Nosy Neighbors

by Freya Sampson

“That green car over there. It was parked most inconsiderately outside Shelley House the afternoon Joseph was attacked.

And now they are outside Fergus Alexander’s office,”

This seems obvious? Fergus hired someone to shut Joseph up…do they not see that? Lol

“Ugh, men are so facile.”

Lol

Kat had been in a car chase before.

How had she not made the connection between Fergus Alexander and Joseph’s accident before? It was so obvious:

Ok thank you lol

all evidence of her grandpa’s home was gone, replaced by these grim, soulless houses.

Fergus Alexander, the man responsible for putting Joseph in hospital, was also responsible for the devastation wrought on her grandfather’s farm.

even though it had all ended so badly, this place was still where she had been happiest and felt safest.

hope of finding the door to flat four open again, but it remained firmly locked and the tenant was uncharacteristically quiet.

she pulled back her arm and swung the bag with full force at the back of his head.

Okkkk girl boss!

Who would have thought a dog could be such an excellent sidekick?

Everyone? Lol

I was down at his grave

Called it

Dorothy swallowed. She knew that feeling, the pain at that sudden loss of light. After all, she had lived in darkness for many years.

Chalcot had haunted her dreams for so long that she’d felt pulled back to this village, like a moth drawn to a flame—was

a home isn’t about bricks and mortar but the people in it,

An image of a wooden table and an open fire jumped into her mind but Kat hastily pushed it away.

?

nowhere has ever felt like comfort to me,

Except the farm?

The sound of footsteps on the stairs. The ambulance siren below. The feel of the hot breeze whipping her skin.

That a girl—your daughter—died. I’m so sorry.”

Oh shit

she had never told a soul what really happened that summer day. Only one other person knew the truth, and it appeared he still wanted to keep it a secret.

the body of a girl lying on her back on the grass,

How is that Joseph's fault?

my husband left me four months later. He blamed me for what happened and one morning he departed for work and never returned.”

Ugh now I feel bad lol

“Charlotte did not get a fresh start, so why should I?” Dorothy didn’t look at Kat as she spoke. “I should have been watching out for my daughter’s safety, but I did not, and she died. So I made a vow to stay in the home she loved and make sure that nothing like that ever happens again.”

Ok that got me :'(</3

Everyone thought that Dorothy was simply a nosy neighbor spying on them, but the truth was something different entirely. She was making sure they were safe.

woman who looked to be in her sixties, if not older. She had lank gray hair that hung round her sunken cheeks, and her dark eyes

Hmmmm… Kat's mom?

Sylvia Mason. She’s my mum.”

Oof called that lol

why had she decided to tell the truth last night, and to Dorothy Darling of all people?

Aww they both confessed to each other <3

felt a little lighter, as if the words spoken out loud had carried some weight away with them.

I am I stuck in my past and cannot move forward with my life, but it seems to me that you are the same, young lady.

“Leanne?”

she wasn’t Ley-Ley anymore, hadn’t even been Leanne for six years. That person was gone.

I started the fire at the school

Oop

The feeling of satisfaction as she dropped the lit match in and watched the pages catch.

And her mother had stolen it all away from her.

So messed up!!!!

“Addiction is a sickness, Mum. You were ill. You don’t need to punish yourself anymore, you just need to focus on staying well.”

Damn she's a good person

I have become so consumed with these what-ifs and the life that was stolen from me, I stopped living the life I still have.”

why had he not been honest with her in the first place?

Because you hated him? Lol

He was in a terrible temper when he left that afternoon. He must have seen Joseph on his way down and taken his rage out on him.”

That's dumb lol

Dad used to get Bob involved whenever he needed a bit of extra muscle.” Kat had turned rather pale and she was uncharacteristically quiet.

Who is Bob??