I saw her naked last night. It was delicious and disturbing. It’s such a long time since I have touched her bare skin. I’m surprised how easy it was to slip the drug into her drink, but I suppose the awkwardness of the situation put her off guard. I’ve done this so many times before. Usually I’m there when they wake up, and to be honest, I prefer them to know what’s happening. It’s more exciting. This was a bit different, and just a tiny taster of what I have planned.
Now, I’m alone in my room, reliving the thrill of last night, hugging my arms around me, and almost shivering with excitement. Will she know something happened to her, after she crept into her hard bed, or will she just dismiss it as a hangover? Will she sense where my fingers trailed across her body? My invisible prints would cover every inch of her skin. I noted a couple of new scars, the way her hips have thickened slightly with age, but she’s in great physical shape, with long lean muscles, and high, firm breasts. She is still my Ava.
I could have done more, God knows, I could have done a lot more, but the last game must be played slowly and carefully, so I can savour each new move.
My visit was timed to the second, and whilst I played, I made myself constantly aware of the tick-tock of the clock on her bedside table. It took a while to get what I needed, but I am a bit of an expert at my craft, and whilst I hate to give credit, I did learn from a master.
The knife is new each time, and of course it had to be pristine and unsullied for Ava – anything else would be sacrilege. I cut very slowly, relishing the dots of scarlet springing up as the blade slid across her pale skin. I may have even panted a little as the blood became a red thread, its presence startling and out of place against the homely setting of the Birtleys’ best bedroom.
Before I could stop myself, I knelt by the side of the bed, lowered my head and licked the wound. The sweet, metallic taste is always so sensual, but with Ava it was more. She was like nectar on my tongue. She is special. I was part of her, and just for a moment, I held her in my mouth. Her breathing got a little faster, almost like she recognised I was there, and I waited until she quietened again, almost holding my own breath.
Tick-tock, and I couldn’t do any more that night. She is supposed to wonder, but not to know. Not yet.
Petulantly, like a child cheated out of a bag of sweets, I left my parting gift next to the obnoxious yellow bedside lamp and slipped stealthily back across the room. Two minutes, and I paused at the foot of the bed, relented, and allowed myself a final treat…
Leaning down, I felt her warm breath on my cheek, and my lips found hers. A gentle, chaste kiss, but I fought the urge to tear at her lips like a ravenous animal.
A last look and I was back at the door. The house was shadowed, quiet, and I let myself out, and walked home. The freezing air was nothing to me, and elation warmed my blood. I hurried back, eager to move my player along to the next square.
The hill is always an effort, but I paused at the halfway point to admire the shadows, the dips of blackness where the evil things dwell, and the eerie moonlight that turns the Big Water into crumpled paper.
Now, with a few stolen moments alone, I can relive my night, before I face the world of normality. My game face is back on, and I’m ready for our next meeting.
‘Wnaethoch chi gysgu’n dda neithiwr, Ava Cole?’
‘Did you sleep well last night, Ava Cole?’
Ava woke late, her sleep-bugged eyes struggling to focus on the clock next to her bed. How the hell was it past nine? Even with jetlag kicking in, she was never up this late. She groaned, pushing down nausea, her limbs heavy and a grinding headache pushing at the base of her skull.
Surely she hadn’t drunk that much last night, but the memories were blurred, and there was a strange gap after she left the pub. A gap that lasted until a few seconds ago. She was too confused for fear, but alarm sent electric shocks spinning across her painful head. She remembered this feeling, or something like it. It was almost as if…
She blinked hard and reached for the glass of water on the bedside table. As her eyes focused, her hand froze, fingers outstretched but motionless. Among the random personal objects she had unpacked, was something new. A plaited cotton band, made up of three colours; purple, blue and gold. The band was faded, and slightly crumpled, but Ava knew it immediately. The laughter was loud in her head, the sun hot on her face…
* * *
‘Make me one now!’ Ellen threw the bag of cotton at Ava. ‘Please. It can be a special one.’
‘You’ve already got loads of friendship bracelets.’ Ava laughed at her best friend’s intense expression.
‘This one would be the most special because you will have made it. All these’ – she indicated her skinny wrists, which were loaded with cheap bracelets – leather, metal and fabric – ‘were bought from the market. Please, Ava. Look, purple, blue and gold, like the football shirts Coach Thomas is totally going to let us have!’
‘Okay, I’ll do it. But he is not going to let us play in the match next weekend.’
‘He is!’ Ellen was triumphant. ‘Penny said she’d have a word after school on Wednesday if he was in a good mood, and then he phoned my mum last night to say we’re playing. He’s picked Huw as Captain too, so that’s another hot boy to look at.’
‘Bloody hell. And Coach Thomas is not a “hot boy”, he’s all grown-up. You haven’t got a chance there.’ Ava deftly twisted the cotton, entwining the colours quickly, and knotting the ends. She was absorbed in her task, head bent, long dark hair hiding her face. ‘I wonder how Pen managed that. She should be here soon. She said her uncle had a few jobs for her, but then she’d be down.’
‘Great.’ But Ellen’s voice was slightly dismissive.
Ava looked up sharply. ‘What?’
‘Oh, nothing. Does she always have to come with us? I love Pen, you know I do, but she can be so happy about everything, like all the time. I mean, is she ever in a bad mood?’
‘Not everyone’s a grumpy cow like you. I thought you liked her?’
‘I told you, I do, it’s just that she always seems to be tagging along.’
Ava peered at her friend. ‘Or could it be that you’re pissed she got off with Jesse last week? We all just had too much to drink. He prefers you.’
‘No! Of course not…’
Ava shrugged. ‘Whatever.’
‘Look, Leo’s coming up the hill with Jesse and Rhodri,’ Ellen said suddenly.
‘I’m nearly done. Come on, let’s go!’
‘Don’t you want to see them? Leo fancies you, and okay you’re right, Jesse is hot too.’ Ellen smiled, stretching her legs out in the warm grass. ‘Pleeeease.’
Both girls’ feet were bare, and for a moment they leant back in the sunlight, admiring twenty carefully painted pink nails wriggling among the greenery. The blue sky overhead stretched across the hills into infinity, and the air was sweet with the scents of summer.
‘Only for a minute,’ Ava relented, her stomach churning as the boys saw them and waved. Of course, Ellen had no idea what Ava had been up to last night, or who with…
* * *
Ava touched the faded