The Text Quotes

“arsehole.”
― Claire Douglas, The Text

“Could I go back and live at Mum and Dad’s at the age of twenty-six?”
― Claire Douglas, The Text

“You wanted him dead. And your wish is my command.”
― Claire Douglas, The Text

“I know why Stuart sent the note. He wanted me to start distrusting my friends and to drive a wedge between me and Seth. Another way to control me. For someone so clever he’s been incredibly stupid. And so have I. A kick, a shove, a twist of the wrist … it’s abuse, whichever way you look at it. I’ve been making excuses for him for far too long. It doesn’t take me long to pack my belongings. It’s funny how little of everything here is mine. The furniture, the crockery, the kitchen utensils. Everything is Stuart’s. I have nothing, which is the way he liked it. He wanted me to rely on him for everything. But now I’m free of him. Because I don’t want to be like Andrew Burton’s wife. Caroline or Carolyn. Abused and controlled by a misogynistic bully until I’m the one who finally flips and plunges a knife in to his chest. I need to get out now. While I still can.”
― Claire Douglas, The Text

“I know about the note and so do the police. I never want to see you again. It’s over. Dumping by text. That’s the most he deserves.”
― Claire Douglas, The Text

“It’s a shove here, a twist of the wrist there, a pinch to my upper arm, a thump to my thigh if he’s really annoyed.”
― Claire Douglas, The Text

“I should leave Stuart. I have tried. On numerous occasions. But I’m a coward, I guess. Despite everything, I love him. When he’s not in a temper he’s the sweetest man. He makes me feel protected and safe. And it’s not as though he beats me up.”
― Claire Douglas, The Text

“It escalates, as it always does. Who knows what the neighbours must think. Stuart yells, I scream, he throws my vase full of flowers at the wall so that it shatters into a zillion pieces, sending water and petals everywhere.”
― Claire Douglas, The Text

“I press send on the text.”
― Claire Douglas, The Text

“Stuart calls me the Milkybar Kid.”
― Claire Douglas, The Text

“Despite being in her mid-20s she only passed her test a few months ago and is still a nervous driver,”
― Claire Douglas, The Text

“sharp nose and thick dark hair that spills over her shoulders. I’ve always admired her looks. I’m so pale and uninteresting in comparison,”
― Claire Douglas, The Text

“He indicates a slip of paper on the worktop and I pick it up. It’s written in neat block capitals in blue biro. You wanted him dead. And your wish is my command.”
― Claire Douglas, The Text

“send the text without thinking. I’m distracted, stabbing away at the keys on my phone while sounding off to Yasmin as she drives down the rain-drenched streets. My fingers won’t work fast enough. They feel unusually clumsy and”
― Claire Douglas, The Text

“rant to Yasmin as I thump out the text message to my boyfriend Stuart.”
― Claire Douglas, The Text

“unusually clumsy and I nearly drop the phone into the footwell. I’ve been planning my long weekend to Edinburgh with the girls for months, and tonight, just as I was about to leave the office, my boss Andrew announces”
― Claire Douglas, The Text

“You’ve rowed again?’ I can hear the disapproval in her voice. ‘Em … you can’t go on like this.”
― Claire Douglas, The Text

“There was a time when I considered taking my chartered exams. But then I met Stuart and my career began to take a back seat to his. He often tells me I’ll be the one to give up my career – such as it is – anyway when we have kids, so what’s the point in doing all that training? I suppose he has a point.”
― Claire Douglas, The Text

“Hi babe. Andrew’s being difficult about next weekend. I’m so angry! He said he’s not sure he can let me have the time off to go to Edinburgh. What an arsehole. I SO hope he dies!”
― Claire Douglas, The Text