laws and—’
    Esther cut him off: ‘—We’ve not even been in. We went shopping and then we were watching TV. We’ve only just moved in and don’t even have the stereo set up yet. The speakers are still in boxes upstairs – you can come in and check if you want.’
    He shook his head. ‘That won’t be necessary. Just so long as you know that this street has been designated as part